ERIC Number: EJ738761
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2006-Jul
Pages: 25
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0161-4681
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
From Coherence in Theory to Coherence in Practice
Hammerness, Karen
Teachers College Record, v108 n7 p1241-1265 Jul 2006
Historically, one of the central concerns that has plagued the field of teacher education is the observation that "fragmentation" characterizes the experience of learning to teach. Too often, university-based teacher education programs consist of a set of disconnected individual courses; separate clinical work from coursework; and lack a vision of teaching and learning. Therefore, some teacher educators have argued that creating structurally and conceptually coherent programs will result in more powerful learning for prospective teachers. Yet, although empirical work on such programs is growing, there is little research on the nature of coherence and on how it might develop. To that end, this article documents one teacher education program's efforts to become more coherent, focusing on the ways in which the program tries to become more coherent and on the challenges of coherence. The article concludes with implications for teacher education program design and evaluation, with a focus on the power, complexity, and problems of coherence.
Descriptors: Teacher Education, Teacher Education Programs, Program Design, Program Evaluation, Curriculum Development
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A