Becoming a Teacher Educator
For this artifact/reflection pairing, I selected a section of a syllabus I worked on as part of an internship with a class for pre-service teachers, called Issues in Secondary Education. This was a unique behind-the-scenes look at the job of teaching future teachers. The entire syllabus isn't relevant for this space, therefore only the Course Schedule appears below. My reflection appears after the artifact.
My Version of the Course Schedule from EDUC 450 Syllabus
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Reflection
As a part of my doctoral coursework in the Fall of 2019, I interned with a professor for her section of Issues in Secondary Education. Several of the students were also enrolled in a section of the field experience class for which I was the instructor of record. The experience was invaluable. I was able to see the way an expert teacher educator organized the material and arranged the classes so that she could model effective pedagogy for the pre-service teachers (PSTs).
As a culminating assignment for the internship, I created a version of the syllabus I would use if I were going to teach the class. This was helpful because it allowed me to start thinking like a teacher educator during my first year of doctoral work. It was helpful to think through what content belongs in which class, how much reading to assign, how to sequence the content, what to anticipate regarding students background knowledge of the course subjects, and more. The section I included above captures my thinking about how I would arrange the class readings and assignments. I adapted my work from the syllabus of Dr. Laura Haniford, who taught the course and with whom I interned.
The internship was also beneficial for the students/PSTs who were able to put a face with a name they see in emails, since the course I taught only had an online component and did not meet in a physical location. This allowed me to start building a rapport with them, which in turn has given me several opportunities to field their questions about teaching and to begin my teacher education practice. This experience makes me wonder how beneficial it would be to have university supervisors come into the classrooms to interact with the students so they aren’t as nervous about their observations. It could be more of a collaborative experience instead of a largely confusing situation where the PSTs have little insight into who will be evaluating them and what they might expect to see. In my own experience, I can remember not having a clear idea about what the university supervisor’s role was other than to observe me and evaluate my teaching. I didn’t have a relationship with her. We only met a few times, and our only communication outside of the observation meetings was to schedule the observations and meetings. Now that I’m on the other side of things, I can see the benefit of actually getting to know the pre-service teachers and letting them get to know their supervisor.
I have to give a lot of the credit for these realizations to my colleague, Jackie. Not only is Jackie working as a teacher and participating in the doctoral program full-time, she is also a university supervisor. As an intern, I am privileged to be able to listen as the pre-service teachers talk about how much she has helped them through a crazy amount of problems. The students love Jackie. She is an incredible cheerleader and emotional support for pre-service teachers. I can see the positive effect she has on our future teachers, and I know that incorporating the university supervisors more closely into the fabric of the program will improve UNM's teacher education program.
After reading the last three articles in the EDUC 602 course reader (Dinkelman, 2011; Goodwin, Roegman, & Reagan, 2016; Murray & Male, 2005), I have even more appreciation for the internship experience. According to the articles it takes about three years to make the transition from teacher to teacher educator. This is made especially difficult by the duality of the profession. At once a professor must be an expert pedagogue, able to teach the art of teaching based on theory. At the same time, the professor is expected to conduct and publish scholarly research on a regular basis. The internship gave me a leg up with regard to the expert pedagogue aspect of my new role, but when it comes to research, I am temporarily at a loss.
I want to find a way to get some early experience with research as well. I’d like to find a professor who is doing research that I can help with and do some writing for publication. I am beginning to realize that all of the projects I've done with students could be turned into articles. I just don't know where to begin or how to go about publishing anything. That will be my next focus. Stay tuned for links to published articles!
