Using Self-Study to Develop a Third Space for Collaborative Supervision of Master's Projects in Teacher Education

Abstract

Teacher education is constantly being renewed in response to continuous social, economic and technological changes. In 2008, teacher education in Iceland was extended from a three-year to a five-year master’s degree program and this significantly increased the number of students at the master’s level. To respond to these changes, 3 university-based teacher educators organized collaborative supervisory meetings for 18 master’s students during the school years 2012– 2014. We used self-study methodology to analyze our progress and inspire our development as supervisors. The goal was to gain a better understanding of how we learn together in collaborative supervision and to develop, adapt, and change our teaching and learning practices. Data included reflective notes and journals, recordings of students’ and supervisors’ meetings, e-mails, tickets out of class, and material from Moodle. Constant analysis of data was conducted with personal reflection and collective discussion, using theories to scrutinize data. Our findings show that, by working together on supervisory issues, we expanded our resources, strengthened our collaboration and trust, developed our professional identities, and improved our collective supervisory efficacy. We discovered that self-study provided an in-between space for us to explore cultures, roles, and visions as we collaboratively contested, defined and recreated our roles as supervisors.

La formacio´n docente pasa por continuos procesos de renovacio´n en respuesta a cambios sociales, econo´micos y tecnolo´gicos. En Islandia en 2008, la formacio´n docente fue extendida de tres an˜os a un programa de ma´ster de cinco an˜os, lo que incremento´ significativamente el numero de estudiantes en el nivel de ma´ster. Para responder a estos cambios, tres formadores de docentes de la universidad organizaron reuniones de supervisio´n colaborativa de 18 estudiantes durante los an˜os 2012– 2014. Utilizamos la metodologı´a del self-study para analizar nuestro progreso e inspirar nuestro desarrollo como supervisores. El propo´sito era desarrollar una mejor comprensio´n de co´mo aprendemos juntos en la supervisio´n colaborativa, y desarrollar, adaptar o cambiar nuestras pra´cticas de ensen˜anza y aprendizaje. Los datos fueron recogidos de notas reflexivas y diarios, grabaciones de reuniones entre supervisores y estudiantes, correos electro´nicos, resu´menes de los alumnos sobre lo aprendido en clase (te´cnica de los tickets resumen), y material de Moodle. El ana´lisis continuo de los datosse llevo´ a cabo con reflexio´n personal y discusio´n colectiva, utilizando teorı´as para examinar los datos. Los hallazgos muestran que, al trabajar juntos en temas de supervisio´n, logramos expandir nuestros recursos, fortalecimos la colaboracio´n y la confianza, desarrollamos nuestras identidades profesionales y mejoramos la eficacia de nuestra supervisio´n. Descubrimos que el self-study provee un espacio intermedio que nos permite explorar culturas, roles y visiones en la medida que colaborativamente discutimos, definimos y recreamos nuestro rol como supervisores.