Teacher EdCucaathtieornin Qeu Sanrytedrelry, Fall 2012 Finding the “Royal Road” to Learning to Teach: Listening to Novice Teacher Voices in Order to Improve the Effectiveness of Teacher Education By Catherine Snyder Introduction Adults learn differently than children or adolescents (Brookfield, 1986; Dewey, 1938; Kegan, 1994; Kolb, 1984; Mezirow, 2000). A thorough understanding of how adults learn is imperative to the successful education of adults. It is only by understanding the unique ways in which adults learn that the academy can create environments where adults learn and thrive. One area of adult education which has been inundated with criticism is teacher education. It is in this field that I chose to investigate adult learning in order to identify what is important to adult learners in their journey toward becoming successful teachers. The study results identify elements of learning of central importance to adults striving to be highly effec- tive classroom teachers. These elements, if applied to teacher education, have the potential to improve how future teachers are taught. My own experience with adult learners has been Catherine Snyder is guided by these theories of adult learning. I have noted associate dean of the that adults approach new learning with a more intense School of Education at need and amplified emotional state compared to other Union Graduate College age groups. Over the course of my career, I have taught in Schenectady, New early and late adolescents as well as adults. The dif- York. ferences in how these different age groups learn and 33 Finding the “Royal Road” to Learning to Teach how they react to learning is striking. The primary reason for this research was to gain a better understanding of how adults learn and then to share that understand- ing with teacher educators. Those of us in teacher education are often subsumed by the content we teach our students; that is, how children and adolescents learn. In that context, it is easy to forget that while our curriculum focuses on childhood learning, we are teaching adults. This study, therefore, specifically targets the adult participants’ transformations from a teacher education program into careers as secondary teachers. The purpose is to determine what adults identify as relevant to learning so that it can be used to improve the effectiveness of teacher education. This line of inquiry has become particularly important in recent years as teachers and teacher education come under attack. One commonly pointed to solution is fast tracking professionals from other fields into the classroom. The general assumption is that if a professional, a scientist, for example, has the content knowledge and willingness to teach adolescents science, an unfettered pathway into the classroom should be made possible. While there are certainly many professionals who have the innate skills necessary to teach, there are many more who have the potential to become excellent teachers with proper training. This research study supports the no- tion that career-changers come to the classroom with a wealth of skills and talents to offer our youth, but at the same time require a specific kind of attention and learning from professional teacher educators (Holt & Unruh, 2010). Without this attention and learning, people interested in teaching will continue to enter and exit the profession at high rates; serving only to expend valuable resources and contribute to the national, and negative, conversation on the failures of teacher education. Theoretical Framework Mezirow’s transformative learning theory purports that achieving transforma- tion allows an individual an integrative, highly tolerant, broad and porous way of knowing only possible within the context of communicative action (i.e., discourse outside the realm of instrumentalism and/or coercion) (Mezirow, 1991). Mezirow’s theory posits that adults learn differently than children and adolescents because as adults mature, they accumulate experiences which combine to validate increasingly complex frames of reference. This finding stems from research Mezirow conducted with women entering community colleges in the 1970s (Mezirow, 1978). Through this large scale qualitative research, Mezirow observed that certain learning char- acteristics exhibited by the women returning to school were generally observable across the population. These observations, validated in subsequent studies, evolved into transformative learning theory. Mezirow states that adults develop frames of reference that are continually used to make sense of the world in which we live. With repeated testing over time, those frames of reference become reliable, and perspec- tive transformations become less likely (Mezirow, 1991). The sheer accumulation of experiences adults collect cause them to think and learn differently than children or 34 Catherine Snyder adolescents (Kolb, 1984; Merriam, 2004). According to Mezirow, this accumulation of experiences and establishment of reliable frames of reference cause adults to be more thoughtful, and even cautious in their approach to new learning. Adults seek to fit new learning into pre-existing frames of reference. When new learning does not fit, opportunities for perspective transformation emerge (Mezirow, 1978). Adults will transform their thinking when old paradigms of thought no longer remain reliable for interpreting the world around them. Mezirow calls these new, more integrative ways of knowing “perspective transformation” (Mezirow, 1991, p. 167). A key element