Expanding the “Field” in Fieldwork: Fostering an Equity-Oriented Science Teacher Identity Across Three Museum- and School-Based Experiences in an Urban Teacher Residency

Abstract

Recent research finds that a longer clinical experience may be one of the most substantial distinguishing features of teacher residency programs. We need to understand much more about how these field experiences are designed, paced, and scaffolded to contribute to teacher learning and identity development and to center equity. Drawing from case study data embedded in a large comparative study of innovative teacher preparation programs, including observations, document analysis, and interviews, this paper explores how a science teacher residency program expanded fieldwork experiences to include three different settings for teacher learning. It explores how those three fieldwork experiences are paced, how they cohere around a theory of change, and the ways they gradually build content knowledge and learning experiences. Together, experiences in these three “fields” contribute to teachers’ deeper learning of science practices and science content and foster an identity as an equity-oriented teacher of science.

Keywords

teacher residency teacher preparation fieldwork science teacher identity equity

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