Creating partnerships between teachers & undergraduates interested in secondary math & science education☆
Introduction
This study explores mentoring relationships within a program designed to connect undergraduates interested in math and science education with practicing high school teachers; together they engaged in content area research and discussed curriculum. In California, where this study took place, math and science teachers are in the midst of curricular change brought forth by the state’s adoption of the Common Core State Standards Mathematics (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010) and the Next Generation Science Standards ([NGSS], NGSS Lead States, 2013). Associated frameworks advocate for the use of mentoring to help teachers understand the shifts in practice called for by these new standards (California Department of Education, 2015, National Research Council, 2012).
The program we investigated was designed to: (1) give all participants experience planning, implementing, and reflecting on curricular materials aligned with the newly adopted state standards; (2) provide high school teachers with classroom support as they enacted new lessons; and (3) provide undergraduates an authentic context in which to learn about the teaching profession prior to enrolling in a teacher education program. Participants attended 102 h of program activities consisting of a two-week summer institute and three full-day follow-up sessions during the academic year. The undergraduates also completed 60 h of fieldwork in the teachers’ classrooms during the academic year. With respect to the undergraduate program experience, similar courses and programs have been conducted to stimulate recruitment and teaching interest among math and science undergraduates (Luft et al., 2005, Otero et al., 2006) and graduates (Abell et al., 2006).
Guided by the view that learning occurs within communities of practice (Wenger, 1998), we asked: What is the nature of content area partnerships formed between undergraduates and high school teachers participating in a program focused on math and science education? Through this work, we attempt to demonstrate how mentoring through the content area partnerships shaped teachers’ and undergraduates’ views on mathematics and science education.
Section snippets
Mentoring relationships among teachers
Trust and collaboration are essential elements in mentoring (Awaya et al., 2003, van Velzen et al., 2012) along with relational characteristics that foster dialogue and reflective practice (Fairbanks et al., 2000, Hawkey, 1998). In the mentoring relationship, teachers’ sense of agency matters in their sharing of knowledge and contributes to the identity development of student teachers (Fairbanks et al., 2000, Hawkey, 1998). Hawkey (1998) recognized teacher knowledge as an important mentoring
Learning in communities of practice
We view learning as situated in social contexts and believe that a community of practice (CoP) is necessary for teachers to engage in to learn and contribute to the joint enterprise of instructional practice (Lave and Wenger, 1991, Wenger, 1998). Wenger described a CoP along three dimensions: mutual engagement whereby members learn through their interactions and relationships with others; joint enterprise through which members develop a sense of accountability to one another; and shared
Research context
Currently, there are various teacher preparation routes in the United States. According to Bowe, Braam, Lawrenz, and Kirchhoff (2011), the two most common are “traditional” and “alternative” programs (p. 29). Traditional programs, also known as university-based programs, require four to five years of teaching preparation and include coursework to meet state standards certification (Darling-Hammond et al., 2002, Zeichner and Schulte, 2001). Students in traditional programs may also be in a
Data sources & collection
Multiple data were analyzed to investigate the nature of the undergraduates’ and high school teachers’ content area partnerships. First, we collected data associated with the SI and follow-up sessions, including program agendas and materials such as graphic organizers documenting planning goals during follow-up sessions, attendance records for program events, and fieldnotes of participants’ interactions and discussions.
Data relating to the participants’ work within the classroom were also
Partnership characteristics
Table 2 details the five characteristics found within the content area partnerships.
Our findings provide an overview and examples of how each characteristic was evident within the content area partnerships. We also detail the mentorship that occurred between the participants and describe their views of how they benefitted from these interactions.
Sustained but flexible participation
All content area partnerships engaged in regular meetings. Participants attended all program events and identified common times to work with one
Discussion
Consistent with prior research (Fairbanks et al., 2000, Koballa et al., 2008, Woodgate-Jones, 2012), our study documented mentorship that resulted in colearning among participants. As content area partnerships grappled with developing curriculum, individuals developed shared instructional goals and held one another accountable for products of their co-planning process. Additionally, the content area partnerships proved flexible as participants viewed one another as resources when planning and
Conclusion
Wenger (1998) noted that the benefits of a CoP were not limited to the legitimate peripheral participant; rather, the engagement produces “reciprocal relation of persons and practice” (p. 116). Our study documented colearning and mutual benefit evident in ways that transformed individuals’ practice and identity. In this way, the content area partnerships we investigated embodied several of the same qualities as CoPs described by Lave and Wenger, 1991, Wenger, 1998) and mentoring relationships
Acknowledgements
This work was supported in part by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute [grant number 52007571] through the Precollege and Undergraduate Science Education Program.
References (29)
- et al.
Mentoring as a journey
Teaching and Teacher Education
(2003) Mentor pedagogy and student teacher professional development: A study of two mentoring relationships
Teaching and Teacher Education
(1998)- et al.
Mentoring beginning teachers: What we know and what we don’t
Teaching and Teacher Education
(2009) - et al.
Guided work-based learning: Sharing practical teaching knowledge with student teachers
Teaching and Teacher Education
(2012) - et al.
Recruiting future science and mathematics teachers into alternative certification programs: Strategies tried and lessons learned
Journal of Science Teacher Education
(2006) - et al.
Fostering a community of practice through a professional development program to improve elementary teachers’ views of nature of science and teaching practice
Journal of Research in Science Teaching
(2009) - et al.
Comparison of alternative and traditional teacher certification programs in terms of effectiveness in encouraging STEM pre-service teachers to teach in high need schools
Journal of the National Association for Alternative Certification
(2011) Mathematics framework for California public schools: Kindergarten through grade twelve
(2015)- et al.
Variation in teacher preparation how well do different pathways prepare teachers to teach?
Journal of Teacher Education
(2002) - et al.
Further development of an elementary science teacher efficacy belief instrument: A preservice elementary scale
School Science and Mathematics
(1990)
Establishing factorial validity of the mathematics teaching efficacy beliefs instrument
School Science and Mathematics
The role of effective mentors in learning to teach
Journal of Teacher Education
Helping novices learn to teach lessons from an exemplary support teacher
Journal of Teacher Education
Mapping instructional conversations: A sociolinguistic ethnography
Ethnography and Language in Educational Settings
Cited by (3)
In-Service Teachers Education fostered by approximation between School and University: an historical narrative about the experiences of the Nupic (USP) initiative
2021, Investigacoes em Ensino de CienciasForty years of mathematics education: 1980-2019
2021, International Journal of Education in Mathematics, Science and TechnologyAn annotated discussion of a panel presentation on improving diversity in mathematics
2019, Contemporary Mathematics
- ☆
A previous version of this paper was presented at AERA Annual International Conference, Philadelphia, PA, April 2014.