of perspective transformation is evidence of changes in decision making as a result of new understandings. The ten phases of transformative learning theory (see below) allowed for a tracking of participant growth which in turn helped identify the char- acteristics necessary for the participants’ successful transition to secondary teaching. Transformative learning theory framed the research presented here in that adults were viewed as approaching new learning with a critical eye, vetting new learning through the lens of experience. With this in mind, instructional techniques that prompted a more integrative or different view of teaching were paid close attention, resulting in the findings reported in this study. Ten phases of transformative learning make up the framework for Mezirow’s theory and the analytical tool for this research. Since the publication of his research the theory has developed and researchers have reacted to critical evaluation by the academy over the last thirty years. Mezirow’s ten phases of transformative learning are: 1. a disorienting dilemma; 2. self-examination with feelings of fear, anger, guilt, or shame; 3. a critical assessment of assumptions; 4. recognition that one’s discontent and the process of transformation are shared; 5. exploration of options for new roles, relationships, and actions; 6. planning a course of action; 7. acquiring knowledge and skills for implementing one’s plans; 8. provisional trying of new roles; 9. building competence and self-confidence in new roles and relationships; 10. a reintegration into one’s life on the basis of conditions dictated by one’s new perspective. (Mezirow, 2000, p. 22) By using the phases as an analytical framework, I was able to understand the journey of my participants as they made their transitions into classroom teaching. My research traced the transformations of the participants and identified the characteristics of their graduate teacher education which, in their words, had the greatest impact on 35 Finding the “Royal Road” to Learning to Teach their successful development as secondary teachers. Like many career-changers, the participants in this study entered the teacher education program with vast and tested content knowledge, as well as life experience. The participants had valid, reliable, and rich meaning perspectives. Those meaning perspectives had to be re- framed by the participants in order for them to begin to see themselves as secondary teachers. An understanding of their perspectives as they embarked on their journey to become secondary teachers is imperative to teachers of adults whose goal it is to help their students learn and embrace new ways of viewing themselves and the world. Transformative learning theory provides the framework for identifying that growth (or lack of growth) in learning (Mezirow, 1991). Literature Review In reviewing the current literature on transformative learning theory, several trends appeared. I reviewed recent empirical research using Mezirow’s (1978) transformative learning theory as applied to higher education and professional set- tings, how researchers identified transformative learning in their empirical studies and how researchers have sought to measure the transformative learning process (Berger, 2004; Brock, 2010; Brown, 2005; Cranton & Carusetta, 2004; Erickson, 2007; Fetherston & Kelly, 2007; King, 2004; Kitchenham, 2006; Stansberry & Kymes, 2007; Taylor, 2003; Whitelaw, Sears & Campbell, 2004). I drew several conclusions from this review. First, more often than not, researchers cannot claim that transformation actu- ally occurs (Kitchenham, 2006; Stansberry & Kymes, 2007; Whitelaw et al., 2004). However, success in an educational endeavor seemed to be positively correlated with individuals’ likelihood to report transformation (Brock, 2010; King, 2004; Kitchenham, 2006; Stansberry & Kymes, 2007). Second, the studies that did identify transforma- tion tended to be longitudinal in design (Brown, 2005; Cranton & Carusetta, 2004; Fetherston et al., 2007; Kitchenham, 2006; Taylor, 2003) implying that the transforma- tive process generally requires a period of time longer than a typical school semester. Third, it was evident from the literature that Mezirow’s transformative learning theory has matured substantially since its introduction in the 1970s. It is now a theory that has been validated through conceptual debate and empirical studies, demonstrating its usefulness as a lens through which to analyze adult learning. This body of literature simultaneously frames my work and points to a gap in the research. My study helps to inform researchers and teacher educators of the journey taken by adults becoming secondary teachers. By better understanding their journey, we increase the likelihood that improvements in instruction will help recruit, teach and retain adult learners in secondary education fields. Methodology The goal of this study was to identify the replicable elements of a teacher education 36 Catherine Snyder program which facilitate career-changing students’ successful transformation to profes- sional secondary teaching. Several recommendations were gleaned from the review of literature on this topic and on the use of Mezirow’s transformative learning theory in research. First, the challenge presented by the research agenda was to design a study which would reveal evidence (or lack of evidence) of Mezirow’s transformative phases of learning without overtaxing the participants in the form of too many time-consuming data collection