IN-PERSON: Applying Education
Abstract
The world is in transition, and in a Norwegian context, suitability assessments of pre-service teachers play a key role in assuring quality in teacher education. This project is anchored in interdisciplinary thinking, where actors from health education provide their special competence concerning simulation as a pedagogical method into teacher education. The purpose is to address a gap in the existing knowledge about the processes of developing good practices involving suitability assessments. The research question is: How can simulation as a pedagogical method contribute to pre-service teachers gaining increased self-awareness of their suitability? The data sets underpinning the argument in this project is a psychological test battery (Gerdts-Andresen et al., 2021) that mapped the participants’ awareness of suitability before the simulation in their second semester, and which collected data on their experiences after the activities. Triangulation (Denzin, 2017) was performed with focus group discussions. Preliminary results show that simulation as a pedagogical method contributes to pre-service teachers’ professional development when they demonstrate decision-making and critical thinking. An interesting finding is the participants’ increased awareness of their suitability for the teacher role. Furthermore, an implication for facilitating the simulation is to prepare cases related to the criteria in the suitability regulations and the pre-service teachers’ learning outcomes in their curriculum. Denzin, N. K. (2017). The research act: A theoretical introduction to sociological methods. Routledge.
Mette Hvalby is an associate professor in pedagogy and Head of suitability assessments at the faculty of arts and education at the University of Stavanger in Norway. She has extensive experience as a teacher educator. Her most important research activities are professional development, suitability assessment, teacher education and supervision. The research also involves several recent published articles and book chapters.
Mette Tindvik Hansen is an assistant professor and Head of suitability assessments at the faculty of health and welfare studies at the Ostfold University College in Norway. She has extensive experience as a social educator. Her most important research activities are professional development, didactics, simulation as a pedagogical method and suitability assessment. The research also involves several recent published articles.
11:15 am - 12:45 pm
Wednesday 26th April, 2023