Die Bezeichnung „Wochenartikel“ ist wohl nicht ganz korrekt, denn ich veröffentliche hier längst nicht jede Woche einen Artikel, das war wohl einmal Wunschdenken…
Aber manche Artikel finde ich “ zumindest bezogen auf meine Interessensgebiete “ so spannend, dass ich sie hier gerne kurz zusammengefasst vorstelle, so auch den nachfolgenden Review-Artikel von Hoffman et al. (2015) mit dem Titel: What can we learn from studying the coaching interactions between cooperating teachers and preservice teachers?
Die Autoren nehmen an, dass das Lernen des Lehrens vor allem in der Praxis stattfindet und sprechen von einem practicum turn:
«University-based preservice teacher education is in a state of transition from a training model that emphasizes the acquisition of skills and mastering of competencies (Sandefur & Nicklas, 1981) to a practice-based model that emphasizes participation, engagement, and reflection (Grossman & McDonald, 2008; Zeichner, 2010). This transition (described by Mattesson, Eilerston, & Rorrison, 2012 as a practicum turn in teacher education) draws on the growing understanding of learning and teaching as experiential, social and expansive within a cognitive apprenticeship framework (Brown, Collins, & Duguid, 1989)» (vgl. ebd., S. 100).
Wenn also ein solcher practicum turn angenommen wird, dann kommt vor allem auch den Praxislehrpersonen eine besondere Stellung zu.
«This practice-based turn brings to the forefront the critical role that cooperating teachers play in teacher preparation as the primary mediators of field experiences in preservice teacher education. […] If there is to be a transformation in the ways in which teachers are being prepared then clearly there must be closer attention to the role of the cooperating teacher in mediating these practicum experiences» (vgl. ebd., S. 100).
Meiner Ansicht nach korrekt schliessen die Autoren, dass es vor allem die Interaktionen zwischen den Praxislehrpersonen und den zukünftigen Studierenden sind, welchen eine zentrale Stellung beim Lernen zukommt, denn Studierendenunterricht wird i.d.R. von den Praxislehrpersonen beobachtet und diese geben den Studierenden ein Feedback und/oder planen mit den Studierenden gemeinsam deren Lektionen, so wie dies zum Beispiel im Modell des Fachspezifisch-Pädagogischen Coachings (West & Staub, 2003) vorgesehen ist.
«Cooperating teachers use talk not only to describe their own decision-making and reflection but also to nurture the learning of the preservice teachers in the context of practice. This nurturing work around practice directed toward growth has come to be referred to in terms of ˜coaching» (vgl. ebd., S. 101).
In ihrem Review untersuchen die Autoren mit Hilfe von 46 Studien folgende Frage: What has research revealed about the coaching interactions between cooperating teachers coaching preservice teachers around practice?
Sie gruppieren die Ergebnisse thematisch und kommen zu vier Haupt-Bereichen mit je einer unterschiedlichen Anzahl von Ergebnissen/Thesen (vgl. die nachfolgende Zusammenstellung aus dem Inhaltsverzeichnis des Artikels).
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Area 1: Current practices and conditions (findings 1-4)
- Finding 1: Cooperating teachers are mostly unprepared for the coaching role they take on
- Finding 2: Untrained cooperating teachers tend to rely on evaluative feedback
- Finding 3: Debriefing conferences between cooperating teachers and preservice teachers focused more on planning or instructional actions of the preservice teachers than on reflective coaching conversations
- Finding 4: Cooperating teachers used more speaking time and initiated more topics than their preservice teachers during conferences
Area 2: Innovations in practice (findings 5-7)
- Finding 5: The types of coaching engaged in by cooperating teachers is not fixed; training in specific models of coaching can lead to changes in a cooperating teacher’s coaching practices
- Finding 6: Bringing inservice teachers together to study coaching practices had positive results on their professional development
- Finding 7: Research comparing the influence of cooperating teachers and university supervisors has shown mixed results with a general finding of both as influential e but not always
Area 3: Relationships and tensions (findings 8-11)
- Finding 8: The relationship between cooperating teacher and preservice teacher is an important consideration within a mentoring ¨model
- Finding 9: Cooperating teachers consider their primary purpose as support to their preservice teachers. Those cooperating teachers who challenge their preservice teachers see it as a secondary
- Finding 10: Cooperating teachers feel tension between their responsibilities as a teacher to their students and as a mentor to their preservice teacher
- Finding 11: Preservice teachers express frustration when they don’t receive direct feedback
Area 4: Local contexts and teaching practices (findings 12-14)
- Finding 12: Cooperating teachers‘ beliefs and patterns of interaction are influenced by their local and national context
- Finding 13: Cooperating teachers‘ coaching reflects their teaching practices with students in their own classrooms
- Finding 14: Coaching experiences can lead to reexamination of cooperating teachers‘ own practices and beliefs
Ich lasse diese Ergebnisse/Thesen einmal unkommentiert stehen, sie scheinen mir insgesamt aber gut nachvollziehbar zu sein. Die Autoren selber ziehen Schlüsse auf drei Ebenen (vgl. ebd., S. 110):
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First, there is evidence in this body of research that direct support for cooperating teachers around coaching can lead to change. There is an opportunity here, for teacher education programs in transition from a competency perspective toward a more practice based perspective on teacher learning, to draw on cooperating teachers as a resource in making programs more powerful.
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Second, there is an indication of a close relationship between a teacher’s classroom practices and coaching practices. Classroom teachers who engage with their own students in instruction that is focused on principles of experiential learning, who are themselves thoughtfully adaptive in their teaching, and who take an appreciative/scaffolding stance toward their students‘ learning can adapt these practices to the mentoring and coaching of preservice teachers.
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A third finding relates to the breadth of scholarship represented in studies conducted across different countries and regions of the world. Not only does this finding suggest that work with cooperating teachers is broadly viewed as significant and important, it also provides an opportunity for us to examine strategies for working with cooperating teachers across culturally, politically, and institutionally contexts that vary. The slight increase in publications since 2009 on the topic of coaching with preservice teachers seems largely attributable to the growth in international work.
Quelle: Hoffman, J. V., Wetzel, M. M., Maloch, B., Greeter, E., Taylor, L., DeJulio, S. & Vlach, S. K. (2015). What can we learn from studying the coaching interactions between cooperating teachers and preservice teachers? A literature review. Teaching and Teacher Education, 52, 99-112.