ERIC Number: EJ1333106
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020
Pages: 22
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1923-1857
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Available Date: N/A
Link2Practice: A Model of Ongoing Teacher and Teacher Candidate Professional Learning
Sanford, Kathy; Robertson, Kerry; Hopper, Timothy; Collyer, Vivian; Lancaster, Laura
Alberta Journal of Educational Research, v66 n3 p325-346 Fall 2020
A common complaint about teacher education programs is that it follows a linear model--where theory and teaching skills are learned at the university and then applied in practicum experiences--that is inadequate and does not accurately represent teacher candidates'(TC) experiences (Brouwer & Korthagen, 2005; Korthagen, Loughran & Russell, 2006). Indeed, teacher education programs have long been faced with the challenge of a "theory/practice divide", creating what has been seen as a mechanistic separation between university programs (where it is implied theory is learned) and the practicum (where it is implied skills and strategies are learned). This divide continues once teacher candidates become teachers in their own classrooms, where the divide further widens by valuing of the practical over the theoretical. We need a new frame of reference to understand teacher education as a whole (throughout a professional career), as emerging from interconnected, non-linear, and at times unpredictable structures. Teacher education programs should form in relation to teacher professional learning, student learning, and the realities of dynamically evolving modern-day schools. In our institutions, the ongoing tension between learning sites of campus and schools is reduced in the teacher education partnership called Link2Practice, where TCs' courses are integrated in a school district program with teachers who are making inquiries into their practice. This partnership responds to the increasing need for educators to understand and remain current about the interactions between TCs, K-12 public schools' students and the pedagogy practices, informed by theory, that they advocate. This paper describes the development of the Link2Practice model and discusses its importance for teacher education.
Descriptors: Faculty Development, Teacher Education Programs, Practicums, Theory Practice Relationship, Partnerships in Education, School Districts, Preservice Teachers, Inquiry, Educational Practices, Cooperating Teachers, Kindergarten, Elementary Secondary Education, Teaching Methods, Program Development, Transformative Learning
University of Alberta, Faculty of Education. 845 Education Centre South, Edmonton, AB T6G 2G5, Canada. Tel: 780-492-7941; Fax: 780-492-0236; Web site: https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/ajer/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education; Early Childhood Education; Elementary Education; Kindergarten; Primary Education; Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A