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Conceptual change in a context of collegial consultation : a case of two secondary teachers

University of British Columbia

This case study is based upon the experiences of Tim and Joe, two experienced, competent, reflective, secondary teachers who chose to engage, for the first time, in observing and discussing one another's lessons. The purpose of the study was to gain some insights into how teachers learn from each other and, more specifically, to describe the processes involved in teachers' conceptual change within a context of collegial consultation. It was hoped that framing collegial consultation in terms of teachers' conceptual change would demonstrate the value of such an activity, inform the collegial practice of teachers, and enable those who would facilitate this means of professional growth. Data consisted of field notes on observed lessons, transcripts of post-observation conferences, and transcripts of stimulated recall interviews conducted with each participant on each conference. These data were collected through four rounds of observation and were analysed for participants' conceptions and conceptual change, using the constant comparative method described by Glaser and Strauss (1967) and elaborated by Lincoln and Guba (1985). A constructivist perspective on learning (e.g. Von Glasersfeld, 1989) and a theory of conceptual change proposed by Posner, Strike, Hewson, and Gertzog (1982) informed the analysis. The results of this analysis were descriptions of some aspects of the participants' conceptions of teaching and collegial consultation, three examples of conceptual change, and a more detailed 'story' of conceptual change. Findings were constructed with respect to the nature of participants' conceptions, evidence of conceptual change, the process of conceptual change, events that contributed to conceptual change, and factors in the collegial relationship that seem to be associated with conceptual change. The findings of the study led to the general conclusions that (1) teachers will attempt to make sense of an anomalous situation by constructing an intelligible and initially plausible 'new' conception that resolves or explains the anomaly and (2) collegial consultation provides teachers with opportunities for experiences that initiate and enable such conceptual change. In addition to these two general conclusions, the findings of this study led to eight specific conclusions--four with respect to the process of conceptual change, and four 'parallel' conclusions with respect to collegial consultation.

Text

2011-01-17

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/30642

Science Education

University of British Columbia

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