methods. Second, the study needed to span a length of time sufficient for transformation to occur (longer than a semester). Third, multiple methods were needed in order to hear the voices of the various participants. And finally, the setting became relevant as I needed to be able to remain in contact with the participants over the three year timeline and have a level of interaction with the participants which would allow for open conversation. For these reasons, a mixed method, qualitative approach was chosen along with the immediate setting in which I teach. Setting The setting for this study is a small independent graduate college in the north- east offering a Master of Arts in Teaching in several disciplines. Because of the program’s flexible nature, it tends to attract career changers; in any given class, up to 30% of the students would be considered non-traditional graduate students. The remaining 70% are typically between 22 and 25 years of age. Figure 1 MAT Program Aligned with Mezirow’s Transformative Phases 37 Finding the “Royal Road” to Learning to Teach Despite the program’s thoughtful design, however, conversations with faculty revealed that few had thought overtly about the differences in the way adults learn. While all recognized there were differences, and could readily discuss those differ- ences, no research had been done with our own students or graduates into this area in an attempt to surface or hone in on ways to better meet students’ learning needs. The graphic below illustrates the program’s already well-established pathway for its candidates aligned with the study’s use of Mezirow’s transformative process. Study Design This was a qualitative case study of four women’s journeys through the MAT program and the two years following the program. The research was conducted in three primary steps: analysis of archived data, participant generated photography and face-to-face interviews. The study was reviewed and accepted by the Institu- tional Review Board. Step One: Analysis of Archived Data. Archived data was gathered from partici- pants and analyzed for evidence of transformative learning. (Application Essays, Field Work Journals, Summer Journals, Trimester Evaluations, Philosophy of Teaching Narrative, and The Teacher I Have Become Narrative). In total, 150 to 200 pages of archived reflective writing was collected from each of the four participants. The data were cataloged, digitized and secured electronically. They were then organized by participant and coded using several lenses: First was the use of Mezirow’s theory of transformative learning (2000). Evidence of the transformative process was coded and tracked with attention paid to participants stories (Rubin & Rubin, 1995), the participants voice and use of I statements (Gee, 1999). It was observed, for example, that the tone of I statements for all four participants changed over time from reluctant, nervous and investigatory to planful and then confident. Coding was done using a system similar to the comparative method as outlined by Sharon Merriam (1998). A running analytic memo (Charmaz, 2006; Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Tuleja, 2002) was also kept as the data was analyzed. Step Two: Participant Generated Photography. As themes emerged in the data, already reviewed data were revisited with an eye toward verifying or setting aside potential thematic threads. Once the archived data was fully analyzed, the study entered its second step, participant-generated photography (Perka, Matherly, Fish- man and Ridge, 1992; Taylor, 2002). In their second year of teaching, participants were provided with disposable cameras and invited to take pictures of the ‘teachers they had become.’ This step in the research design served as a check to the themes emerging from the archived data and informed the interview protocol. This step was added to the methodology after the study commenced (and approved by the Institutional Review Board). Once the coding of the participants’ writing was underway, it became clear that over the three year timeline of the study, an intermediary step was needed to better understand the participants’ growth over time. 38 Catherine Snyder It would not be enough to capture their thinking at the beginning of their journeys and then again in their third year, another checkpoint was needed. Several different methodologies were considered: additional interviewing, journaling, and blogging, for example. My goal was to capture the participants’ thinking about their growth as teachers without imposing a large time commitment on their already busy schedules. After researching ways that participant-generated photography were applied in vari- ous research settings, I decided this methodology would allow me to check in on my participants’ growth without imposing several hours of work on them. A pilot study was conducted where the procedures and directions for the participant-generated photography were tested and modified. Then, participants were invited to use a 20-shot disposable camera to take photos of the “teachers they had become.” The directions were purposely kept none-specific, allowing for the participants to define themselves as professional teachers in whatever way they saw fit. For instance, participants were not limited to only taking pictures of them- selves, their classrooms or immediate work environments. If they wanted to take pictures of their families or home, they could. Once the cameras were given back to me, I printed each photo on a sheet of paper with lines