Learning to teach science during the clinical experience

Agency, opportunity, and struggle

Bibliographic Data

ID21392892
AuthorsMark Windschitl (0000-0001-5935-4936, College of Education, Teaching, Learning and Curriculum University of Washington Seattle Washington USA, corresponding author), Karin Lohwasser (Teacher Education and Professional Development University of California Santa Barbara Santa Barbara California USA), Tammy Tasker (College of Education, Teaching, Learning and Curriculum University of Washington Seattle Washington USA), Soo‐yean Shim (0000-0003-2073-6579, College of Education, Teaching, Learning and Curriculum University of Washington Seattle Washington USA), Caroline Long (0000-0002-2804-3817, College of Education, Teaching, Learning and Curriculum University of Washington Seattle Washington USA)
Year2021
Volume105
Issue5
Pages961-988
Publication date2021-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueScience Education (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0036-8326 • E-ISSN: 1098-237X
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/sce.21667
OpenAlexW3170982240
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited31

Agency has been used as a lens to focus on how educators learn through pedagogical risk‐taking, advocacy for curricular reform, and resisting policies that are not focused on the needs of students. We explored the role of agency as 65 preservice science teachers created learning opportunities for themselves during their clinical placements. Specifically, we investigated whether the types of agentive episodes varied by the level of congruence novices perceived between the vision of science teaching supported in their university coursework and the prevailing practices and culture of their host classrooms. Interview and survey data of participants from three preparation programs indicate that those in highly congruent placements experienced earlier and more mentor‐scaffolded opportunities to take on active roles in teaching, and exercised agency to extend research‐informed practices or tools they observed their mentors using. This resulted in participants seeing the richness of students' thinking and how capable they were of challenging work, given strategic supports. Those in low congruence placements had fewer chances to play active roles in teaching, were more likely to draw upon agency to make minor adjustments as they emulated their mentors' instructionally conservative lessons, and expressed concern they were “getting better” at aspects of teaching they viewed as inequitable or less responsive to students. Regardless of congruence, however, even simple acts of agency such as asking mentors to explain their instructional decisions were remarkably rare

Agency (philosophy) · Congruence (geometry) · Coursework · Mathematics education · Pedagogy · Science education · Social science · Sociology · Educational Strategies and Epistemologies · Evaluation of Teaching Practices · Psychology · Science Education and Pedagogy · Social Psychology