Pre- and In-Service Teachers’ Teamwork Behaviour in Integrated Teacher Training

Abstract

Teamwork and collaboration skills are regarded as essential proficiencies in the current worlds of work, study and everyday life. A relevant question is whether and how pre-service teachers have opportunities to begin acquiring professional collaboration skills during their studies. In the current study, Finnish pre- and in-service teachers participating in a joint training programme were engaged in reflection tasks to evaluate their teamwork behaviour during a challenging pedagogical design task in mixed teams. The aim of this study was to examine how pre- and in-service teachers perceived their teamwork practices while performing authentic training activities together. The participants reflected on their own and their teams’ behaviour in two ways: using a digital reflection survey tool repeatedly during the process and writing a reflection text. In the surveys, the participants scored both team behaviour and their own behaviour in the team relatively highly, but their own behaviour was evaluated as somewhat better than the overall team behaviour. In the reflective writing assignments, team behaviour was addressed more often than one’s own behaviour. Experiences were mostly positive, but the participants also reported varying challenges. Based on the results, it can be suggested that to better guarantee the development of pre- and in-service teachers’ collaboration skills, systematic guidance with adequate tools, is the requisite.

Keywords

• teamwork
• reflection
• teacher education
• technology enhanced learning

References

1. Allan, E. G. (2016). “I hate group work!”: Addressing students’ concerns about small-group learning. InSight: A Journal of Scholarly Teaching, 11, 81–89. Retrieved from https://insightjournal.park.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/8-Allan.pdf
2. Anseel, F., Lievens, F., & Schollaert, E. (2009). Reflection as a strategy to enhance task performance after feedback. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 110(1), 23–35. doi: 10.1016/j.obhdp.2009.05.003
3. Avalos, B. (2011). Teacher professional development in teaching and teacher education over ten years. Teaching and Teacher Education, 27(1), 10–20.
4. Belski, R., & Belski, I. (2014). Cultivating student skills in self-regulated learning through evaluation of task complexity. Teaching in Higher Education, 19(5), 459–469. doi: 10.1080/13562517.2014.880685
5. Bengtsson, J. (1995). What is reflection? On reflection in the teaching profession and teacher education. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 1(1), 23–32.
6. Britton, E., Simper, N., Leger, A., & Stephenson, J. (2017). Assessing teamwork in undergraduate education: A measurement tool to evaluate individual teamwork skills. Null, 42(3), 378–397. doi: 10.1080/02602938.2015.1116497
7. Broussard, S. R., La Lopa, J. M., & Ross-Davis, A. (2007). Synergistic knowledge development in interdisciplinary teams. Journal of Natural Resources & Life Sciences Education, 36, 129–133.
8. Buder, J. (2011). Group awareness tools for learning: Current and future directions. Computers in Human Behavior, 27(3), 1114–1117. doi: 10.1016/j.chb.2010.07.012

