PDS Collaboration as Third Space: An analysis of the quality of learning experiences in a PDS partnership

Abstract

This article documents the self-study processes and findings of a collaborative research group that examined a professional development school (PDS) partnership. Drawing on the scholarship of self-study of teacher education practices and theoretical perspectives consistent with third space, we conceived our collaborative study group as a learning community aimed at uncovering the complexities of school–university partnerships while seeking new directions for an effective partnership. Data were collected from a variety of sources. Themes were developed based on some identified areas of focus consistent with the group\u27s objectives, which included deciphering the state of our PDS collaboration, our preservice teachers\u27 learning experiences, and insight into faculty as learners in professional relationship. The study revealed that experiential disparity existed within and among faculty and students in various PDS sites as a result of poor communication as well as divergent models of collaboration and philosophical goals between faculty and mentor teachers. Disparity in the learning experiences among the preservice teachers was attributed to the quality and scope of the partnership. This study resulted in better understanding of our roles as hybrid educators and recognition of mentor teachers as critical bridges in a PDS partnership

Grounding Teacher Education in Practice Around the World: An Examination of Teacher Education Coursework in Teacher Education Programs in Finland, Norway, and the United States

“…2014; Jakku-Sihvonen & Niemi, 2006;Müller, Álamos, Meckes, & Sanyal, 2015;Norwegian Government, 2014) and placing teachers in school residencies to ensure that most of their learning experiences occur in schools (Boggess, 2008(Boggess, , 2010Hammerness, Williamson, & Kosnick, 2016;Klein, Taylor, Onore, Strom, & Abrams, 2013;Silva, Knechtel, Gleason, & Makowsky, 2014;Solomon, 2009;Taylor & Klein, 2015;Zeichner, 2016). Other efforts include creating explicit partnerships with schools that are specifically focused upon new teachers' learning such as teacher training schools in Finland (Niemi & Jakku-Sihvonen, 2006), university schools in Norway (Lund & Eriksen, 2016), and professional development schools in the United States (Holmes Group, 1995;Ikpeze, Broikou, Hildenbrand, & Gladstone-Brown, 2012;Martin, Snow, & Torrez, 2011;Pepper, Hartman, Blackwell, & Monroe, 2012) or expanding field placements into community-based organizations (McDonald et al, 2011;Zeichner, 2010). Yet, as many teacher educators have argued, becoming more closely connected to practice should not be restricted to school sites or the practicum (Ball & Cohen, 1999;Britzman, 2003;Kennedy, 1999;Zeichner, 2010).…”

Third Space, Partnerships, & Clinical Practice: A Literature Review

“…However, as UTEs and other participants try to navigate partnerships and clinical experiences, this inequitable distribution of power manifests in various ways. For instance, the university traditionally holds the power in teacher education, and this remains a tension in partnerships (Ikpeze et al, 2012;Mutemeri & Chetty, 2011;Souto-Manning & Martell, 2019). Farrell (2021) highlighted how the university has led and constructed partnerships resulting in norms and frameworks that lack collaboration and minimize the role of school stakeholders.…”

“…Additionally, partnerships are multifaceted and difficult to manage resulting in additional hierarchal borders (Martin et al, 2011). One way this difficulty manifests is when there are differing ideologies or philosophies about collaboration and what it is or how it should look (Ikpeze et al, 2012). Another way this is demonstrated is through the lack of real dialogue between stakeholders (Jonsdottir, 2015).…”

“…One way this tension specifically manifests within partnerships and clinical practice is through the theory and practice divide, which refers to how the knowledge of the university's theories and the schools' practices have traditionally been at odds (Farrell, 2021;Zeichner, 2010). It is only through intentionality and the laying aside of deficit views of school stakeholders that progress is made toward reducing the persistent gap between theory and practice in teacher education (Ikpeze et al, 2012;Souto-Manning & Martell, 2019). For instance, in Jackson and Burch's (2016) collaborative partnership framework, the school and university were encouraged to work together to bridge the theory and practice divide.…”

Communicative learning spaces and learning to become a teacher

“…As already mentioned, several recent studies use the notion of 'third spaces' to describe collaborative practices in teacher education (e.g. Zeichner 2010; Martin, Snow, and Torrez 2011;Ikpeze et al 2012;Arhar et al 2013;Klein et al 2013;Taylor, Klein, and Abrams 2014). The focus in these studies is mostly on the possibilities of such hybrid spaces; that they can be seen as more democratic and dialogic spaces than traditional collaborations.…”