What Can Research Tell us about Teacher Education?

Abstract

If it is true that educational research should not merely offer us better understandings of educational processes, but also offer us suggestions for good practice by ascertaining 'what works' most effectively in diverse contexts, then there are potentially four ways in which such research could be of use to those engaged in teacher education. This paper explores three of them-those which it argues are of most use to teacher educators. From research into the processes of teaching and learning we have learned a great deal about the complex nature of teachers' expertise and the extent to which it is determined by highly speci c contexts. In seeking to understand more about the processes involved in learning to teach we have come to recognise the strength of the personal agendas that beginning teachers bring with them and the active role they play in negotiating their own learning. On this basis research offers teacher educators a number of suggestions for good practice: about the ways in which we should expect beginning teachers to make use of research-based generalisations; about how we can help them gain access to the wealth of expertise embedded in the practice of experienced teachers; and about how we can encourage them to subject their own preconceptions to serious critical evaluation.

Teaching Styles of Iranian EFL Teachers: Do Gender, Age, and Experience Make a Difference?

“…After years of service and gaining a repertoire of classroom skills and strategies, experienced teachers typically have the ability to prioritize tasks, organize thoughts, and select from among a number of key classroom matters and styles. They are logical and competent persons that can make right and proper decisions in different situations (Hagger & McIntyre, 2000). A brief look at the psychology reveals that being objective, logical, impartial, and competent are among the characteristics of old and experienced people as they regardless of what people may think about them prefer to be just, determined, and competent.…”

The place of research in teacher education

“…It has highlighted how teacher education must recognise that teachers themselves are the 'central actors' in their own development (Hagger and McIntyre, 2000), the necessity of creating courses that best support professional learning within a community of practice, and the need to scaffold learning in such a way that enables teachers progress to the expert stage as early as possible.…”

Reforming Initial Teacher Education: A Call for Innovation

“…Others experimented with alternative programing approaches, and we discuss examples of these, as well as examine why some of them have not become more mainstream, in our section on the goals and purpose of innovation, later in this article. Overall, however, it is to be noted that course work has been the main component of most ITE programs and is typically prepared by faculty-based specialists and then presented to students, on-campus or via distance education, through a combination of lectures, tutorials and online activities (Hagger & McIntyre, 2000;Ingvarson et al, 2014). Of import to this discussion, current ITE programs are often organised around the same professional knowledge domains attributed to the 20 th century programs.…”

“…This question is necessary in light of historical and ongoing comments by Berry (2011), Darling-Hammond (2013), Furlong and Maynard (1995), Fullan (2007), Hagger and McIntyre (2000), Hartsuyker (2007), Hattie (2011), Ingvarson et al (2014), Kennedy (2016), Lyndaker (1990), Ramsey (2000), Tom (1997), and Walls, Nardi, Minden, and Hoffman (2002), all of whom have called for ITE reform and argued that ITE needs to develop more innovative and outcomes-based approaches to the preparation of teaching graduates. In this article we respond to this question by reviewing the broad history of ITE, and by investigating its characteristics and the specific issues which have been identified as necessary to the creation of a more modern and responsive ITE approach.…”