20-T4 ICO masterclass Teaching and Teacher Education
Theme Group: Teaching and Teacher Education
Course coordinators: Dineke Tigelaar, Loes de Jong, Helma Oolbekkink-Marchand
Course description
In the course, scholars who carry out research in the field of teaching and teacher education will present and discuss their research with the participants. Together these contributions give an overview of research in the domain of Teaching and Teacher Education.
To prepare for the workshops, students read the corresponding literature, put points of discussion in an online environment and prepare questions before each workshop. Participants also work on a research proposal that will be worked out and presented on the fifth day.
The following workshops will take place:
Teaching and teachers can be studied from multiple theoretical perspectives. We study teaching from an interpersonal perspective that describes, analyzes and interprets teaching in terms of the teacher-student and teacher-class relationships and the interactions between teachers and students. Such interactions are building blocks for teacher-student relationships that in turn determine interactions. Questions to be answered in this approach are e.g. What determines the character of the teacher-class relationship? How do teachers proceed in building effective teacher-student relationships? What types of teacher-class relationships can be distinguished? How are characteristics of these relationships connected to student cognitive and affective outcomes and to teacher outcomes? How do relationships develop over time? Can student teachers learn how to build positive relationships?
During the two time slots we will discuss the following subjects (amongst others):
3. Differentiation: a critical discussion (Prof. dr. Eddie Denessen)
Not a one-size-fits-all approach, but differentiation is considered the most promising pedagogy to address learner diversity in educational settings. Education policies stress the need to differentiate and teacher evaluations take the differentiation skills of teachers into account when assessing their teaching quality. To identify the quality and effects of differentiation, we should analyse it from multiple disciplines, such as educational psychology, pedagogical sciences, sociology, political science, and philosophy of education. This multidisciplinary perspective gives a fuller account of differentiation in education. In this workshop we will analyse daily practices from multiple disciplines. We will discuss how the case of differentiation can be taken as a starting point for reflecting on other educational problems that might benefit from a multidisciplinary approach.
4. Scaffolding in teacher-student interaction (Dr. Janneke van der Pol)
The concept of scaffolding receives much attention both in educational science and in practice. Scaffolding refers to support that is adapted to students’ understanding, faded over time and is aimed at transferring responsibility of learning to the student (Van de Pol, Volman, & Beishuizen, 2010). Such adaptive teaching practices are highly recommended by the government and the inspectorate of education (e.g., Actieplan leraar 2020; Dutch inspectorate, 2012-2015). A systematic review of the literature showed that there is not much evidence that scaffolding is effective in promoting students’ achievement (Van de Pol et al., 2010). Yet, this review was conducted well over seven years ago. To what extent have these insights changed in the last years and to what extent is the government’s/inspectorate’s advice legitimate? We will explore this topic during the workshop, and we will mainly focus on conceptualisations and effects of scaffolding.
5. Student teachers’ professional identity development (Prof. dr. Paulien Meijer)
In this workshop, we delve into the most profound learning processes that student teacher experience during their first year of teaching. These processes are best understood from the perspective of professional identity development. Along the way, attention is paid to the often more unconventional ways of doing research when trying to get a grip on the process of identity development. The article “Key experiences in student teachers’ development” is an example of the type of research in this area. During the workshop, I will go into the discussions surrounding this type and topic of research, and we will explore how these discussions connect to other types and topics of research.
6. Adaptive mentoring in teacher education (Dr. Ir. Gisbert van Ginkel)
In this workshop, we explore the complex practice of mentoring in teacher education – in which many of the topics addressed in the other sessions in this Course come together. Teacher education programs rely on mentoring relationships to provide student teachers with learning support. Mentor teachers are expected to provide support that is adaptive to the individual student teacher (Hobson, Ashby, Malderez, & Tomlinson, 2009; Kroeze, 2014). Mentor teachers therefore need to create learning opportunities by drawing upon strategic knowledge of teaching, learning to teach and their mentee teacher as a learner (Schwille, 2008). During the workshop, we explore how research can contribute to the knowledge base of mentoring as a professional practice.
7. Teacher learning in professional learning communities (Dr. Harmen Schaap)
Professional learning communities (PLC’s) are increasingly used as a tool to promote teacher professional development and school improvement. Important assumption is that teacher collaboration will lead to teacher learning and to transfer to the school context. Scientifically, and also practically, PLC’s are still subject of discussion about what they are, what make them effective and what factors hinder or promote their effectiveness. Also, PLC’s are studied differently, which impacts the scientific robustness of PLC’s and their manifestation. During this masterclass we will explore different forms of PLC’s, their assumptions, criteria for effectiveness and ways of measuring PLC’s. We will use examples of PLC’s and experiences of teachers to explore specific manifestations of PLC’s.
