Cultivating Teaching Partnerships: A Glimpse Into Queen's New Teacher Education Program, 2(12)
Rebecca Luce-Kapler
and
Karen Kettle
kkettle@osha.igs.net
Doctoral Candidate
University of Connecticut
Guest editors from Nipissing
University
for partnership theme articles:
Douglas
R.
Franks
Mary
Ross Hookey
Helen
G.
Langford
Abstract
The new teacher education program at the Faculty of Education, Queen's University, Kingston, features an extended practicum in the fall. After a week at the Faculty, teacher candidates arrive at associate schools where they spend the rest of the term learning about teaching and schools, except for a two-week return to the campus for further course work. The focus of the program is an extended collaboration between schools and the Faculty of Education. Such a partnership is rich with potential, but is not without its difficulties. In this paper, two liaisons, one from a school and the other from the Faculty, describe their experiences in the first year of the new program and make recommendations to strengthen future partnerships.
A New Vision
The Program
Every teacher candidate was also a member of a focus track group which extended their learning beyond traditional curricular areas. Some examples of focus tracks included Aboriginal Teacher Education, Artist in Community Education, and Teaching Exceptional Children. During the winter term alternative practicum, candidates usually chose to work at a community site that complemented their interest. For instance, some students in the Teaching At-Risk Adolescents focus track worked at youth centres. Candidates then finished their course work and selected a final practicum for May where they returned to their fall schools, broadened their experience in a second school, or arranged another alternative placement.
The new partnership meant that faculty members visited schools more
frequently and schools were more directly involved in teacher education.
Associate schools were selected that were willing to commit to a two or
three year relationship and had sufficient staff interested in serving
as associate teachers. Schools were provided with flexible guidelines and
were responsible for matching associate teachers and teacher candidates.
Each school selected an individual to coordinate the program and work closely
with the faculty liaison. What follows are two narratives (Connelly
& Clandinin, 1998) that offer the perspectives of two individuals
involved in the first year of the program. Karen Kettle was the school
liaison for Eastdale CVI secondary school in Oshawa and Rebecca Luce-Kapler,
a newly appointed assistant professor at Queen's, was the faculty liaison
at that school. Our stories begin with a retrospective glimpse into our
own experiences with traditional teacher training programs which provide
a context for understanding the potential of the new program and our suggestions
for strengthening future partnerships.
Stories of the Past
Karen (School Liaison)
The story of my involvement really begins with the frustration of my own teacher education experience. After earning a science degree, the education courses were not academically challenging. They did not capture the practical side of teaching nor the infectious enthusiasm of learning together that I had experienced on staff in a summer camp environment. While my associate teachers were excellent, the placements were so short that it was impossible to acquire ownership of the curriculum, student achievement, or classroom management. I was a guest in someone else's classroom and the only student teacher in the building. There was no time for involvement within the larger school community, so the impact of extracurricular activities, committee work, the guidance office, special education services, the role of administrators, and the ongoing need for professional development was never addressed. Without a holistic understanding of the school or input into decision making, it was easy to shift the blame for problems. Within three weeks, each placement was over and my performance had been evaluated. This provided me with only a short time to practice instructional skills and no motivation to take creative risks exploring instructional strategies. When my class returned to the university, little attempt was made to build the curriculum around our recent experiences so that we could engage in reflective practice.My first year teaching provided me with a very different experience. There were several new teachers in our math/science department and we spent a lot of time planning together. My department head was in my classroom on a regular basis, always willing to discuss educational issues and serve as my coach. The first semester I was given a reduced instructional load so I could team-teach with an experienced peer and I was asked to assume extracurricular involvement only after I felt comfortable with my classroom responsibilities. My principal taught me the importance of continually planning to improve my teaching and my students' learning. I was provided with support when I needed it the most and enjoyed working in a collaborative team.
