Renee T. Clift

Playing it Safe as a Novice Teacher: Implications for Programs for New Teachers

Prompted by the continuing attrition rate of novice teachers, this study examines 1st-year teachers’ needs in the context of a university-regional partnership sponsored support program for novice teachers, the Novice Teacher Support Project (NTSP). Using the concept of reality shock as occurring in the interaction of person and environment, the authors examined novice teachers’ expressed needs and how those needs are met. Throughout all the findings, the novice teachers expressed a need for safety, a mix of support and challenge that was best provided by a combination of both internal resources from the district and external resources such as the NTSP. The authors suggest conceptualizing support as an interactive process that includes person, school context, support context, and personal relationships. This can help support the creation of the type of emotionally and professionally safe environments new teachers need to develop their professional lives.

Technologies in Contexts: Implications for Teacher Education.

This paper discusses the interaction among school and university contexts, instruction, and individual practice that occurs as telecommunications technology is integrated into teacher education programs. Data from a series of studies of such integration within one university are presented and discussed. A model to guide future research is proposed. ( 2000 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.

Developing the Potential for Collaborative School Leadership

Role interactions among teams from five schools and one university team are discussed within the context of a collaborative project entitled “Time for Reflection: A Project in Collaborative Leadership for Working More Effectively in Multicultural Settings.” Interactions were coded into the categories of role ambiguity; negotiation; conflict; overload; and consensus among teachers, principals, and university staff members. Although no dramatic changes in role definition were documented, a general progression from ambiguity to consensus on the value of teacher participation in school-wide decision making was noted across all five schools. Rate and character of change were affected by district policies, administrative support within each building, and negotiations with the university team.

Learning to Teach English—Maybe: A Study of Knowledge Development

This case study describes the first 2 years of one young womans (Lesley) experi ences in learning to teach secondary school English. Analysis of her response to three problematic incidents she encountered during her preservice preparation suggests that developing knowledge for the teaching of English includes the intersection of knowledge schemes for literary analysis, the teaching of literature and language, planning for instruction, assessment and evaluation, group management, pedagogical problem solving, student diversity, and self-image as a teacher. Although Lesley did not believe that she had achieved a high level of sophisticated knowledge in these areas, she drew upon them frequently as she began teaching. This study documents Lesleys perceived gaps in knowledge as she worked through instructional problems, the resources she used to elaborate upon her prior knowledge, and her short-term resolution of problematic issues. Implications for further research and for program development are discussed.

Building a Network of Support for New Teachers.

Abstract In response to the high attrition rate of new teachers, more and more induction programs are being implemented across the country. Current financial constraints, coupled with no systematic way to coordinate resources across schools and state organizations, present a challenge to many small or poorly funded schools and districts. In this article, we provide background information on the context of induction and mentoring in the United States, followed by a description of a statewide induction project that seeks to create a collaborative network of support across institutions in the absence of any state-funded program. An analysis of the issues and promises involved in such collaboration is provided that offers the field an important conceptual lens for thinking about induction and mentoring processes in new ways.

Self-Study Research in the Context of Teacher Education Programs

This chapter summarizes selected peer-reviewed studies as a backdrop from which to examine issues surrounding research conducted within one’s own teacher education classroom or program. Although the field of self-study research has developed an international cadre of proponents who are engaged in serious and important investigations of teacher education, researchers have not yet begun to address their connectedness to the county, the state, the nation, or the world. The values and practices held by self-study researchers, who have long championed the concept of data-based reflections on practice and who argue that qualitative investigations by “insider” practitioners give us access to knowledge that no other paradigm can or does, are clearly influenced by the larger social context, but it is entirely possible that the influence is not multi-directional. The chapter offers an argument that although programs, courses, and participants are embedded within political, social, and historical contexts, current self-study researchers most often focus only on the individual and her/his students, thus diminishing the potential for wider relevance of the research.

Oppositional Pairs: Unresolved Conflicts in Student Teaching

Abstract Reflective practice in teacher education has, as one of its objectives, the intention of increasing the individuals awareness of personal beliefs and images of teaching. However, beliefs and images do not always follow lines of clear and consistent rational thought. It is possible for one individual to simultaneously subscribe to contradictory beliefs that have the potential to create conflict. The authors look at two student teachers whose contradictory beliefs went unrecognized and unresolved and subsequently affected their professional growth. The findings suggest implications for program administrators, supervisors, cooperating teachers, and the student teachers themselves. The authors caution that simply involving teacher candidates in reflective inquiry may be insufficient for some students.

Are electronic conferences a solution in search of an urban problem

This article briefly reviews initiatives that have attempted to create communities of educators using Web-based, electronic conferencing. The authors critically analyze the advocacy for electronic communication as a medium for bringing educators together across time and distance with an emphasis on what is known about urban schools, access to Internet connections, and teachers’workloads. Although not a research report, the analysis is grounded in 4 years of ongoing research and development of the Novice Teacher Support E-mentoring Project and in the evaluation of the expansion of this concept to institutions in the Greater Chicago area. The authors raise questions about the role of technology and the intensification of expectations of urban educators.

Shifting Roles, Shifting Contexts, Maintaining Identity.

This self-study describes the ways in which a move to a different state, university, and academic role has shaped my sense of self as a scholar, teacher educator, and college administrator. I draw from role theory and from conceptions of habitus and field to provide a conceptual lens for interpreting the data and my experiences. I then address two related issues that affect my identity on a daily basis: the ways in which my prior practice is influencing my current practice and the professional costs and benefits of moving to a new state and a new institution late in ones career.

From Self-Study to Collaborative Self-Study to Collaborative Self- Study of Collaboration

This is not one teacher educator’s study of her teaching, nor is this a report of a working collaboration among a professor and research assistants in which her self analysis and interpretations are triangulated with their analysis and interpretations. Although elements of both are present in the chapter, the specific focus is on the evolution of the research team that was an unanticipated result of a professor’s original self-study and the larger, ongoing research project of which it was a part. For us, self-study has begun to incorporate our reflections on our selves as part of a research team. This work was supported, in part, by the United States Department of Education (Grant No.P336990042-00A). The government has certain rights in this material. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Education.