8. Conceptualizing teacher learning (Dr. Monika Louws)
As teachers are expected to engage in continuous professional development throughout their teaching career, there’s quite a lot of research literature on teacher learning. For example; what makes teachers change their practice, what should teachers learn, what kind of learning activities do teachers engage in, what impact does teacher learning have and how does effective professional development look like, et cetera. These are just a couple perspectives on teacher learning. During the masterclass we will unpack the ways in which teacher learning can be conceptualized. The goal is to draw a concept map of teacher learning and to understand what consequences each perspective can have for studying teacher learning.
Course objectives:
At the end of this Masterclass, students will have gained an overview of the domain of Teaching and Teacher Education and the different perspectives that are present in the domain. In addition they are able to setup a research project that addressed research questions which are relevant for the domain.
Requirements/entry level:
For PhD candidates in educational sciences no entry level is required.
Please let us know beforehand if you are:
- A PhD candidate lacking a background in teacher education and/or not having a master in educational science
- A dual PhD candidate
For PhD candidates lacking a background in teacher education and/or not having a master in educational science, extra reading materials are available. Dual PhD candidates have the possibility to follow only module 1 (= 4 and 5 november); please discuss the possibilities with the course coordinators beforehand.
Course Programme
Meetings:
During the first four meetings, participants attend the expert workshops and prepare these sessions with their peers. In addition, they work on a research proposal that will be worked out and presented on the final day.
Specification of the workload:
The course consists of 3 EC (84 hrs), consisting of 40 hrs meetings and 44 hrs preparation (reading literature, posing questions for discussion).
Dates: 4 and 5 November, 18-20 November
Location: Utrecht
Maximum number of participants: 25
Due the COVID-19 measures the course will be a blended course. Two course dates will be face-2-face in Utrecht, if possible:
4 and 20 November will be at Mariaplaats 3, Utrecht (above Domstad Slaapspecialist).
| Day 1 – 4 november Teaching – social aspects | ||
| 1000-1100 | Introduction to the masterclass | Dr. Dineke Tigelaar Dr. Helma Oolbekkink Loes de Jong, MSc |
| 1115-1200 | Discussion about the literature | |
| 1230-1400 | 1 Interpersonal perspective on teaching | Prof. dr. Jan van Tartwijk Dr. Tim Mainhard |
| 1415-1545 | 2 One on one teacher-student relationships, a teacher’s perspective | Dr. Luce Claessens |
| 1600-1630 | Discussion about workshops | |
| 1630-1700 | Wrap-up (+ start working on research proposal *) | |
| Day 2 – 5 november Teaching – instructional methods | ||
| 1000-1100 | Prepare research proposal | |
| 1115-1200 | Discussion about the literature | |
| 1230-1400 | 3 Differentiation: a critical discussion | Prof. dr. Eddie Denessen |
| 1415-1545 | 4 Teachers’ scaffolding | Dr. Janneke van de Pol |
| 1600-1630 | Discussion about workshops | |
| 1630-1700 | Work on research proposal* | |
| Day 3 – 18 November Teacher education | ||
| 930-1100 | Prepare research proposal | |
| 1115-1200 | Discussion about the literature | |
| 1230-1400 | 5. Student teachers’ professional identity development | Prof. dr. Paulien Meijer |
| 1415-1545 | 6. Adaptive mentoring in teacher education | Dr. Gisbert van Ginkel |
| 1600-1630 | Discussion about workshops | |
| 1630-1700 | Wrap-up (+ work on research proposal) | |
| Day 4 – 19 November Teacher learning | ||
| 930-1100 | Peer feedback on research proposal | |
| 1115-1200 | Discussion about the literature | |
| 1230-1400 | 7. Teacher learning in professional learning communities | Dr. Harmen Schaap |
| 1415-1545 | 8. Conceptualizing teacher learning | Dr. Monika Louws |
| 1600-1630 | Discussion about workshops | |
| 1630-1700 | Wrap-up (+ work on research proposal) | |
| Day 5 – 20 November | ||
| 930-1230 | Group work | |
| 1300-1600 | – Presentations – Feedback expeditieteam lerarenagenda NRO? Monica Louws, Amber Walraven, Wouter Schenke, Ditte Lockhorst – Plenary discussion | |
| 1600-1630 | Wrap-up | |
| 1630-? | Drinks |
* Dual PhD candidates that only follow module one do not join the preparation for the research proposal and receive an other assignment)