The indispensable role of the goal construct in understanding and improving teaching practice

Janssen, Fred; Westbroek, Hanna; Borko, Hilda

doi:10.1080/19415257.2023.2217426

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Goal-system representations are personal constructs that show how people connect hierarchies of goals to actions in pursuit of tasks [33]. The GSR tool is based on the idea that goals are the most proximate determinant for behavior, mediating at the same time the effects of work context, as well as knowledge and beliefs on practical decision-making [34].…”

Section: Theoretical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Besides the focus on goal-means relations, the GSR tool pictures a complete representative lesson and how it unfolds in practice to work with in coaching sessions, instead of working with very specific instances of in-class experiences (e.g., a classroom-management situation or an instruction) which then tend to be discussed decontextualized. These building blocks are meaningful units of analysis that are relatively easy to identify [33], while at the same time the student teacher is able to keep a holistic view of the lesson, affording an understanding of the interconnectedness of different goals and means. Furthermore, it provides an immediate visual overview of the student teacher's rationale behind the sequence of building blocks in terms of perceived goal achievement, a part of personal theory which often proves difficult to tap into.…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

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Bridging Theory and Practice: Using Goal Systems to Spark Professional Dialogue and Develop Personal Theories

Westbroek,

de Vries,

Kaal

et al. 2024

Education Sciences

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School-based mentors play a key role in the learning processes of student teachers. Ideally, they facilitate student teachers to scrutinize their approaches and underlying assumptions, and link these to theoretical notions. In this study we investigated how three mentors used a goal-system representation (GSR) tool in their mentoring conversations. The GSR tool is essentially a visual reflection of the student teacher’s personal theory regarding classroom practice. It was developed at our teacher training institute to help our students see the personal relevance of research literature and theory and apply it to their lesson plans, to bridge the gap between educational theory, their vision of good teaching and their educational practice. In three explorative case studies, we show how mentors use the GSR tool and to what extent they support three levels of personal theory development: sharing, investigating and transforming. In all cases, student teachers could relate their practices to theoretical notions, giving access to their mentors for further questioning of their sense-making of the situation. Mentors successfully use these opportunities for personal theory development in various ways. We conclude that the GSR tool functions as a boundary object between theory and practice and between institute-based and school-based teacher education.

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Section: Theoretical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%