Í greininni er fjallað almennt um vettvangsnám og hvernig það er skipulagt og framkvæmt
í námskeiðinu Faggreinakennsla á Menntavísindasviði Háskóla Íslands. Rannsakað var
viðhorf kennaranema í grunnskólakennarafræði og mat þeirra á vettvangsnáminu. Einnig er
gerð grein fyrir mismunandi viðhorfum fræðimanna til vettvangsnáms, vægi kennslufræða
og faggreina og ekki síst eðli og formi þessa brýna en vandasama hluta kennaranáms.
Verkefni og ritgerðir nema í námskeiðinu á árunum 2013–2015 voru greindar og niðurstöður
skoðaðar í ljósi hugmynda og markmiða kennara námskeiðsins. Helstu niðurstöður um
viðhorf nema eru þær að þeim finnst mjög áhugavert að vinna í teymi í vettvangsnáminu því
þannig læri þeir mismunandi kennsluaðferðir og það hjálpi þeim að sjá eigin kennslu í nýju
ljósi. Nemum finnst einnig gagnlegt að kynnast mismunandi hugsunarhætti og nálgun í
faggreinum. Í námskeiðinu virðast þeir líta á vettvangsnámið sem samstarf sitt og kennara
í grunnskóla. Einnig kemur fram að teymisvinna hvetji nema til að samþætta tvö eða fleiri
viðfangsefni í kennslu og að þeir ræði um skólastarf og skólamenningu vettvangsskólans.
Í umræðum eru niðurstöður ræddar í fræðilegu ljósi og bent á hvað hugsanlega mætti
betur fara. Höfundar leggja áherslu á að niðurstöður þessarar rannsóknar á teymisvinnu
benda til þess að huga mætti oftar að teymisvinnu þar sem hún á við í vettvangsnámi en
hingað til. Enn fremur þarf að auka samstarf Menntavísindasviðs og vettvangsskóla.
The purpose of this study is to examine how students react to and assess taking
part in teamwork during a project based internship. The authors first discuss the
term internship, different definitions of the concept, and how it is related to teacher
education. Kemnis and Smith (2007) refer to internship as a situated practice where
students take part in a certain ethical act that is promissory in terms of respecting
specific work and professional traditions. That is the reason why terms such as
values, expectations and ideas are important components when talking about
internships. During internship students gain practical knowledge that they, together
with their theoretical knowledge, can use to shape their own professional views and
understanding of teaching.
Furthermore, the gap between theoretical and practical knowledge is discussed.
Some scholars (e.g., Muchinsky, 2001) suggest that neither theories nor research
results tell us exactly what to do in a practical context. Scholars with this point of
view often put forward an assertion that there is no relation between theoretical
and practical knowledge. Teaching is understood as a question of practice built
on common sense and experience. This point of view is also widely known among
many teachers who fail to see the connection between theory and practice. Other
scholars (e.g., Korthagen et al., 2001, and Ragnhildur Bjarnadóttir, 2015) understand
internships as a form of practice where students acquire procedural knowledge built
on a dynamic relationship between practical and theoretical knowledge. In this article
the term internship is understood as a learning process where students are given the
opportunity to combine theory and practical experience with the purpose of becoming
reflective professionals.
In 2008, teacher education in Iceland changed from requiring a B.Ed. to an obligatory
M.Ed. degree. In other words, the schooling for teachers was extended from three
to five years. This is regarded as a major change and has partly resulted in a new
structure for teacher education. One of the main changes is that more weight has
been given to internships and school−based training. During the last two years of the
M.Ed., the students take two courses emphasizing school−based training.
In this study the authors examine how students react to the course „Faggreinakennsla”.
The purpose of the course is to let the students reflect on how to teach subjects in
compulsory schools. The course has been taught from 2013 and requires that students
spend four weeks in schools as part of their internships. Students are required to
work in teams with other students while interning. Normally, a team consists of 5 –
8 students majoring in different subjects, and the team members work in the same
school during their internship. During their work in the field, each team jointly finds
an issue or topic of special interest relating to school work. The chosen topic is then
covered and discussed in a final presentation and dissertation of the course.
The researchers analysed the students’ writings about their experiences and practices
during internship. The analysed material covers the period from 2013 to 2015. The
research methods are text and discourse analyses. The main results indicate that
the students find it highly interesting to work in teams during the internship because
they learn about and see teaching methods used in different subgjects, which helps
them to put their own teaching into perspective. Also, students seem to think of the
internship in terms of collaboration with their supervising teachers as well as their
fellow students. Furthermore, the students come to a better understanding of how
and when it is possible to integrate two or more subjects in their teaching.
The research provides a deeper understanding of how teamwork during internships
can help students acquire a much better understanding of their teaching practice.
The research also reveals that project-based work on a chosen topic or matter related
to schoolwork makes it more apparent to the students how theoretical and practical
knowledge can be integrated in the learning process. In that way, students seem to
have a better opportunity to examine, discuss and reflect on the act of teaching from
different points of view. The research, therefore, contributes significant knowledge
on how teacher students reconcile theoretical and practical aspects as important
elements of the internship.
