Olli Vesterinen

The Stimulated Recall Method and ICTs in Research on the Reasoning of Teachers

This article reports methodological aspects of a research study on the reasoning of teachers. The aim is to describe and evaluate the use of the stimulated recall method (STR) when information and communication technologies (ICTs) are involved in terms of educational settings and therefore in the research setting as well. First, we introduce the research context of the study: the teacher’s pedagogical thinking and concept mapping as a student’s school task. Second, we discuss how the development of research on the teacher’s pedagogical thinking has influenced the progress of research methods in which video observation and interviews are employed. A combination of these can be classified under the STR, which will be described. Third, we look more closely at the case in which ICTs were involved in the object of the research, that is, a class project for eight‐year‐olds conducted in the school’s computer lab, and evaluate the research methodological implications of this. We argue that traditional use of video‐stimulated recall interview in teacher thinking research can be advanced by focusing on the student’s learning process with the recordings of the student’s digital concept map creation instead of plain teacher performance analysis on the video.

From action to understanding – student teachers’ learning and practical reasoning during teaching practice

This paper reports the findings of a study where student teachers’ practical reasoning and the development of professional knowledge were investigated during teaching practice in pre-service class teacher education. The model of student teachers’ supervision applying the philosophy and principles of the practical argument approach was used in the study and data collection. In this model practical argument premises can be situational, empirical, stipulative or they can be based on value assessments. The videos of student teachers’ lessons, stimulated recall interviews and critical incidents, were used in order to grasp the situationality and contextuality of the classroom reality. Results show that student teachers mainly expressed situational and empirical premises in their practical argumentation. Stipulative and value premises were also present, but to a lesser degree. During the process, the student teachers developed their arguments from situational and empirical premises towards new value premises and reflections on the stipulative premises guiding their work.

Inter-Professional Pedagogical Collaboration between Teachers and Their Out-of-School Partners.

Abstract Teachers cross boundaries when they collaborate with out-of-school partners to provide more authentic learning experiences for students. Using the framework of boundary crossing, the study draws on interview data from schools and their out-of-school partners to examine the research question of how the research participants viewed the beginning of their inter-professional pedagogical collaboration. We use this term because in the context of primary and secondary education contexts mere inter-professional collaboration has usually referred to activities aimed, for example, at addressing children’s social exclusion. The starting point for inter-professional pedagogical collaboration can be seen through the identification of boundaries and boundary crossing. Using theory-based analysis to categorise the interview data, inter-professional pedagogical collaboration became evident in terms of (1) shared pedagogical knowledge, (2) finding roles in new situations and contexts, and (3) resources for collaboration. Recognising these can help schools respond to the needs of twenty-first century learning.