{"id":8921,"date":"2019-09-18T21:02:27","date_gmt":"2019-09-18T21:02:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/citejournal.org\/\/\/"},"modified":"2020-02-24T16:21:21","modified_gmt":"2020-02-24T16:21:21","slug":"the-use-and-utility-of-video-representations-in-early-social-studies-field-experiences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citejournal.org\/volume-19\/issue-4-19\/social-studies\/the-use-and-utility-of-video-representations-in-early-social-studies-field-experiences","title":{"rendered":"The Use and Utility of Video Representations in Early Social Studies Field Experiences"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Major reform efforts in teacher\neducation over the last decade have focused on improving the quality of field\nexperiences (American Association of Colleges for Teacher\nEducation, 2018; National\nCouncil for Accreditation of Teacher Education, 2010; National Research Council, 2010). In many cases,\nreform agendas featured attempts to increase the quantity of time candidates\nspent in classrooms (Darling-Hammond, 2014). Merely accumulating more hours in\nthe field, however, does not automatically result in high-quality learning-to-teach\nexperiences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Field experiences are complex ecosystems that require intentional and skilled navigation by teacher candidates and program personnel (Cuenca & Benko, 2017; Valencia, Martin, Place, & Grossman, 2009). Consequently, a more productive reform route for teacher education might focus on surfacing the features of field experiences that yield greater opportunities to learn to teach. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This paper focuses on the aspects\nof field experiences that contribute to teacher learning. More specifically, we\ndescribe the perspectives of preservice teachers during an early field\nexperience semester in a secondary social studies teacher education program.\nOstensibly, as an introduction to teaching and learning, early field\nexperiences have an important place within the curriculum of teacher education.\nYet, research is sparse on how candidates\u2019 experiences in early field\nexperiences promote (or fail to promote) learning to teach (Clift & Brady,\n2005). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The study described here focused\non the use of video representations as a tool to promote learning about\nteaching during an early field experience. We engaged in our inquiry by asking\nthe following research question: How does the analysis of videos of exemplary\nteachers influence preservice social studies teachers\u2019 observations of social\nstudies classrooms during early field experiences? This study not only provided\ninsight into the operation of an early field experience but also, and perhaps\nmore importantly, how a social studies teacher education program leveraged\nearly field experiences to prepare teachers to observe and recognize how\nstudents learn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Early Field Experiences\nand Video Representations in Teacher Education <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
We relied on two distinct but\noverlapping bodies of literature to shape our inquiry: early field experiences\nand video representations in teacher education. Within the broad landscape of\nresearch on field experiences in teacher education, a persistent obstacle to teacher\nlearning has been the bifurcation of the teacher education curriculum. In\nshort, the design of most teacher education programs compartmentalizes\n\u201clearning to think like a teacher\u201d to university coursework and \u201clearning to\nact like a teacher\u201d to field experiences (Feiman-Nemser, 2008; Zeichner, 2010).\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In many cases, these two learning\nexperiences have different expectations for success and can provide preservice\nteachers with conflicting messages about professionalism, pedagogy, and\nrelationships between knowledge and practice (Smagorinsky, Cook, Moore,\nJackson, & Fry, 2004). The fundamental flaw in the common design of the\nteacher education curriculum is that the connections between university and\nschool-based learning are perceived as self-evident. Because teaching is a\ncomplex act, teacher education programs must be intentional, not haphazard,\nabout cultivating preservice teachers\u2019 understandings of the connections\nbetween teacher thinking and teacher actions (Korthagen, 2010).