Linking teachers’ personal practice and theories on teaching: using multi-method triangulation for examing Teachers Knowledge
Author(s):
Conference:
ECER 2010
Format:
Paper

Session Information

27 SES 05 C, The Knowledge of Teachers in Professional Development

Paper Session

Time:
2010-08-26
08:30-10:00
Room:
M.B. SALI 13, Päärakennus / Main Building
Chair:
Bernard Schneuwly

Contribution

1. Objectives The objective of the research is to examine the teachers knowledge through a case study mixed method and puts eyes on the Italian teachers’ daily life and their experiences, including their informal learning, behaviours, beliefs, feelings, contexts, and makes an attempt to understand the teachers’ personal practical knowledge and theories on teaching, which sifts all the policies, theories, and training materials and then the productions of the filter rather than the policies themselves will affect teachers. The study should be the starting point of the teacher education, growth is crucial in enhancing in-service and pre-service practices of learning to teach.

Method

This study used a case study mixed Method research strategy (Merriam, 1998).Multiple methods are used for the collection of evidence (semi-structured interview, critical incident, concepts mapping, video stimulated recall-interview of a classroom lesson). Data analysis is summed up by Merriam (1998) as a process of making sense out of data, the goal of qualitative data analysis being communicating undestanding.

Expected Outcomes

The concepts classified allow us to observe and explain possible interpretations of teachers knowledge, experience, informal learning, behaviours, belifes of their teaching. The research offers some useful suggestions about the methodological contribution for the retrieval and the analysis of narrative data, the elaboration of a network among all the elements analyzed, defining some characteristics and contents of teachers’ personal practice and theories, and their knowledge about teaching. From a methodological perspective multi-method triangulation can produce interesting results on teaching knowledge and awareness about teachers’ personal and professional growth.

References

Beijaard, D., Korthagen, F., Verloop, N. (2007). Understanding how teachers learn as a prerequisite for promoting teacher learning, in Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, Vol. 13, Issue 2, pp. 105-108. Beijaard, D., Meijer P.C., Morine-Dershimer, G., Harm, T. (eds) (2005). Teacher Professional Development in Changing Conditions, Springer, Dordrecht (NL). Cochran Smith M., Lytle S.L. (1999), The Teacher Research Movement. A Decade Later, in Educational Researcher, 28, 7, pp. 15-25. Cornett J.W., Chase K.S., Miller P., Schrock D., Bennett B.J., Goins A., Hammond C. (1992), Insight from the Analysis of Our Own Theorizing: The Viewpoint of Seven Teachers, in Ross E.W., Cornett J.W., MacCutcheon G. (1992), Teacher Personal Theorizing Connecting Curriculum Practice, Theory and Research, State University of New York, Albany (NY), pp. 137-157. Kunowski. M.A.(2005).Teaching about the Treaty of Waitangi: Examining the nature of teacher knowledge and classroom practice. Doctoral thesis. Griffith University, Australia. Meijer P.C. (1999), Teachers'Practical Knowledge.Teaching Reading Comprehension in Secondary Education. Doctoral thesis. Leiden University, Leiden (NL). Meijer P.C., Verloop N., Beijard D. (2002), Multi-Method Triangulation in a Qualitative Study on Teachers' Practical Knowledge: An Attempt to Increase Internal Validity, in Quality & Quantity, 36, 145-167. Meijer P.C., Zanting A., Verloop N. (2002), How Can Student Tearchers Elicit Experienced Teachers’ Practical Knowledge? Suggestions and Significance, in Journal Teacher Education, 53, 5, pp. 406-419. Merriam S.B. (1998). Qualitative research and case study application in education, San Francisco : Jossey Bass. Strauss J., Corbin A. (1990), Basic of Qualitative Research, Grounded Theory Procedures and Techniques, Newburry Park: Sage. Riessman, C. K. (1993). Narrative analysis, Sage: Thousand Oaks. Shulman, L. S. (1986), Those who understand: knowledge growth in teaching, in Educational researcher, n.15, pp.4-14.

Author Information

University of Trieste
Muggia

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