underneath the photos. Participants were then asked to write brief descriptions under the photos they felt represented the teachers they were becoming. The insertion of the participant generated photography step in the research study had several positive consequences. It put me back in touch with the participants in a direct way. At the point where I completed the coding, the face-to-face inter- views were still some time off. I began to feel disconnected from the participants’ growth as novice teachers. The insertion of this step allowed me to reconnect with the participants and also provided an opportunity for the participants to reflect on their teaching and the process of change they were undergoing as they became more and more comfortable with their relatively new roles as professional teachers. The photographs provided a point of dialogue for the interviews and revealed some reflection on the part of the participants that I think would not have been revealed had the photos not been used. For instance, one participant took several pictures of her colleagues. These photos showed her working together with a special educa- tion co-teacher, her department colleagues and department chairperson. This series of photos allowed us to talk about the role her colleagues played in her work, her growth and her perception of herself as a teacher. Step Three: Face-to-Face Interviews. The third step consisted of a face-to-face interview with participants using a semi-structured (Merriam, 1998) interview protocol and the participant-generated photographs. All of the questions were asked of all the participants, but the order was sometimes changed to accommodate a more natural conversational flow. The photographs taken by the participants were the starting point for each interview. The photographs served a couple of purposes. First, they served as a comfortable way to open conversation. The participants en- 39 Finding the “Royal Road” to Learning to Teach joyed discussing the photographs, their reasons for taking certain pictures, and the students and colleagues in the pictures. Second, the photos served as a lens through which to analyze the robustness of the themes emerging from the archived data. For example, collegiality emerged from the archived data as a dominant facilitator of transformation among the participants. The appearance of pictures of colleagues reinforced the need to bring this topic up in the interviews. The questions focused on the theme introduced to the participants in step two, that is, “the teacher they had become.” Questions revolved around the progress they had made in their teaching skills and integration into their newly chosen profession. The transcribed interviews were then analyzed and coded in conjunction with the findings from the first two steps of the research. The elements of their teach- ing which participants’ identified as contributing to their success were coded and traced back through the analysis of the photography and archived data. Themes that remained persistent throughout the three year timeline were identified as sub- stantially contributing to their successful transformation to becoming secondary teachers. Throughout all three steps of the research on-going conversations with the participants were conducted via email. Participants member checked (Patton, 2002) conclusions, clarified and added information where needed. The three research steps (analysis of archived data, participant-generated pho- tography, interviewing) allowed for a strong cross-checking of emergent themes. Coupled with the use of analytical memos, emailing with participants and formal member-checking, the findings reported here were heavily triangulated and re- ported with confidence. The particular data collected allowed for the revelation of transformation which I could then match with the work Mezirow conducted to say with confidence that the participants did indeed experience a transformation in terms of how they viewed themselves professionally and how they thought about themselves as professional educators. It should be noted that I am a full time instructor in the MAT program, the setting for the first year of the study, and have taught the classes from which most of the archived data is taken. I taught the cohort under study; however, during that time period I did not consider using their work in a study. From that perspective, I view my analysis as valid. Additionally, my personal experience and interaction with the participants in many ways enhanced my insights into the transformative process experienced by the participants. The Participants’ Journey Below is a summary recounting of the four participants’ journeys toward becom- ing secondary teachers. Each participant (Rebecca, Tosha, Mary, and Elizabeth) spent between seven and 20 years in a previous career (engineering, pharmaceutical sales, science research). Prior to entering the MAT program, all had brushes with teaching (Sunday school teaching, tutoring, and in one case, independent school teaching). 