ERIC Number: EJ762120
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2005
Pages: 16
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0890-6459
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Available Date: N/A
Kaleidoscope Feature. Experiencing a Learning Community: Lessons from Interns Learning to Teach in a Yearlong Professional Development School Internship
Mule, Lucy
Teacher Education and Practice, v18 n3 p346-361 Sum 2005
University-school partnerships are increasingly being viewed as optimal contexts for preparing future teachers. Professional Development School partnerships have especially been extolled or creating learning communities in which preservice teachers learn to teach. The reform literature, however, does not adequately address how interns understand, experience, and earn in these communities. In this article, I discuss three themes that highlight six interns' understandings of the learning community in one Professional Development School internship. The themes--the "web of support" metaphor, the role as "another teacher," and the "we"-inquirer perception--suggest that interns understand the notion of learning community to be inextricably linked to enhanced collegiality in the practicum emanating from multiple mentorship; the recognition of their role as coteachers; and their identity as collaborators in the production of knowledge of practice through inquiry. Characteristics of a successful learning community in the Professional Development School context are discussed.
Descriptors: Educational Change, Collegiality, Preservice Teachers, Professional Development, Professional Development Schools, Internship Programs, College School Cooperation, Preservice Teacher Education, Background, Thematic Approach, Mentors, Phenomenology
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A