Building on the epistemological foundations of constructivism (Creswell, 2014) and qualitative research methodologies, a FADE framework (Reinking and Bradley, 2008) and a case study approach (Merriam, 2002) were selected to develop an understanding of preservice teachers' thinking about student learning during their planning, teaching, and reflection through the lesson study (Lewis, 2009) process. Through qualitative methodology, the triangulation of data occurred using qualitative data sources: (a) pre and post interviews, (b) participatory field notes, (c) research lesson plans, (d) debriefing interviews, (e) field notes created by the preservice teachers. Each data source was analyzed individually and then compared across the case providing a deeper understanding of how preservice teachers think about student learning in the context of lesson study including how: (a) preservice teacher grew their thinking about student learning, (b) preservice teachers were better able to observe and look for evidence of thinking about students' learning, (c) the lesson study process allowed them to work as a team, (d) they associated lesson study with being a positive learning experience. This research provides additional insight into how teacher preparation programs can strengthen preservice teachers learning in classrooms through lesson study (Darling-Hammond, 2009; Lewis, 2009; Lewis et al., 2012). It also provides opportunities for further research on connecting planning, reflection, and teaching practices as well as, how to build connections between mentor teachers, preservice teachers, and teacher preparation programs (Parks, 2009). / PHD / This case study explored the impact of a collaborative learning cycle with preservice teachers in elementary classrooms. The research question was: What was the impact of lesson study on preservice teachers thinking about student learning. Preservice teachers participated in a lesson study cycle where they collaboratively developed goals for students, planned a lesson, one teacher taught the lesson and the others observed, and lastly they reflected on this process as a group and adjusted their lesson based on their thinking about student learning. Each of the lessons was taught in real classrooms with students whom they were familiar. The data suggested that preservice teachers were able to deepen their understanding of thinking about student’s learning and identify it in their work together. The collaborative process enabled them to further their understanding of thinking about student learning by having additional insight to what they observed in their lessons. The cyclical process of lesson study allowed the preservice teachers to attend to additional observations of their students because they were familiar with the lesson, content, and had considered what evidence of student learning they could collect. This study provides insight into how preservice teacher preparation programs could better connect theory to practice through lesson study cycles and provide authentic collaborative learning experiences for preservice teachers that mimics actual teaching in the classroom.
Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/96217 |
Date | 02 July 2018 |
Creators | Aker, Lisa Denise |
Contributors | Education, Vocational-Technical, Barksdale, Mary Alice, Triplett, Cheri F., Jones, Brett D., Azano, Amy Price |
Publisher | Virginia Tech |
Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
Detected Language | English |
Type | Dissertation |
Format | ETD, application/pdf |
Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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