Throughout my career I have taught in a variety of schools and have had the pleasure of talking to many educators throughout North America. Unfortunately, I have discovered that while others identified with my description of teacher training, my experience as a first year teacher was atypical. Instead of collaboration, I have often heard teachers describe a norm of non-interference that equates professionalism with not having to ask for help. I have watched new teachers struggle single-handedly with heavy extracurricular loads, undesirable timetables, and difficult students and I have wondered how this experience affected their developing skills, curiosity, and self-efficacy. I believe new teachers deserve a supportive and reflective environment in which to acquire the skills, knowledge, and attitudes that will shape their professional practice in the future. I was eager to meet Rebecca and explore my role as the school liaison because it promised an opportunity to influence this learning environment.
Rebecca (Faculty Liaison)
My interest in teacher education began not so much when I had my own student teaching experiences, which were short and fairly forgettable, but arose from my experiences as an associate teacher. The student teachers (the usual designation for teacher candidates at this university) were with me for only a few weeks. They had no opportunity to develop a deep connection to the students, the school, or even the subject they taught. They spent a lot of time hoping that I would provide guidance and were just starting to have a significant teaching experience when the practicum was over. Their most interesting questions arose at the end when we had little chance to explore them. I often thought they left with just a beginning sense of finding their way in teaching and without the confidence that comes with more sustained experience.As a graduate student, I worked as a faculty consultant observing individual student teachers in English classrooms. Instead of cohort groups of student teachers, there were perhaps two or three individuals who collaborated more by accident than by design. My role was to evaluate their English teaching skills and offer extensive feedback and suggestions for improvement. There was not a great deal of discussion about their place in the larger context of school or their developing professional relationships with peers and associate teachers. The student teachers often reported that they felt alone and could only depend on me and their associate teacher for pedagogical conversations.
The year before my arrival at Queen's, I worked in a program which developed partnerships with schools. Student teachers spent one day a week in the schools for a six week period. Although this collaboration had potential, I was frustrated that opportunities did not open up for further involvement with the schools. This experience, however, gave me a small taste of how collaborations worked, how student teachers benefited from working in cohorts, and how these partnerships created a new school culture that was vibrant, helpful, and sometimes stressful. This experience proved to be a good training ground for my arrival at Queen's where they were dramatically restructuring their teacher education program. I liked the idea that I would be working closely with schools and that I would be jointly creating a teacher education program with teachers like Karen.
Stories of the Present
Karen (School Liaison)
Eastdale entered into the partnership with Queen's University because the philosophy of the new program supported Eastdale's continuing goal to broaden its base of leadership, share decision making, and establish a collaborative culture. Involvement began in earnest in the spring of 1997. In June, our eleven teacher candidates were invited to meet with the administration and tour the school. In August, I visited Queen's to provide them with schedules, school maps, staff handbooks, and Eastdale T-shirts. They were relieved to see me. I spent the day following them to classes, answering questions, identifying their associate teachers in a yearbook, and reliving the anticipation of the first day of school as a teacher. As I watched them interact, I realized they were already forming a support network that would make their teaching practicum very different from mine.I took pictures and created "wanted posters" for the staff room, which identified each candidate's subject specialties and extracurricular interests. This allowed our faculty to interact with them on a first name basis and invite them into appropriate act ivities. Many of the teacher candidates commented that these initial contacts made them feel welcome. Throughout their practicum they were included in ongoing teambuilding activities with staff and students. This became a self-fulfilling endeavour as the teacher candidates began to initiate similar activities. They provided treats at staff meetings, shared their action research projects, contributed to student assemblies, and organized a weekend retreat to complete university assignments. They developed the infectious enthusiasm for learning that was missing from my practice teaching experience and a camaraderie that supported them through stressful times.
I worked closely with the administration to develop schedules that provided teacher candidates with a variety of role models and experiences. Eastdale operated on a non-semestered timetable that involved a four day cycle. Teacher candidates taught in both of their subject specialties and were partnered with two associate teachers. These teachers were extremely generous with their time and frequently met with their teacher candidates before and after school. They guided, coached and assessed their candidate's progress. I deliberately arranged experiences in both intermediate and senior classes and at a variety of academic levels so teacher candidates could explore how different groups of students acquire, integrate, and apply knowledge. Their instructional obligations were reduced to four of the eight periods. I hoped this would place an emphasis on preparing high quality instruction and provide time to explore other programs and participate in extracurricular activities.
