Learning ‘rules’ of practice within the context of the practicum triad: A case study of learning to teach

Abstract

This case study sought to determine the professional development circumstances in which a preservice teacher learned rules of practice (Wittgenstein, 1996) on practicum while interacting with a cooperating teacher and university supervisor. Borrowing from a theoretical conceptualization of teacher professional development based on the postulates of a general theory of learning (Berducci, 2004; Nelson, 2008) and collective action (Wittgenstein, 1996), this study showed that teaching rules of practice is (i) effective when it makes use of contexts and exemplars anchored in the preservice teacher’s experience and, (ii) before the preservice teacher is able to follow the rules in the classroom, he needs to be monitored by the cooperating teacher and university supervisor within a community of practice. These share with the preservice teacher the cognitive background and associated intentions that they bring to the setting and that he does not (yet) have and that he will construct through discourse and actual teaching.

Keywords: Teacher training; pre-service teacher; training collective; work rules; learning circumstances.