Examining how teacher education influences preservice teachers‟ (PSTs) application of content
knowledge, decision making when planning for teaching, creation of innovative teaching
practices and design of aligned instruction, has significant implications for understanding
learning to teach. The purpose of this study was to explore the extent to which the constructivist
pedagogies (e.g., interactive community discussions, problem-solving, group challenges)
employed by teacher educators through the implementation of a rick task (Macdonald, Hunter &
Tinning, 2007) assisted PSTs in their understanding and construction of knowledge about
instructional alignment. Data collection employed rich tasks and focus group interviews with a
sample of 31 physical education teacher education (PETE) PSTs enrolled on a one-year Graduate
Diploma Physical Education programme. Data were analyzed inductively (Patton, 1990) using
the constant comparative method (Rubin & Rubin, 1995). Results revealed that PSTs varied in
their articulation of the various elements of instructional alignment that were captured in the rich
task. Through the use of such constructivist strategies as problem-solving, group discussions, and
critical friends, PSTs understood and valued the process of instructional alignment as they
moved from feelings of fear and apprehension to being confident in their own development.
Areas of strength and deficiency that were noted in the PSTs‟ attempts to design instructionally
aligned lessons will guide the teacher educators in revising programme components and their
own practice.
History
Publication
Teaching and Teacher Education;33, July, pp. 100-112
Publisher
Elsevier
Note
peer-reviewed
Rights
This is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Teaching and Teacher Education. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Teaching and Teacher Education, 33, July, pp. 100-112, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2013.02.008