One period a day, teacher candidates were scheduled to job-shadow in critical areas of the school including guidance, administration, computer labs, cooperative education, library, special education, and technology. These placements were flexible and allowed teacher candidates to satisfy their curiosity about school networks. They followed students who were referred to the office for discipline, investigated the academic support provided in special education courses and helped facilitate the grade 9 library orientation. As we discussed these interactions I became aware of the teacher candidates' growing understanding of the roles that make a school a dynamic and interdependent system.
I was pleased that the teacher candidates took advantage of the opportunity to be involved in extracurricular activities, committees, and decision making. Each candidate selected an extracurricular activity. They were involved with sports teams, outdoor education trips, music, art, student council, service clubs and theatre productions and carried many of their efforts through to completion. As I listened to the daily sagas of their extracurricular adventures, watched an outstanding production of Alice in Wonderland, and cheered a women's basketball team on to a regional victory, I was assured that they had experienced the rewards of working with students outside the classroom. Coaches and club advisors commented on the teacher candidates' skill and dedication and provided letters outlining their contributions for their portfolios.
Eastdale has established a schedule that includes a weekly block of collaborative time for staff meetings, department meetings, collaborative projects, and professional development. Teacher candidates were fully involved in these activities as well as decision making committees which focused on secondary school restructuring, developing a teacher advisory program, and implementing technology. As a committee member, I watched them interact with teachers, students, community members, and administrators. I noticed that teacher candidates were able to contribute innovative ideas and ask perplexing questions because they were less influenced by historical routines and entrenched loyalties. This resulted in meaningful discussions, thoughtful decisions, and a deeper understanding of educational issues for everyone involved.
Queen's requested that the teacher candidates have a common work period which was scheduled into my preparation time. It was a wonderful opportunity to observe the new program and allowed me to chat with everyone on a regular basis, help locate resources, connect key people, and troubleshoot problems. Teacher candidates used this time for planning lessons, developing instructional strategies, selecting assessment tools, discussing classroom management, and completing university assignments. Their enthusiastic collaboration made these visits a highlight for me as I watched them work as a team, celebrate successes, and find humour in the minor tragedies of experiential learning. Our conversations revealed that the teacher candidates had time to form productive relationships with students, work through classroom management problems, and be meaningfully involved in assessment, reporting and the parent interview process Rebecca made three, two-day visits during the fall and we were frequently in e-mail contact . She listened attentively to my stories as the practicum unfolded and our conversations were always a refreshing plunge into educational possibilities. During Rebecca's visits, the common preparation period was used for interviews, workshops, and informal discussions. She used the other periods to visit teacher candidates and associate teachers in their classrooms. We quickly fell into a pattern of meeting for dinner to discuss how the program was proceeding and plan upcoming events.
As the school liaison, I decided not to be involved in evaluating the teacher candidates. This increased my ability to act an advocate. Teacher candidates and associate teachers seemed comfortable talking to me about their satisfaction and frustration with the program. Many of the teachers who had served as associates in the past commented that the longer practicum established the trust required for honest inquiry, reflection, and growth. While many of Eastdale's faculty had entered the program with concerns that focused on issues of time and workload, they finished the first year commenting that the benefits of sharing, professional reflection, and the contagious enthusiasm generated by working with the teacher candidates made the extra work of the partnership worthwhile.
Rebecca (Faculty Liaison)
Although I was excited about the Queen's model of teacher education because it addressed many of my former concerns regarding brief, fragmented practica, my beginning work in this program felt rocky and uncertain. In implementing any new program there are always unexpected glitches and unanswered questions. The ethos of old programs lingered. Schools were used to shorter practica that offered greater financial renumeration and were less labour intensive; faculty were used to quick, evaluative visits. The teachers were not sure what to do with me and I was unable to tell them adequately. Also, I was new to Ontario's system of education. While there were many similarities, small, unexpected things kept cropping up to surprise me. I worked carefully, searching for fresh possibilities in my role, pushing at the boundaries while being conscious that I needed to help everyone work at overcoming the discomfort of the program's newness. In spite of the uncertainty, the potential of the program continued to unfold in interesting ways even when Karen and I did not immediately know how to engage with such potential.One of the most enriching aspects of this new relationship was working with the school liaison. It was invaluable for the faculty liaison to have one contact person who was concerned about the overall welfare of the teacher candidates. When I could not be at the school, Karen and I could chat about successes and difficulties through e-mail and when I was in town, we had extended conversations about what opportunities the program presented and what activities we could arrange for teacher candidates and staff to take advantage of them.
