Becoming a teacher : : Research on the work-integrated learning of student teachers / / Josef de Beer, Neal Petersen, Herman J. Van Vuuren.

• Superior document: NWU self-directed learning series
• VerfasserIn: Beer, Josef de,; Van Vuuren, Herman J.,; Petersen, Neal,
• TeilnehmendeR: Van Vuuren, Herman J.,; Petersen, Neal,
• Place / Publishing House: Cape Town, South Africa : : AOSIS,, 2020.
• Year of Publication: 2020
• Language: English
• Series: NWU self-directed learning series.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (xxxviii, 431 pages) :; illustrations.

This book disseminates original research on learning in and from practice in pre-service teacher education. Authors such as Lederman and Lederman describe the student teaching practicum (or work-integrated learning [WIL]), which is an essential component of pre-service teacher education, as the 'elephant in the room'. These authors note that 'the capstone experience in any teacher education programme is the student teaching practicum ... [a]fter all, this is where the rubber hits the road'. However, many teacher educators will agree that this WIL component is sometimes very insufficient in assisting the student teacher to develop their own footing and voice as a teacher. This is the 'gap' that this research book addresses. Most of the chapters in the book report empirical data, with the exception of two chapters that can be categorized as systematic reviews. WIL is addressed from various angles in the chapters. Chapter 6 focuses on research related to what makes Finnish teacher education so effective, and in Chapter 4 researchers of the University of Johannesburg disseminate their findings on establishing a teaching school (based on Finnish insights) in Johannesburg. Chapter 3 highlights the challenges faced in open-and distance learning teacher education contexts. Several of the chapters disseminate research findings on alternative interventions to classic WIL, namely, where "safe spaces" or laboratories are created for student teachers to learn and grow professionally. These could either be simulations, such as software programmes and avatars in the intervention described in Chapter 2; student excursions, as the findings in chapters 5, 7 and 10 portray; or alternative approaches to WIL (e.g. Chapters 11 and 12). The book is devoted to scholarship in the field of pre-service teacher education. The target audience is scholars working in the fields of pre-service teacher education, work-integrated learning, and self-directed learning. The book makes a unique contribution in terms of firstly its extensive use of Cultural-Historical Activity Theory as a research lens, and secondly in drawing on various theoretical frameworks. Both quantitative and qualitative research informed the findings of the book.

Table of Contents

Abbreviations, Boxes, Figures and Tables Appearing -- Notes on Contributors -- Foreword -- Chapter 1: The journey of becoming a professional teacher: Policy directives and current practices -- Chapter 2: TeachLivE™: Learning from practice in a mixed-reality teaching environment -- Chapter 3: The value of work-integrated learning for professional teacher development programmes in open distance learning -- Chapter 4: Work-integrated learning and teaching schools: The University of Johannesburg teaching school experience -- Chapter 5: The first-year student teacher as a self-directed learner -- Chapter 6: Self-directed learning in teacher education: Lessons from Finland -- Chapter 7: The affordances of case-based teaching that draws on drama in pre-service teacher education -- Chapter 8: 'WIL goes POP': The role of a professional orientation programme in addressing the apprenticeship of observation in first-year Bachelor of Education students -- Chapter 9: The role of reflection as a vehicle for self-directed learning during work-integrated learning of student teachers -- Chapter 10: The role of work-integrated learning excursions in preparing student teachers for diverse classrooms and teaching social justice in South African classrooms -- Chapter 11: A hybrid model building on prolepsis for effective practice teaching in pre-service life sciences teacher education -- Chapter 12: An alternative model for work-integrated learning in South African schools -- References -- Index.