Internship Assignments as a Bridge Between Theory and Practice?

Abstract

Elien’s self-study project is rooted in some frustrating experiences in her role as the internship coordinator at the bachelor program of early childhood education at Thomas More University College. Year after year, she noticed that student teachers did not make use of the conceptual frameworks and tools from the theoretical courses in the program during their internship practice. “You go to great lengths to tell student teachers how to teach and yet they are not able or willing to translate those insights into their practice.” One measure to “bridge” the theory-practice gap adopted in many teacher education programs, including the program Elien teaches on, is creating structured assignments that student teachers are expected to implement and analyze during internships. Assignments are designed to encourage students to study their teaching practice and reflectively connect the frameworks from theoretical courses with what happens in schools (Kelchtermans G: De kloof voorbij. Naar een betere integratie van theorie en praktijk in de lerarenopleiding. Rapport opgesteld in opdracht van de Vlaamse Onderwijsraad [Getting beyond the theory-practice gap. A report for the Flemish Educational Council]. VLOR, Brussels, 2003). However, more often than not, student teachers execute these assignments as routinized tasks, reducing the value of reflection on practice to the need to complete the assignment and “move on” with “what really matters,” that is, doing the practice of the internship. They do not seem to get the purpose of the assignments to actually contribute to the improvement of their own practice or situation. These observations formed the starting point for Elien’s self-study project.