“They’re only here to observe”

A study of observation-grounded mentoring practices in student teachers’ practicum

Abstract

The practicum is often regarded as the heart of initial teacher education and a space for professional learning where theoretical knowledge and practical experience can mutually illuminate each other. However, existing research indicates considerable variation in mentoring approaches and learning outcomes for student teachers during their practicum period. Calls have been made for stronger connections between school-based and universitybased learning arenas. This thesis critically examines mentoring practices in student teachers’practicum within the Norwegian teacher education context and suggests architectural improvements to support student teachers’ learning to teach. Systematic classroom observation is a common professional development method for inservice teachers’ collaborative pedagogical inquiry. Nevertheless, limited research exists on how grounding student teacher mentoring in systematic classroom observation might impact their learning to teach. The thesis bridges this research gap by empirically investigating ways mentoring conversations structured around observation descriptions and collaborative interpretation of these observations might enhance learning to teach. The research question guiding the investigation is: In what ways might observation-grounded mentoring practices in student teachers’ practicum support learning to teach? The qualitative research in this thesis aims to deepen understanding of observation-grounded mentoring practices in student teachers’ practicum. Comprised of three articles and an extended narrative, the thesis explores how systematic classroom observation can bolster mentoring practices, thereby enriching student teachers' learning to teach. The empirical studies draw on observation data, interviews, reflection logs, and completed observation worksheets from practicum groups of student teachers and their mentors and shed light on various aspects of observation-based mentoring practices through the following three articles: - Article I defines systematic observation and collaborative interpretation of observations as research and development (R&D) activities. A descriptive case study was conducted with participants from two practicum groups from a master’s programme in Norway to examine student teachers’ R&D activities during their practicum period. Seeing R&D activities as social happenings and, thus, a part of a practice, the study uses the theory of practice architectures (Kemmis, Wilkinson, et al., 2014) as a theoretical and analytical lens to examine the organisational conditions that enable and constrain student teachers’ R&D practices. The study found that ambiguous messages about the relevance of R&D activities in practicum could confuse student teachers, potentially hampering their professional learning. However, the study also found that observational tools could provide a common language for collaborative pedagogical inquiry. Drawing from these findings, current research on mentoring, and the pilot testing of observational tools, a mentoring framework was constructed that centred mentoring conversations on observation descriptions. This observation-grounded mentoring framework (OMF) was the foundation for an intervention study. Eight practicum groups comprising three or four first-year student teachers, a school-based mentor and a university-based teacher educator agreed to try the OMF during the practicum period in February 2022. The data were critically examined using two distinct analytical approaches: - Article II examines the OMF intervention through the lens of 'teacher noticing' (van Es & Sherin, 2002). Noticing is a teacher’s ability to identify important classroom interactions and adapt pedagogical instructions in the moment. The analysis investigates whether the OMF supports student teachers’ learning to notice and, if so, in what ways. The findings indicate that coupling lesson planning with systematic observation in a conversation protocol enhances student teachers' ability to notice significant events in teaching situations and prompts reasoning about teaching and learning through individual and collaborative pedagogical inquiry. - Article III explores the same intervention as Article II but focuses on tripartite mentoring conversations when university-based teacher educators visit practice schools. Empirical research examining how co-mentoring involving school-based and university-based mentors can strengthen coherence between university and school learning arenas is scant. Thus, using the theory of practice architectures as a lens, the article explores issues of power and knowledge in co-mentoring practices structured by the OMF to determine whether the OMF can facilitate tripartite mentoring conversations as communicative learning spaces (Sjølie et al., 2019) - 'safe' learning environments where theoretical and practical knowledge mutually enhance each other. Findings show that the OMF facilitated the tripartite mentoring conversations as communicative learning spaces by offering a shared language for collaborative pedagogical inquiry By synthesising findings from the three articles, the thesis identifies four key factors for observation-based mentoring practices that support student teachers' learning to teach: 1. a shared language; 2. observations of pupils' reactions to the lesson; 3. collaborative interpretation of observations; and 4. a conversation protocol. The thesis advocates for collaboration between schools and teacher education institutions in designing adaptable observation-based mentoring frameworks that provide sufficient scaffolding to ensure the four critical factors. In conclusion, the thesis underscores the importance of developing observation skills for student teachers' learning to teach and the value of observation-based mentoring frameworks for supportive mentoring practices. The thesis contributes to research seeking to support student teachers' professional learning and enhance coherence in teacher education.