This is an ESCalate Developing Pedagogy and Practice grant awarded to Debra McGregor of the University of Wolverhampton in 2009. How do beginning Science Maths and English trainees conceptualise their pedagogy? Applying learning theory lenses to analyse planning intentions and actual practice. The project explores contrasting ways novice teachers understand teaching and organise for learning in their particular subject discipline. Findings will inform and enrich future teaching and teacher preparation
Grant type: Developing Pedagogy and Practice 2009
Round: Pedagogy and Practice 2009
Amount awarded £4 930.00
Completed: March 2011
Leader(s): Dr Debra McGregor
Organisation: University of Wolverhampton
Contact Email: debmcgregor@wlv.ac.uk
Contact phone: 01902 323030 mob 07877 265389
Start Date: 1 December 2009
End Date: 31 January 2011
Interim report received: 6 September 2010
Final report received: 16 March 2011
This study compares the pedagogic strategies that beginning teachers in English Mathematics and Science plan to enact for their learners. The findings indicate there is a difference in the ways they intend learning to arise.
As anticipated beginning English teachers organise and manage earlier in their development for social constructivist learning. Mathematics and Science trainees organise for pre-dominantly constructivist learning e.g. asking individuals challenging questions or for their inferences from data. Interestingly. Though two Mathematics and Science trainees paid attention to socio-cultural aspects indicating they were designing learning to be more inclusive and engaging for all the class.
There are also indications that strategies of beginning teachers generally develop to nurture and support more socially interactive learning towards the end of the first training year. The implications of this are that beginning pedagogues and their tutors could find it useful to apply the analytical learning theory framework developed through this project. It is possible to scrutinise plans and teaching (in-action) using the framework to discern whether learning is behavioural constructivist socially constructivist or socio-cultural in nature.
