Deepening Understanding of the Teaching and Learning Context through Ethnographic Analysis

Source: The Teacher Educator, Volume 43, Issue 3 July 2008 , pages 216 - 237

The teacher work samples are one tool for helping teacher candidates learn to systematically connect their actions to the learning of each student. To connect teaching and learning effectively, candidates must understand well the teaching and learning context. To deepen candidates' abilities to analyze the teaching and learning context and plan for working most effectively within it, candidates engaged in ethnographic analysis of their mentor teachers' classroom cultures.
Using digital video technology, video ethnographies were produced to illustrate salient qualities of classroom culture including routines of action, shared beliefs and values, and patterns of interaction and engagement. Through stimulated recall sessions, preservice teachers described learning a great deal about research methods, classroom culture, and how to more effectively participate in these cultures to facilitate student learning.
Vignettes and classroom anecdotes illustrate research results.