PhD project
Teacher Learning Through Novice-expert Interaction in the Context of Chinese Vocational Education
The aim of this research is to gain insight into the approaches of learning to teach. Teacher learning processes, feedback in novice-expert interaction and the impact of the interaction are explored.
- Duration
- 2017 - 2021
- Contact
- Xinglin Jin
- Funding
- Chinese Government Scholarships
- Partners
Researchers
- X. Jin - PhD candidate
- prof.dr. W.F. Admiraal - supervisor
- dr. J.A. Meirink - co-supervisor
- dr. A.C. van der Want - co-supervisor
Background
In the context of vocational education and training (VET), the praxis shock of novice teachers might be more severe than that of teachers in general secondary schools. Therefore training projects consisting of novice-expert interaction are widely used to promote the professional development of novice VET teachers in China. Many previous researches have found the effects and important factors of novice-expert interaction. However, our knowledge on how exactly novice VET teachers learn from their more experienced peers is limited. Thus, the current project focuses on exploring the teacher learning process, feedback and effects of novice-expert interaction.
Research questions
- How can novice teachers’ learning in novice–expert interaction be characterised in the context of Chinese vocational education?
- What do novice teachers need to learn from the perspective of expert teachers, and how do expert teachers give feedback to novice teachers based on novice teachers’ teaching videos?
- How do novice and expert teachers interpret the comments given by expert teachers in their interaction?
- How does the professional development program effect novice teachers’ teaching efficacy and retention?
Setting and methods
This research is based on The Standard Training Program for Novice Vocational School Teachers in Shanghai. Every novice teacher should provide 3 lesson presentations to the program and then a group of expert teachers are invited to give feedback to each novice teachers after every presentation.
Several kinds of data are collected through this program: 1). questionnaires on teachers’ teaching efficacy, 2).videos of novice-expert interaction, 3).videos of novice teachers’ teaching and 4). interviews on novice and expert teachers.
Both qualitative and quantitative methods are used to analyse different data. For instance, grounded theory is used to analyse the interviews, and the questionnaires are analysed by descriptive statistics.