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Accordingly, the most successful preservice\npreparation programs leverage field experiences to help candidates situate\ntheoretical learning in practice (Darling-Hammond, 2005). As Feiman-Nemser\n(2001) noted, purposeful and integrated field experiences are carefully\nsequenced placements \u201cthat make it possible for teacher candidates to see and\npractice the kind of teaching they are learning about in their courses as they\nmove from observation to limited participation to full responsibility with\nappropriate modeling and supervision\u201d (p. 1024). In particular, the early field\nexperience within a teacher education program ideally serves as an opportunity\nto approach the classroom as an emerging professional, identify the\nprofessional intentions behind enactments of practices and routines, and engage\nin experiences that ground the discourse of teacher preparation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although research on early field\nexperiences is scant (Clift & Brady, 2005), studies have revealed a variety\nof approaches. In some cases, early field experiences are designed to provide preservice\nteachers with opportunities to engage in smaller scale pedagogical experiences,\nsuch as tutoring or working with small groups. Preservice teachers in these\nstudies are allowed to \u201ctry on the role of teacher\u201d (Catapano & Thompson,\n2013; Washburn-Moses, Kopp, & Hettersimer, 2012) before taking on greater\nclassroom responsibilities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Other studies reveal that early\nfield experiences are structured similarly to the student teaching experience\nbut feature more support from the university or school faculty (Capraro,\nCapraro, & Helfeldt, 2010; Watson, Miller, & Patty, 2011). Yet, another\ncategory of studies reveals that early field experiences are used to cultivate\nthe reflective and self-evaluative capacities of preservice teachers through scaffolding\ntechniques such as reflection assignments (Welsh & Schaffer, 2017),\npeer-evaluation (Anderson, Barksdale, & Hite, 2005), or self-analysis\n(Baecher, Kung, Jewkes, & Rosalia, 2013).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this study, we recognized the\ncritical role of early field experiences in learning to teach and the need for\nteacher education experiences to be intentional in cultivating preservice\nteachers\u2019 understandings of the connections between teacher thinking and\nteacher actions. However, we also realized that without\npreparation to observe classroom settings, preservice teachers tend to \u201cfocus\non superficial matters such as teacher and student characteristics, fleeting\nclassroom management issues and global judgments of lesson effectiveness\u201d\n(Castro, Clark, Jacobs, & Givvin, 2005, p. 11). Accordingly, we explored how a social studies\nteacher education program leveraged video analysis during early field\nexperience to help preservice teachers explore the nuance, complexity, and\ninterconnectedness of classroom practice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although video representations are\ncommon in teacher education programs (Grossman, 2005), we examined the unique\ncontributions of video representations of exemplary teachers in broadening preservice\nteachers\u2019 perspectives during live observations of classroom teachers. The research literature on the uses of video representations in teacher\neducation demonstrates an array of benefits. Grossman et al. (2009) acknowledged that providing preservice\nteachers with opportunities to analyze videos of exemplary classroom practice\nhelped them identify the visible and invisible facets of practice; learn to\ninvestigate practice; and reflect on their emerging identities as educators. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Other\nstudies have illustrated how the analysis of video representations provide preservice\nteachers with greater access to a wider range of classroom experiences than\ntraditional observations (Ball & Cohen, 1999; Bayram, 2012; Welsch &\nDevlin, 2006). For example, analysis of video representations helps preservice\nteachers slow down the teaching process (Santagata, Zannoni, & Stigler,\n2007), allowing for more opportunities to unpack the interactive nature of\npractice (Cuthrell, Steadman, Stapleton, & Hodge, 2016). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Viewing\nvideo representations of teaching can also result in more in-depth observations.\nAs Seidel, St\u00fcrmer, Blomberg, Kobarg, and Schwindt (2011) recognized, \u201cHaving\nteachers watch videotaped examples of classroom situations provides an\nopportunity to investigate the points at which teachers pause and comment and\nthe aspects that attract their attention\u201d (p. 260). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Other\nstudies have documented additional positive attributes of video representations,\nsuch as serving as a bridge between theory and practice (Abell & Cennamo,\n2004; Gomez, Sherin, Griesdorn, & Finn, 2008; Korthagen & Kessels, 1999;\nLlinares & Valls, 2009; Moreno & Ortegano-Layne, 2008), eliciting\nknowledge-based activation and reasoning (Santagata & Angelici, 2010; van\nEs & Sherin, 2002), and promoting a professional vision based on noticing\nand selective attention (Borko, Jacobs, Eiteljorg, & Pittman, 2008; Castro\net al., 2005;). