“How might we explain what is happening here?” Help offered by PracticumTutors in PreserviceTeacher Education

Abstract

Reflection is a vital component in professional teaching practices. The idea from which reflection itself stems is that of teachers’ agency in their own professional development. Our study is rooted in recent research into the need to support processes of reflection among student teachers. From a historical-cultural perspective, our aim is to analyze the discursive interactions which take place during collaborative seminars in an innovation experience within a reflective Practicum, and to describe how the university tutors support and foster reflection on practice. We use a multiple case design in which each case is a classroom unit made up of a tutor and her students. We identified 24 types of discursive educational supports or Aids to Joint Reflection. Results indicate a profile characterized by the presence of aids related to three dimensions: dialogical, interpretative and theory-practice relationships. Contributions are made for the training of student teachers and for practicum tutors.