Stephanie Chitpin

The use of reflective journal keeping in a teacher education program: a Popperian analysis

This study explores the effectiveness of journal keeping as a means of developing reflective practice in pre‐service teachers using the Popperian knowledge‐building framework. The data focus on the entries of 28 pre‐service teachers. The issues identified by pre‐service teachers ranged from curricula to classroom management to assessment. The qualitative data suggest that the theoretical framework used in this study not only provides pre‐service teachers with a place to reflect on the identified problems but also allows them to use the information to formulate a tentative theory or solution to solve the problems.

Can mentoring and reflection cause change in teaching practice? A professional development journey of a Canadian teacher educator

This article explores elements of the professional development of a pre‐tenured teacher education professor. I am that professor and I trace my journey of growth, which was aided by peer mentoring. First, I present a brief discussion on literature associated with mentoring that I found pertinent, followed by how mentoring has emerged as I re‐designed a teacher education course to better meet the needs of pre‐service teachers. This course previously posed great difficulties for me in linking theory to practice. In this context, mentoring helped me improve my teaching practice through critical conversations with a mentor. It documents my struggles to improve my teaching at the university level. In narrating my journey I am not presenting a model of best practice but, rather, highlighting how mentoring allowed me to reflect on and improve my teaching practice.

Teacher professional development as knowledge building: a Popperian analysis

This paper offers an analysis of how six experienced teachers, and two in particular, used portfolios to aid and chart steps in their own professional development. The key finding of the study was that the pattern of growth of professional knowledge conformed strikingly to the central features of the model proposed by the philosopher of science, Karl Popper, to account for the growth of scientific knowledge. That is, the use of portfolios assisted these teachers in identifying and formulating problems, in proposing tentative theories for their solution, in testing those theories against their experience of implementation, and in moving on to new problems of practice. The research therefore supports a Popperian structure for teacher professional development that coheres with a conception of teachers as self‐learners, or autonomous learners.

'Even If No-One Looked at It, It Was Important for My Own Development': Pre-Service Teacher Perceptions of Professional Portfolios

This study was conducted with 15 pre-service teachers enrolled in the Reflective Practice Seminar in primary/junior division at a Canadian university. Data were gathered through interviews, informal classroom conversations and reflections over an eight-month period. This article considers the issue of how constructing a professional portfolio helps pre-service teachers examine their identity as learners. The findings highlight their perceptions around purpose, process and impact. Despite the overwhelming nature of reflection, pre-service teachers in this study said that constructing a professional portfolio challenged them to cyclically reflect on taken-for-granted assumptions, articulate growth and gain perspectives. They also recommended that exemplars be provided for improvement as well as increased instructor and peer feedback within the reflective seminar.

Should Popper’s View of Rationality Be Used for Promoting Teacher Knowledge?

Abstract Popper’s theory of learning is sometimes met with incredulity because Popper claims that there is no transference of knowledge or knowledge elements from outside the individual, neither from the physical environment nor from others. Instead, he claims that we can improve our present theories by discovering their inadequacies.The intent of this article is not to persuade educators to adopt Popper’s approach uncritically to build their professional knowledge. Rather, it presents a discussion on the need for teachers to adopt a critical approach in eliminating what is inadequate and preserve what is adequate by modifying or abandoning whatever traditions or practices that are inadequate to improve their teaching practice. Popper claims that knowledge advances by searching for and eliminating error contained in our theory. In other words, we can improve our present theories by finding out their inadequacies.

Principals and the professional learning community: learning to mobilize knowledge

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to use the Objective Knowledge Growth Framework (OKGF) in the development and maintenance of the Canadian Principal Learning Network (CPLN) to advance principals’ knowledge and skills in the area of decision making. First, the paper presents the inception of the CPLN, to assist principals in making decisions and resolving common problems. Second, the evolution of the CPLN web site is presented and recount the challenges faced and collaborative solved by principals. Finally, the paper describes the OKGF based on the critical rationalism of Karl Popper and how principals, engaging and interacting in an online learning community (CPLN) informed their decision-making process. Design/methodology/approach – The paper mindfully assembled an international team of researchers with administration experience, curriculum knowledge and pedagogy, and whose research interests lay in educational leadership, education administration, change theory, educational policy and professional...

Exploring the Popperian Framework in a Pre‐service Teacher Education Program

The study reported in this article is derived from a critical analysis of the work of 28 pre‐service teachers enrolled in the course “Teaching elementary language arts” in a Bachelor of Education concurrent program in a southern State university. The pre‐service teachers were taught how to use an innovative knowledge‐building framework based on the ideas of the philosopher of science, Karl Popper. Two samples of pre‐service teachers’ writing were analyzed to provide evidence of whether they support the occurrence of growth and development of professional knowledge. This study provides some indication of Popper’s framework potential as an effective critical analysis framework for achieving this goal.

Leadership in a Performative Context: A framework for decision-making

Abstract This paper examines a model of decision-making within the context of current and emerging regimes of accountability being proposed and implemented for school systems in a number of jurisdictions. These approaches to accountability typically involve the use of various measurable student learning outcomes as well as other measures of performance to do with teachers and schools in general, often having high-stakes consequences. Given this context of performativity, the paper proposes a model that uses an objective knowledge growth framework, where teachers can engage in their own professional learning through defined structures for solving the problems of their professional practice. The model is both empowering for teachers while being sensitive to the constraints of cultures of performativity.

Making just tenure and promotion decisions using the objective knowledge growth framework

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to utilize the Objective Knowledge Growth Framework (OKGF) to promote a better understanding of the evaluating tenure and promotion processes. Design/methodology/approach – A scenario is created to illustrate the concept of using OKGF. Findings – The framework aims to support decision makers in identifying the challenges they face, encourages them to act on their tentative theories, and to be attentive to the outcomes. It requires a deeper understanding of the problem by shifting the spotlight to the teaching scores; multiple perspectives for reaching a solution; testing different options (solutions/theories) by seeking out information that challenges ones beliefs and biases so as not to overlook a viable solution; and ensuring a fair and just process. Research limitations/implications – Research can be expanded by developing an empirical research study and to validate the findings. Practical implications – It is a high stakes evaluation that may result in unjustifie...

Questioning Clerkship: Applying Popper's Evolutionary Analysis of Learning to Medical Student Training.

Purpose Through a series of critical discussions on Karl Popper’s evolutionary analysis of learning and the non-authoritarian values it promotes, the purpose of this paper is to advocate a Popperian approach for building medical student knowledge. Specifically, it challenges positivist assumptions that permeate the design and management of many educational institutions, including teaching hospitals, by considering what does and does not happen when learning takes place. Design/methodology/approach To illustrate how Popper’s approach differs from such a conception of learning, the paper examines the exchange between a preceptor (Sam) and a medical student (Lisa). The following exchange is based on the observations during a team meeting in a Canadian teaching hospital. The authors sent the transcript of the observation to Lisa for her comments. The statements in italics represent Lisa’s additions. Pseudonyms are used to protect the identity of participants in the exchange. Findings Popper’s evolutionary analysis of learning and the Objective Knowledge Growth Framework provide a means of managing specific aspects of one’s education through engaging in this learning process. Although this approach to teaching and decision making takes time to master, it does not require reconstituting existing institutional arrangements before it can be implemented in hospitals. Instead, it asks medical students, teachers and practitioners to be open to the theoretical underpinnings of the approach and to view knowledge growth as a process of systematic trial and error elimination. Originality/value This paper is original in its conceptualisation and may well become a classic in education circles. It draws on Popper’s philosophical arguments and enters into a much needed discourse for teaching and learning.