References
Dinkelman, T. (2011). Framing a teacher educator identity: Uncertain standards, practice and relationships. Journal of Education for Teaching, 37(3), 309-323. https://search-ebscohost-com.libproxy.unm.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ933056&site=eds-live&scope=site
Goodwin, A. L., Roegman, R., & Reagan, E. M. (2016). Is experience the best teacher? Extensive clinical practice and mentor teachers’ perspectives on effective teaching. Urban Education, 51(10), 1198–1225. https://doi-org.libproxy.unm.edu/10.1177/0042085915618720
Murray, J. & Male, T. (2005). Becoming a teacher educator: Evidence from the field. Teaching and Teacher Education, 21, 125-142. https://doi-org.libproxy.unm.edu/10.1016/j.tate.2004.12.006
As a culminating assignment for the internship, I created a version of the syllabus I would use if I were going to teach the class. This was helpful because it allowed me to start thinking like a teacher educator during my first year of doctoral work. It was helpful to think through what content belongs in which class, how much reading to assign, how to sequence the content, what to anticipate regarding students background knowledge of the course subjects, and more. The section I included above captures my thinking about how I would arrange the class readings and assignments. I adapted my work from the syllabus of Dr. Laura Haniford, who taught the course and with whom I interned.
The internship was also beneficial for the students/PSTs who were able to put a face with a name they see in emails, since the course I taught only had an online component and did not meet in a physical location. This allowed me to start building a rapport with them, which in turn has given me several opportunities to field their questions about teaching and to begin my teacher education practice. This experience makes me wonder how beneficial it would be to have university supervisors come into the classrooms to interact with the students so they aren’t as nervous about their observations. It could be more of a collaborative experience instead of a largely confusing situation where the PSTs have little insight into who will be evaluating them and what they might expect to see. In my own experience, I can remember not having a clear idea about what the university supervisor’s role was other than to observe me and evaluate my teaching. I didn’t have a relationship with her. We only met a few times, and our only communication outside of the observation meetings was to schedule the observations and meetings. Now that I’m on the other side of things, I can see the benefit of actually getting to know the pre-service teachers and letting them get to know their supervisor.
I have to give a lot of the credit for these realizations to my colleague, Jackie. Not only is Jackie working as a teacher and participating in the doctoral program full-time, she is also a university supervisor. As an intern, I am privileged to be able to listen as the pre-service teachers talk about how much she has helped them through a crazy amount of problems. The students love Jackie. She is an incredible cheerleader and emotional support for pre-service teachers. I can see the positive effect she has on our future teachers, and I know that incorporating the university supervisors more closely into the fabric of the program will improve UNM's teacher education program.
After reading the last three articles in the EDUC 602 course reader (Dinkelman, 2011; Goodwin, Roegman, & Reagan, 2016; Murray & Male, 2005), I have even more appreciation for the internship experience. According to the articles it takes about three years to make the transition from teacher to teacher educator. This is made especially difficult by the duality of the profession. At once a professor must be an expert pedagogue, able to teach the art of teaching based on theory. At the same time, the professor is expected to conduct and publish scholarly research on a regular basis. The internship gave me a leg up with regard to the expert pedagogue aspect of my new role, but when it comes to research, I am temporarily at a loss.
I want to find a way to get some early experience with research as well. I’d like to find a professor who is doing research that I can help with and do some writing for publication. I am beginning to realize that all of the projects I've done with students could be turned into articles. I just don't know where to begin or how to go about publishing anything. That will be my next focus. Stay tuned for links to published articles!
References
Dinkelman, T. (2011). Framing a teacher educator identity: Uncertain standards, practice and relationships. Journal of Education for Teaching, 37(3), 309-323. https://search-ebscohost-com.libproxy.unm.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ933056&site=eds-live&scope=site
Goodwin, A. L., Roegman, R., & Reagan, E. M. (2016). Is experience the best teacher? Extensive clinical practice and mentor teachers’ perspectives on effective teaching. Urban Education, 51(10), 1198–1225. https://doi-org.libproxy.unm.edu/10.1177/0042085915618720
Murray, J. & Male, T. (2005). Becoming a teacher educator: Evidence from the field. Teaching and Teacher Education, 21, 125-142. https://doi-org.libproxy.unm.edu/10.1016/j.tate.2004.12.006