Early into the practicum, I noticed a deepening of the teacher candidates' professional conversations. Our discussions arose directly from their experiences. They were able to grapple with dilemmas and options with more understanding than I had seen before in a group of emerging teachers. For instance, when I addressed issues of evaluation they were able to draw on their observations of their associate teachers as well as from the numerous lessons they had been teaching. When the class discussed classroom management issues, they all had personal examples that could be explored in a context that was meaningful for everyone. Whereas in traditional programs many of these discussions would have taken place in the pre-practicum uncertainty of a university classroom, the class was now using real examples from a school context that the teacher candidates had shared. Much of the mystique and fear I had seen in shorter practica was replaced by a desire for considering options and exploring possibilities.
As the weeks went by I noticed that relationships of mutual respect and support developed between the teacher candidates and their associate teachers. They were more collegial and exemplified two professionals working together instead of an evaluator giving his or her trainee directions. The teacher candidates contributed in meaningful ways to the school while associate teachers were reminded about the difficulties of beginning to teach. For instance, when associate teachers participated in a workshop to act as critical friends for the teacher candidates' action research projects, the exchange of information was lively and helpful for both parties. It was the first time many of the associate teachers had been involved in action research and the discussions provided them with new ideas for their own teaching. The candidates were reminded that a wealth of practical insights arise from years of teaching experience.
There were many advantages to working as a faculty liaison and university professor in this new partnership. First, it embedded my classes in a rich context. I shared an understanding with my students about the school where they were teaching that was invaluable. The teacher candidates could focus on areas that were of immediate concern as well as integrate this learning into the complex process of becoming a teacher through the interpretive activities which were part of their course work. Second, I had the opportunity to reconnect to a school culture that provided an opportunity to talk to teachers and students over an extended period. Interesting research possibilities presented themselves. Further, I had chances to contribute directly to the school rather than just dropping in briefly to evaluate my students. I valued the strong professional partnerships that were developing a rich environment for candidates to experience as they were becoming teachers.
As the crucial link between the university, the teacher candidates, and the associate school I found the job of faculty liaison had expanded far beyond the observation and assessment of teaching I learned how important it is for the faculty liaison to be able to describe all aspects of the program, understand the culture of their associate schools, listen carefully to feedback, modify programming to local needs, provide support, and coordinate the contributions of the administration, associate teachers and university faculty. The faculty liaison's relationship with the school liaison must also be nurtured so that they can plan activities, solve problems and shape teacher candidates' experiences together. This experience highlighted the importance of emphasizing communication skills for all participants in the program, including learning how to ask for specific kinds of feedback, to articulate experiences and emotions, to raise difficult subjects, to inquire without being judgmental, and to listen and ask questions for reflective inquiry.
Stories for the Future
Karen and Rebecca
The extended practicum and experiential nature of the new program provides greater opportunities to integrate field experiences meaningfully into every education course, a challenge that faces the entire faculty. In the first year of the program, teacher candidates reported that they sometimes struggled to find productive correlations between the assigned university work and their experiences at the associate schools. With this in mind, some assignments have been modified for the upcoming year. For example, next year teacher candidates in secondary schools will find that their professional course assignment focuses more strongly on an action research project. The teacher candidates will identify a research question that affects their teaching, connect it to their professional reading, gather data from their classes, and track the progress of the changes they make. They will be encouraged to link their projects to their associate school either through sharing results with teachers or connecting their work to projects in which their school is involved.One of our concerns with the new program was the work load for school liaisons and associate teachers. Both found that the longer practicum involved more commitment on their part. Separating the role of school liaison and associate teacher does help distribute this work load, and this separation can make it easier for teachers and candidates to speak to the school liaison about their concerns. As well, the associate schools and Queen's have discussed the possibility of professional development opportunities, course credits, and extra release time being offered as compensation for both school liaisons and associate teachers, but just how this plays out remains to be seen. Nevertheless, in an ethos of budgetary constraints, such options are worth exploring even though they may be difficult to achieve. The program cannot just be one where Queen's sends teacher candidates into the schools. For it to be a true collaboration, resources need to travel both ways.
