Situated Learning as it Pertains to the Preservice Teacher

In my professional capacity in the last couple of months, I’ve had the opportunity to push into more than 50 classrooms at the elementary level across the State of Indiana, observing teachers in their ineractions and delivery of instruction to students in a variety of content areas and activities. Something that has been extremely intriguing to me throughout the course of these visits is what teaching looks like when an educator is well-versed in high effect size best practices.

One particular school visit stands out in my mind as the school was beyond blessed to have two highly qualified instructional coaches who did their jobs incredibly well. The conundrum in this case however was what I saw upon entering the classrooms. Student engagement levels were appallingly low. Low to the point that after the third or fourth classroom I walked into, I was no longer shocked to see a minimum of one, but often two or more students sleeping at their desks, or in one grim instance, on the floor underneath their chair. Even more alarming to me was the fact that not one single time in the two days of my visit was there even a single attempt on the part of the teachers to rouse the students back into a state of consciousness.

As odd as these events were, I was not there to judge, merely observe the teaching practices I saw taking place in the classrooms. The teachers themselves were incredibly well versed in best practices. As mentioned earlier, they have two very strong instructional coaches. So, what was happening?

As I was reading today, I began to ponder on the idea of situated learning and what this might look like in a model designed to support and inform preservice teachers throughout a large portion of their program before entering the field. The model which I was envisioning begins with a union between schools of higher education and a K-12 setting. The union I have in mind is similar to that of a lab school, however the teachers employed at the K-12 building would essentially be master teachers employed by the university. In this situated environment, preservice teachers would have the luxury to observe early on in their program as these master teachers would model what best practices look like when implemented, taking away the theoretical disconnect that occurs in a traditional preservice education program.

There is a, “separation between knowing and doing” that “has been the hallmark of school and university learning (Resnick, 1987, as cited in Herrington & Oliver, 2000, p. 23). The aim of what I’m envisioning would be a structured system of situated learning in which a gradual release of control occurs, leading the preservice teachers to:
– Observe
– Plan
– Assist
– Collaborate
– Co-Teach
– Lead

References:

Herrington, J., & Oliver, R. (2000). An instructional design framework for authentic learning environments. Educational Technology Research and Development, 48(3), 23-48.

Resnick, L. (1987). Learning in school and out. Educational Researcher, 16(9), 13-20.