PUTTING PRACTICE INTO THEORY - CHANGES IN THE ORGANIZATION OF PRESERVICE TEACHERS PEDAGOGICAL KNOWLEDGE

This study investigated changes in the organization of presence teache rs' knowledge about teaching. The research questions included: (a) Hot el do student teachers' concepts of effective teaching change through time? (b) What experiences and factors do student teachers report as i nfluencing changes in the organization of their concepts? Twenty-three seniors in middle-grades teacher education drew concept maps, complet ed card sorting tasks, and participated in structured interviews four times during the senior year. The findings indicated that student teac hers reconstructed their knowledge related to teaching during the midd le of student teaching and attributed these changes in knowledge organ ization primarily to student teaching experiences. Using a constructiv ist perspective, the authors discuss how anomalies experienced by stud ent teachers interacted with prior knowledge. Two concepts-flexibility and planning-emerged as key concepts that changed rapidly. Flexibilit y was initially associated with preparation for class; then toward the end of student reaching, this concept was related to differentiating instruction for students' needs and taking advantage of the teachable moment. Planning was initially described as a concept related to plann ing lessons and obtaining materials; then by the middle of student tea ching, it became associated with the unpredictability of classroom eve nts. By the end of student teaching, planning became a complex concept that connected lesson planning, maintaining class management and meet ing students' needs.