IP 88-5 "Many moons": Understanding teacher learning from a teacher education perspective.
Abstract
The Teacher Education and Learning to Teach Study of the National Center for Research on Teacher Education combines case studies of teacher education programs with longitudinal studies of teacher learning. In this paper, the authors discuss the development of the theoretical framework on which instrumentation for the longitudinal study is based. Organized around four commonplaces of knowledge central to teaching--subject matter knowledge, teaching and learning, pupils, and context--the framework grounds researchers' efforts to learn how teachers and prospective teachers weave together different kinds of considerations in teaching mathematics and writing to diverse learners. Strategies developed include a questionnaire, interviews, and an observation guide. The authors describe how these instruments were designed to be accessible to respondents with different views of good teaching. The paper concludes by setting the longitudinal component of the study in the broader context of the overall research mission and agenda.