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Aligning Constructivist Beliefs about Teaching and Learning with Teaching Practices
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- Author / Creator
- Buttler, Timothy
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Teacher education is often criticized for not sufficiently preparing teachers. As a teacher educator, I became concerned that my practice did not reflect my constructivist perspective. I was a living contradiction. As a result, I initiated this study to examine my current teaching and identify how I might align my beliefs and practice. Using a self-study approach, I analyzed my teaching practices in a high school science classroom and in a science teacher education course. The qualitative data collected included lesson plans, video recordings of teaching, student and peer interviews, a personal educational life history narrative, and a reflective journal. Brooks and Brooks’ (2001) guiding principles of constructivism provided the lens for data analyses. Alignment of beliefs and practice were more prevalent in the university setting than in the high school. My understanding of constructivist practice during the high school teaching was underdeveloped, and thinking of meaningful constructivist-oriented activities was a struggle. In the subsequent university class, I developed a deeper understanding of constructivist pedagogies. The nature of the course content and increased student motivation also made planning easier. My findings suggest a need for my continued development in planning and delivering constructivist-oriented activities. One insight drawn from the research is that graduate programs in teacher education should consider preparing doctoral students to teach undergraduate students. Another insight is that the success of constructivist-oriented activities is dependent on the teaching context.
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- Graduation date
- Fall 2019
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- Type of Item
- Thesis
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- Degree
- Doctor of Education
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- License
- Permission is hereby granted to the University of Alberta Libraries to reproduce single copies of this thesis and to lend or sell such copies for private, scholarly or scientific research purposes only. Where the thesis is converted to, or otherwise made available in digital form, the University of Alberta will advise potential users of the thesis of these terms. The author reserves all other publication and other rights in association with the copyright in the thesis and, except as herein before provided, neither the thesis nor any substantial portion thereof may be printed or otherwise reproduced in any material form whatsoever without the author's prior written permission.