Abstract
Teacher-training has been developed through a complex weave of processes, models and theories, founded on experiences in educational settings. In 2015, the Academia Class program was added to teacher-training programs in Israeli academic colleges and universities and added new ways of thinking about student teachers’ practical experience. The program was widely implemented and became the flagship for teacher-training processes in Israel. As part of the program, student teachers and education students in their third year of studies participate in broad practical training for 12−16 weekly hours (for a year) in various educational institutions. Some of the changes engendered meaningful insights and processes that helped to reshape training processes.
This article is derived from qualitative research that was involved in forming new models in teacher training, and offered an improved and enhanced approach to clinical practicum.
Traditional pedagogic instruction is based on a “triangular instruction model” (student/teacher trainer/pedagogic instructor). The present study aims to expand this model by offering a new “pentagonal model.” The pentagonal model incorporates the following roles: student/coach-teacher/pedagogic instructor/coordinator teacher/academic instructor. The proposed model creates an ecosystem based on teacher-training processes and reinforces reciprocal connections, and different figures in new roles. It aims to connect the loose ends among the various participants involved in the practicum process in a more comprehensive and holistic manner. The practicum is performed in real time in the education field, in a clinical manner and is very meaningful for the future teachers’ work.
Research method: Qualitative action research, documenting the expansion of the practical experience model at Ohalo College in northern Isrel. The proposed model is based on the authors’ experience from the past five years, as recorded in protocols, and work papers, as well as many meetings and discussions. It is important to emphasize that the model was tested and gradually improved, becoming refined through a dynamic process using feedback between the college and its students, and between the teachers and the instructors and pedagogic instructors. Participants included more than 500 students, 500 school and kindergarten teachers, and 40 pedagogic instructors, instructors, lecturers and others in relevant roles.
The theoretical framework for the model relies on the concept of Pedagogic Content Knowledge (PCK), which emphasizes and reinforces pedagogic activity in the context of disciplinary knowledge content. In our opinion, the implementation of the model according to the approach described below creates a stable foundation for the student teacher practicum, in a manner appropriate given the current winds of change. The model should be applied in conjunction with essential changes in structural and behavioral policies necessitated by the Academia Class program.
Keywords: PCK, teacher-training, teaching practicum, triangle model
1. Theoretical Background
1.1 Pedagogy, Content, and Practical Experience in the Teaching Practicum
Teacher-training programs are founded on the approach of learning through practical experience. According to Kolb (1986), all learning is based on a repeating, four-stage cycle. Initially, there should be “concrete, practical experience” that affords a significant emotional experience. The second stage involves “reflective observation”, which entails personal reflection and group mirroring concerning the experience, during which insights emerge
about the practical experience. In the third stage, the reflections are used to analyze the experience and form conclusions about the practice, which engenders the beginning of abstract conceptualization. In the last stage of “active experimentation”, the learner tries to understand their lived experience. Thus, the training of all student teachers includes the practical experience of teaching pupils in educational settings as well as critical thinking,
conceptualization about, and implementation of what they learn (Zilberstein, Pnaievski, & Guz, 2005; Zuzovsky & Donitsa-Schmidt, 2017). Theoretical knowledge studied in college courses is translated into practice in the field, and this helps to shape teachers with strong academic abilities and subject-specific knowledge who are able to use practical tools to cope with the challenges in the field (Ran, 2018; Ronfeldt & Reining, 2012). Several
studies indicate that maximum exposure to teaching practice, closely monitored by a teacher trainer, increases the students’ readiness for their role as a teacher (Maskit & Mevurach, 2013), and students report that practical experience is a very meaningful component of their studies (Brandburg & Ryan, 2001; Brett, 2006; Walkington, 2005).
