IMTE: Improvisation in Teacher Education: Curricula and Practice in Dynamic Interplay

About the project:

The recent Norwegian reforms in teacher education seem only to some degree oriented towards what we perceive as the essence of a professional teacher education: The enhanced quality of pedagogic and curricular classroom teaching practice and the enhanced quality of the interaction between this practice and the other subject areas of teacher education programs.

The IMTE-project, where Stord/Haugesund University College is project owner, reflects a shift in focus from the general development of the individual student towards becoming a teacher, to a stronger focus on quality aspects in contents and forms of activities in practicum as well as the quality in interaction between what goes on in the classroom and in teacher education subjects and curricula. The project emphasizes particularly what could be described as the dynamics of teacher education, conceived as processes and interactions involved in flexible and improvisational knowledge construction.

The main research focus is on one overarching concept that we consider to be crucial in the development and study of dynamic aspects of teacher education and hence in the development of students' pedagogic identities. This overarching concept is improvisation, connected to the student teachers’ spontaneous as well as prepared handling of

• pedagogic and pedagogic content knowledge  in and across teaching practices and in interactions with pupils
•  examples of contents, activation forms and artifacts in and across practices and interactions with pupils and
• formative assessment  and the corresponding reflective practices of students, practicum teachers.

The study is mixed-method oriented, with three sub studies: 1) review, 2) intervention and 3) impact.

The research aims to enhance and develop Stord/Haugesund University College’s (SHUC) strategic priority area 'the development of professional, creative and innovative competencies within schools”, and will be integrated into SHUC's two master programs in teacher education 'Arts Education and Learning Processes' and 'ICT in Learning'.

For more information please visit the IMTE Website: http://prosjektsider.hsh.no/imte/

Principal Investigator (PI):         

Professor Knut Steinar Engelsen, Stord-Haugesund University College (Project leader)

Professor Magne Espeland, Stord-Haugesund University College (Research leader)

Professor Kari Smith, Department of Education, is the University of Bergen’s representative in the project as the head of the International Advisory Group and academic advisor

Outcome:

The main aim with IMTE is to study and develop teacher education as a collaborative, dynamic and relevant practice, structured and guided by the concept of improvisational performance as a generic and overarching teaching skill.

Funding:

The Norwegian Research Council (NFR)

Collaborators:

 Stord/Haugesund University College

Project period:

 1. December 2012- 30. March 2016

Research Group

This project is part of the reseearch group Undervisningprofesjonalitet/Professionality in Teaching