Learning to teach at the boundaries between university courses and internships [VISIONS 2011: Teacher Education]

Sammendrag

The theory-practice gap is a recurring problem in teacher education. This article is concerned with how student teachers learn to teach at the boundaries between university courses and internships. I investigate how participants create meaning around scientific concepts, and how they respond to the institutional context they act in, thereby making it relevant. These questions are addressed by employing the Cultural-Historical Activity theory. The study took place at the Department for Teacher Education and School Research at the University of Oslo. The data are based on extensive observations in various settings at the university and schools offering internships. Interaction analysis is used to analyze participation in different settings. The analysis shows that the students encounter divergent structures and discourses in the course of their learning trajectories. What counts as knowledge differs between universities and schools, and within the university. In teacher-led situations, student teachers are positioned in relation to the teachers and mentors, with few opportunities for knowledge construction. The study also shows instances where the student teachers explore and elaborate upon knowledge in new ways, such as in group collaborations. From the perspective of the student, it seems reasonable to argue that the contradictions within and between the activity systems serve as constraints on learning. However, to create coherent programs, concepts and ideas about teaching and learning have to be shared by Departments of Teacher Education DTEs and partner schools.