Many studies indicate the importance of shaping teachers’ professional identity through the combination of pedagogic knowledge with the teaching skills that the student acquires during their practicum (Jacob, Hill, & Corey, 2017; Taylor & Cranton, 2012). In contrast, the reality of fieldwork highlights the challenges and gaps in the students’ performance when transferring their theoretical knowledge, gained in their studies, to the practical work of a teacher in the field (Appleton, 2003). These studies indicate that there is room to strengthen the
connections between practical work and theoretical learning, in order to attain the goal of creating metacognitive processes and contexts at all stages of teacher training and practical experience (Wæge & Haugaløkken, 2013).
This approach follows the constructivist construction noted by Shulman (1987) in his description of the connections that form Pedagogic Content Knowledge (PCK).
1.2 Teacher-Training in Israel
In Israel, responsibility for teacher training is divided between two bodies: The Ministry of Education and the Council for Higher Education. Teacher-training programs are based on two different learning tracks: (1) the “parallel” track, in which students acquire knowledge of a particular discipline in parallel with their pedagogic studies. This takes a period of 3−4 years as the students earn their bachelor’s degree and teacher’s certificate; (2) the “cumulative” track, in which the student acquires a bachelor’s degree in a particular discipline and only then begins their teacher training. The training period for teaching is relatively short, as is the practicum in teaching (Zuzovsky & Donitsa-Schmidt, 2017).
1.2.1 Models of Teaching Practicum
There are currently three types of models for teaching practicum in Israel, as outlined below:
In the traditional model, the practicum relies on three roles: the student teacher, the pedagogic instructor, and the teacher trainer. This model does not see the school, the functionaries working in the school, or collaboration of any sort as a significant resource for the training process (Zilberstein, Guz, & Pnaievsky, 2005). The student teacher experiments with a marginal model—that is, most of the learning consists of mimicking the model presented to him of her by the teacher trainer, rather than being based on their own actual teaching experiences (Lahav, 2010). The main assumption of this model is that learning takes place in academic institutions, with practical experience taking place in the school or kindergarten (Zilberstein, Pnaivsky, & Guz, 2005).
The second type of model that is used involves peer models and co-teaching for the student teacher’s professional development. One example of this is the model of Professional Development in School (PDS). This type of model takes a broader, deeper view of practical training. Firstly, practical experience does not only involve “practicing” the material studied in theoretical courses. These collaborative models see the practicum itself as an opportunity for learning, for constructing and internalizing knowledge. In this approach, practical-reflective work is itself considered learning (Zilberstein, Pnaievsky, & Guz, 2005). This model focuses
on organizational aspects such as the encompassing “umbrella” and pedagogical aspects such as the “essence”: The encompassing umbrella consists of long-term communication with selected schools, with a commitment to the overall process and involving large groups of student teachers and many hours of practicum. The “essence” refers to wide-ranging work with the entire school, including individuals in different roles. Thus, student teachers are exposed to different levels of the teacher’s work and participate in learner communities (Ariav, 2014; Ariav & Smith, 2006; Maskit & Mevurach, 2013).
The third type of model that is used are clinical models, such as the “Academia Class” and “Academia Colleague” models. These are founded on a perception of teaching as a technically complex profession that requires the use of dynamic knowledge. Its development was inspired by the medical model, which relies on comprehensive clinical practical experience and emphasizes technical skills, the application of theories, concepts, principles, and interpretations, as well as analysis and action. This experience takes place in parallel with the acquisition of academic theory, which shifts the focus of the training to the school (Ariav, 2014; Kriewaldt & Turnidge, 2018).
Several studies show that this collaborative model has advantages over other training methods in terms of the prevention of student teacher dropout and the achievements of pupils during the first year of novice teachers’ work. It was also found that the student teacher’s sense of self-efficacy improved when they learned and taught pupils in schools as part of their teacher training according to the collegial model (Allen, Ambrosetti, & Turner,
2013; Hoy & Spero, 2005; Naifeld & Nissim, 2019; Latham & Vogt, 2007; Ridley, Hurwitz, Hackett, & Miller, 2005).