The university could also provide teachers with access to someone in their subject field who is working with current research. Several suggestions include having features by subject specialists on our web site or inviting university faculty into the schools to teach lessons in their subject area. The implementation of a new provincial curriculum provides a wonderful opportunity for a network of university professors, associate teachers, and teacher candidates to create, field-test, and share activities that invite student learning.
With Queen's new Ph.D. program coming on stream in the fall of 1998, some of those candidates will be involved in the program. The associate schools could provide useful sites for their research and, in return, the graduate students could offer workshops in their areas of expertise or help collect data to support individual school plans. They could also work collaboratively on projects with associate teachers, including coordinating action research projects, providing assistance in writing and publishing articles, and preparing conference presentations.
For teacher candidates, the extended practicum provides time to interact with a number of associate teachers, understand areas of school life beyond their own subjects, work meaningfully in extracurricular activities, positively impact the culture of their school, and come to know the community in which the school is located. They could have an even greater role in this partnership by offering workshops in their various areas of expertise (as some already have) or being involved in research projects with associate teachers, faculty liaisons, or doctoral students. These projects could provide collaborative frameworks for schools to continue to investigate and improve teaching and to help everyone to remain curious about learning.
We (Karen and Rebecca) have both gained personally and professionally from our own collaboration within this project. The opportunities we had for face-to-face interaction and dialogue allowed us to build a partnership that could work efficiently at a distance. A natural extension of this small success is to envision the possibilities in holding annual conferences where all players in the collaboration including student, parent, and community representatives could come together to continue discussing, pla nning and shaping the vision for this new program. If this early teaching experience is important in creating a paradigm for future learning, associate teachers and university faculty, particularly, need a shared vision of where the program is going and what skills and attitudes teachers of the future require.
Last spring, Queen's held gatherings in centres across southern Ontario for associate teachers from various schools to meet with faculty liaisons. Because this turned out to be a productive and informative opportunity, continuing to hold such events where everyone involved was invited to talk about teacher education would be an exciting opportunity that would enrich and cultivate the relationships that have begun in this first year of collaboration.
Queen's new program revealed to us the invigorating and productive nature of educational partnerships. To be successful in the new millennium, teachers, teacher candidates, and faculty must step back from their individual roles and responsibilities and view education as a system in its entirety. We are all players on the same team and the name of the game is to cultivate the leadership capacity and productive partnerships required to continually improve teaching and learning in the future.
References
Connelly, M., & Clandinin, J. (1998). Personal experience methods.
In N.K. Denzin & Y.S. Lincoln (Eds.). Collecting and interpreting
qualitative materials. One Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publishing.
Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate
peripheral participation. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Schon, D. A. (1983). The reflective practitioner. New York: Basic Books.
Author Notes
Rebecca Luce-Kapler
Faculty of Education
Queen's University
Kingston, Ontario
K7L 3N6
Phone:(613) 545-6000 ext. 7267
Fax: (613) 545-8465
lucekar@educ.queensu.ca
http://educ.queensu.ca/~luce-kar
Karen E. Kettle has a B.Sc., a B.Ed. and Masters of Education in Educational Psychology. Currently, she is a doctoral candidate at the University of Connecticut. She was a teacher of science and geography with the Durham Board of Education, Ontario and next year will be a Science & Technology Facilitator with the same board. She has an ongoing research interest in Leadership Development.
Karen E. Kettle
79 Hialeah Cres.
Whitby, Ontario
L1N 6P9
Phone:(905)579-5563
kkettle@osha.igs.net
IEJLL - Educational Partnerships Theme Series
External Reviewers
(In addition to the usual members of the IEJLL Editorial Team)
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