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because\nvideo representations of exemplary teachers allow prospective teachers to learn\nabout classroom dynamics without having to learn to process these dynamics in\nreal time, video analysis can play an important role in shaping the\nopportunities to learn during early field experiences. Helping preservice\nteachers intentionally think about and notice the complexities of classroom\nlife is important to cultivate critically minded educators capable of analyzing\nand reflecting upon teaching and learning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Given\nour focus on the early field experience, however, this study contributes to the\nbroad teacher education literature some insights into the utility of video\nrepresentations for preservice teachers at the beginning of their learning\ntrajectory. Ideally, understanding how video representations of practice serves\npreservice teacher learning during early field experiences can also lead to\nother inquiries about ways to further learning through video in other\ncurricular and field experiences within the teacher education curriculum. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Research Methodology,\nContext, and Methods<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
This\nresearch was informed by the theoretical perspective that teacher learning is\nshaped by the social and cultural influences constantly negotiated through\nsocial interaction. Sociocultural theory in teacher education research suggests\nthat \u201clearning to teach takes place in various \u2018activity settings\u2019 that contain\ntools, artifacts, and message systems\u201d (Rosaen & Florio-Ruane, 2008, p.\n709). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
From this perspective, knowing and doing are reciprocal, as knowledge is situated in the physical and social contexts in which an activity takes place (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Putnam & Borko, 2000). Thus, focusing on the settings in which teacher education takes place, such as the early field experience, reveals \u201cthe kinds of social structures that promote the appropriation of pedagogical and conceptual tools that, in turn, result in particular kinds of teaching\u201d (Grossman, Smagorinsky, & Valencia, 1999, p. 24). Moreover, because the early field experience in this sociocultural study asked students to move between university and school sites, it examined the conditions under which successful participation in activity in one type of situation facilitated successful participation in other types of similar situations (Peressini, Borko, Romagnano, Knuth, & Willis, 2004). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The course that served as the\nfocus of our study was EDU 303: Early Field Experience in Social Studies\nEducation, the first field experience in a three-semester sequence of a\nsecondary social studies teacher education program at a large public university\nin the Midwestern United States. The course was offered during the spring\nsemester and was designed to be taken in conjunction with the social studies\nfoundations course. The following fall semester, students partook in a second,\nmore intensive field experience along with a social studies methods course. The\nsequence then concluded with a semester-long student teaching experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
EDU 303 required students to spend\ntwo class periods in social studies classrooms each week throughout the\nsemester. Because it was the first sustained field experience in a social\nstudies classroom, the first 8 weeks of the experience were focused on\npreparing students to observe the intricacies, idiosyncrasies, and nuances of\nteaching and learning in a social studies classroom. The remaining 7 weeks were\nfocused on learning to design and execute classroom instruction. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Each of the first 8 weeks,\nstudents were given one observation protocol (see Figure 1 for \u201cuse of\nclassroom space\u201d protocol), and reflective assignments that focused them on one\nparticular aspect of teaching and\/or learning during the early field\nexperience: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Use of classroom space; <\/li>
Teacher\/student interactions; <\/li>
Learner interactions; <\/li>
Planning lessons; <\/li>
Classroom learning; <\/li>
Using prior knowledge; <\/li>
Assessment practices; and <\/li>
Adaption of practice. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
Figure 1<\/strong>. Sample observation protocol questions: Observing classroom space <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The observation protocols were developed by Conklin (2015) and adapted by the Cuenca, the instructor of the course, to help preservice teachers focus on specific dimensions of practice. To practice their observation skills, preservice teachers also participated in a weekly seminar where they watched and discussed a video representation of exemplary practice using the same protocol used during their field observations. After watching the videos, preservice teachers engaged in small group and whole class discussions of the video representations using the protocol questions as prompts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n