Developing Expert Learners of Teaching and Learning: A Model for Researching and Developing Learning Opportunities in School Settings

Abstract

Identifying social practices and the cultural history of the school departments’ work in the research undertaken in relation to student teacher education indicated why departments have been considered so ‘distinctive’ as learning environments (Donnelly, 2000). The following discussion of department cultures relates these findings to previous research and questions their impact on student teacher education activity. The chapter considers expansive learning as a possible consequence of the foci on tool use and department culture and introduces a follow-up research study I conducted in student teacher education, which presents a model for researching and developing learning opportunities in school settings.