9. Cremers, P. H. M., Wals, A. E. J., Wesselink R., & Mulder, M. (2016). Design principles for hybrid learning configurations at the interface between school and workplace. Learning Environments Research, 19(3), 309–334.
10. Creswell, J. W. (2003). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks: Sage publications.
11. Decuyper, S., Dochy, F., & Van den Bossche, P. (2010). Grasping the dynamic complexity of team learning: An integrative model for effective team learning in organisations. Educational Research Review, 5(2), 111–133. doi: 10.1016/j.edurev.2010.02.002
12. Dobber, M. (2011). Collaboration in groups during teacher education (Doctoral thesis, ICLON, Leiden University). Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/1887/17720
13. Durall, E., Leinonen, T., Gros, B., & Rodriguez-Kaarto, T. (2017). Reflection in learning through a self-monitoring device: Design research on EEG self-monitoring during a study session. Designs for Learning, 9(1), 10–20. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1235592.pdf
14. Earnest, M., Williams, J., & Aagaard, E. (2017). Toward an optimal pedagogy for teamwork. Academic Medicine, 92(10), 1378–1381. doi: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000001670
15. Fransen, J., Weinberger, A., & Kirschner, P. A. (2013). Team effectiveness and team development in CSCL. Educational Psychologist, 48(1), 9–24.
16. Friese, S. (2014). Qualitative data analysis with ATLAS.ti. London: SAGE. Husu, J., Toom, A., & Patrikainen, S. (2008). Guided reflection as a means to demonstrate and develop student teachers’ reflective competencies. Reflective Practice, 9(1), 37–51.
17. Häkkinen, P., Järvelä, S., Mäkitalo-Siegl, K., Ahonen, A., Näykki, P., & Valtonen, T. (2017). Preparing teacher-students for twenty-first-century learning practices (PREP 21): A framework for enhancing collaborative problem-solving and strategic learning skills. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 23(1), 25–41.
18. Häkkinen, P., Virtanen, T., Virtanen, A., Näykki, P., Pöysä-Tarhonen, J., Niilo-Rämä, M., & Järvelä, S. (2020). Finnish pre-service teachers’ perceptions of their strategic learning skills and collaboration dispositions. Journal of Education for Teaching, 46(1), 71–86.
19. Jao, L., & McDougall, D. (2016). Moving beyond the barriers: Supporting meaningful teacher collaboration to improve secondary school mathematics. Teacher Development, 20(4), 557–573.
20. Joffe, H., & Yardley, L. (2004) Content and thematic analysis. In D. F. Marks & L. Yardley (Eds.), Research methods for clinical and health psychology (pp. 56–68). London: Sage.
21. Kallunki, V., Karppinen, S., & Komulainen, K. (2017). Becoming animated when teaching physics, crafts and drama together – A multidisciplinary course for class teacher students. Journal of Education for Teaching, 43(1), 32–47. doi: 10.1080/02607476.2016.1182373
22. Kennedy, B. (2018). Deduction, induction, and abduction. In U. Flick (Ed.), The Sage handbook of qualitative data collection (pp. 49–64). London: SAGE Publications Ltd. doi: 10.4135/9781526416070
23. Kyllönen, M., Vesisenaho, M., Manu, M., & Häkkinen, P. (2021). The OpenDigi project harvest: Teachers, teacher educators and students developing their digi-pedagogical skills together. In A. Veijola, O. Salo, & S. Roos (Eds.), Meaningful learning in diverse learning environments (pp. 163–179). Jyväskylä: University of Jyväskylä Teacher Training School.
24. Kostiainen, E., & Pöysä-Tarhonen, J. (2019). Meaningful learning in teacher education, characteristics of. In M. A. Peters (Ed.), Encyclopedia of teacher education. Springer. Retrieved from doi: 10.1007/978-981-13-1179-6_50-1
25. Kostiainen, E., Ukskoski, T., Ruohotie-Lyhty, M., Kauppinen, M., Kainulainen, J., & Mäkinen, T. (2018). Meaningful learning in teacher education. Teaching and Teacher Education, 71, 66–77. doi: 10.1016/j.tate.2017.12.009.
26. Kotlyar, I., Krasman, J., & Fiksenbaum, L. (2020). Virtual high-fidelity simulation assessment of teamwork skills: How do students react? Null, 53(3), 1–20. doi: 10.1080/15391523.2020.1783401
27. Lacerenza, C. N., Marlow, S. L., Tannenbaum, S. I., & Salas, E. (2018). Team development interventions: Evidence-based approaches for improving teamwork. American Psychologist, 73(4), 517–531. doi: 10.1037/amp0000295
28. Lakkala, M., Toom, A., Ilomäki, L., & Muukkonen, H. (2015). Re-designing university courses to support collaborative knowledge creation practices. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 31(5), 521–536. doi: 10.14742/ajet.2526 .
29. Lakkala, M., Toom, A., Kallunki, V., Salmela-Aro, K., & Männistö, T. (2019, November). Developing a reflection tool for self- and co-evaluation of socio-epistemic practices in collaboration. Paper presented at the FERA Conference on Education, Joensuu, Finland. Loughran, J. J. (2002). Effective reflective practice. In search of meaning in learning about teaching. Journal of Teacher Education, 53(1), 33–43. doi: 10.1177/0022487102053001004
30. Loughry, M. L., Ohland, M. W., & Woehr, D. J. (2014). Assessing teamwork skills for assurance of learning using CATME team tools. Journal of Marketing Education, 36(1), 5–19. doi: 10.1177/0273475313499023
31. McGuire, L., Lay, K., & Peters, J. (2009). Pedagogy of reflective writing in professional education. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 9(1), 93–107. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ854881.pdf
