A situated learning model of coteaching was implemented in the weekly field component of a secondary science methods course. Students cotaught by observing and assisting their teacher for one period followed by taking the lead in teaching the same lesson with their teachers' assistance during the following period. Students were peripheral participants, reflecting on both their teacher's practice and their own practice. Data supported four positive outcomes of this model for the methods students: (a) comfort in learning to teach, (b) critical reflection in modeling the teacher's lesson, (c) development of confidence in teaching and managing students, and (d) positive effect of seeing and doing inquiry in practice. All participants supported the continued practice of teaching from the classroom teachers' existing lesson plans. Future research is suggested on how real-time teacher assistance during this model could help the methods students acquire the teaching strategies and habits of their teacher.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Adams, P.E. , & Krockover, G.H. (1997). Concerns and perceptions of beginning secondary science and mathematics teachers. Science Education, 81, 29-50.
2.
Berg, C.A., & Clough, M. (1999). Research on and activities to facilitate partnering in field experiences. Unpublished manuscript, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and University of Iowa.
3.
Borko, H. , Bellamy, M.L., & Sanders, L. (1992). A cognitive analysis of patterns in science instruction by expert and novice teachers. In T. Russell & H. Munby (Eds.), Teachers and teaching: From classroom to reflection (pp. 49-70). London: Falmer.
4.
Borko, H. , & Mayfield, V. (1995). The roles of the cooperating teacher and university supervisor in learning to teach. Teaching and Teacher Education, 11 (5), 501-518.
5.
Bourdieu, P. , & Loic, J.D. (1992). An invitation to reflexive sociology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
6.
Brown, J.S., Collins, A., & Duguid, P. (1989, January-February). Situated cognition and the culture of learning. Educational Researcher, pp. 32-42.
7.
Cole, A.L. , & Knowles, J.G. (2000). Researching teaching: Exploring teacher development through reflexive inquiry. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
8.
Duquette, C. (1996). A field-based teacher education program: Perspectives of student teachers and first-year teachers. Alberta Journal of Educational Research, 42 (4), 396-399.
9.
Flick, L.B. , Keys, C.W., Westbrook, S.L., Crawford, B.A., & Carnes, N.G. (1997, March). Perspectives on inquiryoriented teaching practice: Conflict and clarification. Panel discussion presented at the meeting of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching, Oak Brook, IL.
10.
Grossman, P.L. , Wilson, S.M., & Shulman, L.S. (1989). Teachers of substance: Subject matter knowledge for teaching. In M. Reynolds (Ed.), Knowledge base for beginning teachers (pp. 23-36). New York: Pergamon.
11.
Guba, E.G. , & Lincoln, Y.S. (1989). Fourth generation evaluation. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
12.
Hashweh, M.Z. (1987). Effects of subject-matter knowledge in the teaching of biology and physics. Teaching and Teacher Education, 3 (2), 109-120.
13.
Kagan, D.M. (1993). Laura and Jim and what they taught me about the gap between educational theory and practice. Albany: State University of New York Press.
14.
Latz, M. (1992). Preservice teachers' perceptions and concerns about classroom management and discipline: A qualitative investigation. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 3, 1-4.
15.
Lave, J. (1996). Teaching, as learning, in practice. Mind, Culture, and Activity, 3, 149-164.
16.
Lederman, N.G. , & Gess-Newsome, J. (1991). Metamorphosis, adaptation, or evolution? Preservice science teachers' concerns and perceptions of teaching and planning. Science Education, 75, 443-456.
17.
Lemlech, J.K. , & Hertzog, H.H. (1998, April). Preparing teachers for leadership roles. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Diego, CA.
18.
Lemlech, J.K. , & Hertzog, H.H. (1999, April). Reciprocal teaching and learning: What do master teachers and student teachers learn from each other? Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Montreal, Canada.
19.
Maxwell, J.A. (1996). Qualitative research design: An interactive approach. London: Sage.
20.
McIntyre, J. , Byrd, D., & Foxx, S. (1997). Field and laboratory experiences. In J. Sikula (Ed.), Handbook of research on teacher education (pp. 171-193). New York: Simon & Schuster Macmillan.
21.
National Research Council . (1996). National science education standards. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
22.
Pilarski, M. (1994). Student teachers: Underprepared for classroom management?Teaching Education, 6(1), 77-80.
23.
Prawat, R.S. (1992). Teachers' beliefs about teaching and learning: Aconstructivist perspective. American Journal of Education, 100, 354-395.
24.
Reason, P. (1998). Three approaches to participative inquiry. In N.K. Denzin & Y.S. Lincoln (Eds.), Strategies of qualitative inquiry (pp. 261-291). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
25.
Rodriguez, A.J. (1993). A dose of reality: Understanding the origin of the theory/practice dichotomy in teacher education from the students' point of view. Journal of Teacher Education, 44, 213-221.
26.
Roth, W. (1998). Science teaching as knowledgability: A case study of knowing and learning during coteaching. Science Education, 82, 357-377.
27.
Roth, W. , & Boyd, N. (1999). Coteaching, as colearning, is praxis. Research in Science Education, 29, 51-67.
28.
Roth, W. , Masciotra, D., & Boyd, N. (1999). Becoming-in-the-classroom: A case study of teacher development through coteaching. Teaching and Teacher Education, 15, 771-784.
29.
Roth, W., & Tobin, K. (2000). Toward an epistemology of teaching as practice. Manuscript submitted for publication.
30.
Shulman, L.S. (1987). Knowledge and teaching: Foundations of new reform. Harvard Educational Review, 57(1), 1-22.
31.
Strauss, A. , & Corbin, J. (1990). Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
32.
Welch, W.W. , Klopfer, L.E., Aikenhead, G.S., & Robinson, J.T. (1981). The role of inquiry in science education: Analysis and recommendations. Science Education, 65, 33-50.
33.
Wideen, M. , Mayer-Smith, J., & Moon, B. (1998). Acritical analysis of the research on learning to teach: Making the case for an ecological perspective on inquiry. Review of Educational Research, 68 (2), 130-178.
34.
Zeichner, K. (1980). Myths and realities: Field-based experiences in preservice teacher education. Journal of Teacher Education, 31, 45-55.
