The nature and purpose of Concurrent Teaching in Teacher Education Stuart Hanscomb Carlo Rinaldi

Introduction The aim of the talk is to gain a better understanding of the purpose and nature of concurrent teaching as proposed by TEACHING SCOTLANDS FUTURE (The Donaldson Report), in terms of: Attributes of 21 st century teachers An attempt to conceptualise the nature of concurrent teaching in terms of levels of instrumentality Examples of concurrent degrees in Scotland Research questions

Skills and qualities required for 21 st century teachers Professional identity The teacher should be seen as a member of a profession that is recognised as both complex and challenging Extended professionalism –Deep understanding –Critical and creative thinking skills –Reflective and enquiring –Working collaboratively –Engagement with research Leadership –Educators of colleagues –Stronger connections with universities and other agencies

The Future In line with emerging developments across Scotlands universities, the traditional BEd degree should be phased out and replaced with degrees which combine in-depth academic study in areas beyond education with professional studies and development. These new degrees should involve staff and departments beyond those in schools of education. (Donaldson, 2010; 40, 88)

This leads to the question of how concurrent teaching should contribute to the development of the 21 st C. teacher, in terms of: a)What we teach and how we teach it, and b)How students engage with that teaching

The question of instrumentality Level 1: Teaching the content of lesson plans etc. (wholly instrumental, and counter Donaldson) Level 2: Teaching core subjects (maths, literacy etc.) so that it can be straightforwardly applied to the creation of lessons Level 3: Teaching other (non-education) subjects, but always so that education students can see how to make use of it in the classroom.

Level 4: (learning of identifiable but indirect relevance) Broadening professional identity and reflective capacity via subjects like the philosophy and history of education, or teaching other (non-education) subject areas (e.g. theory and practice of leadership, critical thinking, communication), that can be adjudged as having relevance to the professional development of teachers beyond the actual teaching of children. [See quotations 4 & 5]

Level 5: Teaching other (non-education) subjects with no other agenda. Thus education students are taking concurrent courses in order to: a) Learn for its own sake; finding out about the world and taking ownership of knowledge. b) Learn in a soft instrumental way (i.e. with an eye on their broad (non-profession specific) personal development.

Different interpretations Dundee –1 st and 2 nd year an elective from wider university –3 rd and 4 th year a curriculum based learning and teaching elective Stirling –BA Professional Education with specialism in Modern language, Environment or Early Years Aberdeen –1 st year 30 credit elective –2 nd year 60 credit elective Proposed Edinburgh –MA Primary Education with Maths, German, Scottish Studies, Earth Sciences, Religious Studies or History 1 st,2 nd and 4 th year 40 credits in specialism. 3 rd year out on placement all year.

MAPE Programme Structure (Dumfries Campus) School Exp 4 DissertationEducation in its Wider Context Teacher as a Professional School Exp 3 Maths 3 Literacy 3 Teachers and Teaching Curriculum and Assessment Elective Level 3 School Exp 2 Maths 2 Literacy 2 Child Development 2 Issues in Contemporary Society Elective Level 2 Elective Level 1 School Exp 1 Maths 1 Literacy 1 Child Development 1 Text And Comm Elective Level 1 Elective Level 1

Concurrent Courses CORE Text & Communication Issues in Contemporary Society ELECTIVE Environmental Stewardship Health and Social Policy Humanities –English Lit, History, Philosophy, Modern Language

Summary of (research) questions 1.What does Donaldson have in mind, and what latitude does this present us with? 2. What should we do with this latitude? Should there be a variety of interpretations or is a more uniform approach required? If there is to be a uniform approach, which Level(s) do we aim at? 3. What do the students think is/should be the purpose of concurrent teaching? 4. How are we to communicate to the students the point of concurrent teaching, and how are we to motivate them to engage with it? [See quotation 2]

Proposal relevant to questions 2 & 4 Concurrent subjects should be largely taught in accordance with Level 5 But students determine how they engage with them (which could be level 4 and/or 5 (along with level 3))