40 Catherine Snyder Two of the four participants had master’s degrees in their content areas; all four were mothers. Despite this wealth of experience and expertise, all four showed varying signs of stress, doubt and need for support. The quotes below come from all four participants and were selected to step the reader through the transformation taken by them as seen through the lens of Mezirow’ s transformative learning theory (1991). Considering the need for brevity, I selected to highlight phases one (“disorienting dilemma”), three (“critical assessment of assumptions”), seven (“acquiring knowledge and skills for implementing one’s plans”) and ten (“reintegration into one’s life on the basis of conditions dictated by one’s new perspective”) (Mezirow, 2000, p. 22). These phases were selected because the milestones represented by these phases provide those who might not be familiar with Mezirow’s theory a clear sense of the transformative progression. The transformation under study was the shift these participants under- went as they transitioned from thinking about themselves as a professional engineer, businesswoman or science researchers to professional educators. Despite their skills and background, the transformation was still deep and difficult. Following this section will be a discussion of the findings that resulted from the analysis of this qualitative data. Phase One: Disorienting Dilemma According to Mezirow (1991), adults engaged in transformative learning move down a predictable pathway involving a prompt, intake of new knowledge and re- integration. At first, adults find themselves in a “disorienting dilemma” (Mezirow, 2000, p. 22). At this point in the learning process, there is typically either an im- mediate need or desire to learn something new, and an unsettled sensation on the part of the learner or “an accretion of transformed meaning schemes resulting from a series of dilemmas or in response to an externally imposed epochal dilemma…” (Mezirow, 1991, p. 168). The disorienting dilemma occurs because a formerly reliable meaning perspective suddenly appears to be less reliable than previously thought, thus prompting an uncomfortable need for resolution. For Mary, the disorienting dilemma seemed to come in two layers: personal and professional. Prior to entering the MAT program, Mary started to feel the need to do something to give back to society, and at the same time she was coming to terms with the eminent dissolution of her marriage, a clear trigger event. Reflecting back on her journey toward teaching, Mary said in her interview: I got to the point where I felt like I wasn’t giving back, I wasn’t contributing any- thing to society. And that’s what made me start thinking about it…and at the same time my marriage is falling apart and so I was like, well, you know, I could move back up to [home state] and finally get to teach ‘cause it had been like four years between deciding that’s what I wanted to do and making the move. Um, but it was what I was doing, it didn’t seem important. You know I wasn’t doing anything to contribute to society and help people. So that’s why. 41 Finding the “Royal Road” to Learning to Teach In addition to the very personal “epochal” (Mezirow, 1991, p. 168) dilemmas Mary faced, she also experienced some professional disorientation as she entered the MAT program. While she initially expressed confidence, as is evidenced in the excerpt below, when confronted with actual students and classrooms, her confidence quickly waned. In explaining her teaching skills Mary wrote in her journal: During my years in the industry, one of my prime responsibilities was to train our company’s newly hired engineers and our customers’ shipboard personnel. Because of these responsibilities, I worked with an incredibly diverse array of learners. Onboard the ships, I encountered people with language barriers, as well as people at varying levels of intellect. I learned very quickly that material needed to be presented in ways so that everyone could succeed, regardless of their personal styles of learning. Just prior to actually entering a classroom for observation, the confidence expressed above disappeared. In a journal entry written just prior to entering the classroom for the first time Mary became concerned and self-reflective as she wrote: I will be nervous because I am entering into a complete unknown…it seems that technology teachers are teaching a much more advanced curriculum than I ever learned. The experience will be a lot to take in and absorb and I am concerned I won’t be looking for what I need. It might seem surprising that a naval engineer with 13 years of experience would second guess her ability to teach a technology curriculum. The angst Mary expressed points to the fragility of the adult learner when encountering a new environment. As Mezirow explains, it is precisely because of the well-established frame of reference Mary has with regard to technology and engineering that she felt this angst. The potential to have to understand what she knows in a different way was destabilizing, even for an experienced engineer. Rebecca entered the program with a master’s degree and years of experience as a researcher in a blue chip company. She also taught new colleagues at large training sessions and felt well-prepared for the MAT program. Shortly after enter- ing the program, however, Rebecca started to understand that secondary teaching would require her to learn a new set of skills and a new way of thinking about her professional life. She wrote: Part of my struggle is to realize that I cannot escape having to learn through mis- takes. Experience and time appear to be the primary teachers of this profession, and I have to accept that I cannot change the inevitability of learning the hard way. My pride badly shattered, I am now much more humble. The disorientation is palpable in Rebecca and Mary’s reflections. The need for purposefully mentored support, particularly during the early stages of integration into a teaching program cannot be overlooked. 42