32. Ortoleva, G., Betrancourt, M., & Billett, S. (Eds.). (2015). Writing for professional development. Leiden/Boston: Brill. doi: 10.1163/9789004264830
33. Pareja Roblin, N., & Margalef, L. (2012). Learning from dilemmas: Teacher professional development through collaborative action and reflection. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 19(1), 18–32.
34. Phielix, C., Prins, F. J., Kirschner, P. A., Erkens, G., & Jaspers, J. (2011). Group awareness of social and cognitive performance in a CSCL environment: Effects of a peer feedback and reflection tool. Computers in Human Behavior, 27(3), 1087–1102. doi: 10.1016/j.chb.2010.06.024
35. Planas-Lladó, A., Feliu, L., Arbat, G., Pujol, J., Suñol, J. J., Castro, F., & Martí, C. (2021). An analysis of teamwork based on self and peer evaluation in higher education. Null, 46(2), 191–207. doi: 10.1080/02602938.2020.1763254
36. Finnish National Agency for Education (2021). Recognition of teaching qualifications and teacher education studies. Retrieved from https://www.oph.fi/en/services/recognition-teaching-qualifications-and-teacher-education-studies
37. Riebe, L., Girardi, A., & Whitsed, C. (2016). A systematic literature review of teamwork pedagogy in higher education. Small Group Research, 47(6), 619–664. doi: 10.1177/1046496416665221
38. Saariaho, E., Toom, A., Soini, T., Pietarinen, J., & Pyhältö, K. (2019). Student-teachers’ and pupils’ co-regulated learning behaviours in authentic classroom situations in teaching practicums. Teaching and Teacher Education, 85, 92–104. doi: 10.1016/j.tate.2019.06.003
39. Salas, E., Cooke, N. J., & Rosen, M. A. (2008). On teams, teamwork, and team performance: Discoveries and developments. Human Factors, 50(3), 540–547. doi: 10.1518/001872008X288457
40. Schön, D. A. (1987). Educating the reflective practitioner: Toward a new design for teaching and learning in the professions. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
41. Soini, T., Pietarinen, J., Toom, A., & Pyhältö, K. (2015). What contributes to first year student teachers’ sense of professional agency in the classroom? Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 21(6), 641–659. doi: 10.1080/13540602.2015.1044326
42. Strijbos, J., Engels, N., & Struyven, K. (2015). Criteria and standards of generic competences at bachelor degree level: A review study. Educational Research Review, 14, pp. 18-32. doi: 10.1016/j.edurev.2015.01.001
43. Tarnanen, M., Kostiainen, E., Kaukonen, V., Martin, A., & Toikka, T. (2021). Towards a learning community: Understanding teachers’ mental models to support their professional development and learning. Professional Development in Education. doi: 10.1080/19415257.2021.1959383
44. Timmermans, S., & Tavory, I. (2012). Theory construction in qualitative research: from grounded theory to abductive analysis. Sociological Theory, 30(3), 167–186. doi: 10.1177/0735275112457914.
45. Toom, A. (2017). Teacher’s professional competencies: A complex divide between teacher’s work, teacher knowledge and teacher education. In D. J. Clandinin & J. Husu, (Eds.), The SAGE Handbook of Research on Teacher Education (pp. 803–819). London: SAGE Publishers.
46. Toom, A., Lakkala, M., Männistö, T., Dexter, P., Salmela-Aro, K., & Kallunki, V. (2020). dLearn.Helsinki – The tool and service to support learning of teamwork competence (Invention Disclosure 970/2020). University of Helsinki, Finland.
47. Toom, A., Pietarinen, J., Soini, T., & Pyhältö, K. (2017). How does the learning environment in teacher education cultivate first year student teachers’ sense of professional agency in the professional community? Teaching and Teacher Education, 63, 126–136. doi: 10.1016/j.tate.2016.12.013
48. Toom, A., Tiilikainen, M., Heikonen, L., Leijen, Ä., Mena, J., & Husu, J. (2019). Teacher candidate learning of action-oriented knowledge from triggering incidents in teaching practice. Teachers and Teaching, 25(5), 536-552. doi: 10.1080/13540602.2019.1652162
49. Tynjälä, P., Beausaert, S., Zitter, I., & Kyndt, E. (2022). Connectivity between education and work: Theoretical models and insights. In E. Kyndt, S. Beausaert, & I. Zitter (Eds.), Developing connectivity between education and work: Principles and practices (pp. 3–14). Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781003091219-2
50. Virtanen, A., Niilo-Rämä, M., Pöysä-Tarhonen, J., & Häkkinen, P. (2019). Pitkittäistutkimus luokanopettajaopiskelijoiden suhtautumisesta yhdessä työskentelyyn [A longitudinal study on pre-service teachers’ collaboration dispositions]. Kasvatus, 50(4), 342–355.
51. Voogt, J., & Roblin, N. P. (2012). A comparative analysis of international frameworks for 21st century competences: Implications for national curriculum policies. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 44, 299-321. doi: 10.1080/00220272.2012.668938
52. Wilson, L., Ho, S., & Brookes, R. H. (2018). Student perceptions of teamwork within assessment tasks in undergraduate science degrees. Null, 43(5), 786–799. doi: 10.1080/02602938.2017.1409334 Yin, R. K. (1993). Applications of case study research. Newbury Park, California: Sage publications. Yliruka, L., & Karvinen-Niinikoski, S. (2013). How can we enhance productivity in social work? Dynamically reflective structures, dialogic leadership and the development of transformative expertise. Journal of Social Work Practice, 27(2), 191-206.