Structured Communities, Science Instruction

Jl. of Technology and Teacher Education (2014) 22(3), 361-395

Structured Communities, Science Instruction Development, and the Use of Blogging In A Pre-Service Elementary Teacher Education Program Steven D. Wall, Janice Anderson, and Julie Justice University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, USA [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] This study evaluates the use of blogging and what it reveals about the development of science teaching ability in pre-service elementary education majors. The investigation occurs in a structured community and takes into consideration interactions among community members as they reflect on their own experiences and respond to the blogs of other pre-service teachers (PSTs) during a science methods course. The goal of the project was to develop as a virtual place where content or procedural knowledge is valued, learned and shared by members beyond face-to-face interactions. This paper is intended to address, evaluate and encourage the use of blogging amongst pre-service teachers specifically focused on science teacher education. This appraisal was conducted by looking at the activity and the experiences of the pre-service teachers, and the role that blogging played in their interactions and growth as pedagogues. The project reveals that blogging can be useful as a tool in pre-service education because the practices and thought processes of PSTs are revealed and shared beyond face-to-face interactions. Development was mitigated by how PSTs processed new experiences, the trust and interaction that occurred between the participants, and the gradual acceptance of blogging as a beneficial academic practice.

Wall, Anderson, and Justice

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Introduction Academic methods courses are designed to introduce pedagogical practices beneficial to the development of science teaching ability in pre-service teachers (PSTs). By design, these courses are intended to help students integrate beneficial practices by providing experiences that model effective science teaching practices. Part of the experience involves academic trial runs that occur in authentic classroom settings. While such practices create dynamic opportunities for development, the practice is limited to individual reflections and brief classroom exchanges that are individually focused. While important, these experiences are now afforded the opportunity for enhancement through the availability of 21st century advancements. One of these is the practice of blogging, which introduces new avenues for the PSTs to communicate amongst themselves while reflecting upon what is learned (Gomez, Sherin, Griesdorn, & Finn, 2008). Because communications amongst PSTs are influential for the academic subculture that aids the growth of the PSTs, blogging is presumed beneficial. One reason is because blogging affords PSTs an opportunity to develop professional relationships and practices (Tapola, 2001) that extend beyond the individualistic acquisition of knowledge and methods already common to academic coursework. These new opportunities can be beneficial for the development of PSTs engaged in their use because they extend chances afforded by synchronous, face-to-face instruction beyond the public forum of the classroom. One example is the communication that occurs in methods courses. Though these courses are typified by freedom of communication, not all opinions are equally heard because of limitations associated with the length of class meetings. Blogging offers the chance for opinions to be equally heard, together with feedback, and an increase in interactions, normally limited to the face-to-face interactions that occur during course meetings. Rather than participation in an academic environment where members watch and make note of modeled behaviors while marginally participating (Lave & Wenger, 1991), PSTs engaged in blogging interact in a structured community typified by reflections on practices among peers developing professional teaching identities. In the sections that follow, we will describe structured communities and the use of blogging in the context of pre-service elementary science teacher education.

Structured Communities, Science Instruction Development

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Structured Communities While communities of practice (CoP) are perpetuated by apprenticeship and characterized by the deliberate efforts of mentoring experts to evolve the thinking of members (Lave & Wenger, 1991), structured communities exists for a limited time, dissolving once the PSTs are inducted into the inservice teaching community. The structured community is designed to emphasize participatory learning, conceptual change and understanding centered upon skills associated with a certain content domain, in the case of this study science teaching. This expectation is similar to that of a CoP, but the structured community is not qualified as a CoP because the time it exists limits or hinders the possibility of practices associated with an established CoP. For example, rather than the use of a mentor-mentee model, the limited persistence of a structured community is perpetuated by the interactions that occur amongst novice practitioners. Where a CoP places value on the development of individuals through apprenticeship (Lave & Wenger, 1991), structured communities operate by valuing interaction amongst peers (Galman, 2009). Like a CoP, the structured community is shaped by commonalities in experiences amongst members that are the result of experiences prior to enrollment in the methods course and the inception of community. These experiences are a centerpiece to reflection and are crucial influences upon the critical interactions that occur among the PSTs, aiding the purpose of the structured community in attaining its goal to enhance growth as a science teacher. Teacher education programs enable the PSTs to form a network that will aid the PSTs as teachers, yet one function of this academic network that is not yet realized is its ability to enhance the development of a rudimentary knowledge and methods base for teaching science by stimulating PSTs to think about science teaching beyond the scope of the methods course. A knowledge base will develop because the activities of the academic classroom are designed to ensure this, yet the goal is to further enhance what is occurring in methods coursework through interactions made possible by blogging within the context of a structured community. Through asynchronous blogging interactions involving reflections upon experiences amongst the PSTs, the structured community becomes a place where activity is centered upon PST growth as a pedagogue (Galman, 2009). Though blogging mediates communication, success is based upon a variety of factors including the PSTs’ unique personal histories and their academic willingness to go through new experiences (Barab et al., 2004). These influences shape the perceptions and the willingness of the PSTs to


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use blogging as a tool. If effectively used, blogging allows members access to other members (Schlager, Farooq, Fusco, Schank, & Dwyer, 2009) and encourages improvement by extending the influence of the academic classroom beyond the common face-to-face interactions of the academic classroom (McCabe & Meuter, 2011) . As the coursework progresses, the strong epistemological environment of the academic course shapes the subculture of the structured community through the interactions that occur amongst PSTs working to embody and model appropriate practices. These efforts produce provisional influences that are then illuminated and enhanced by the communication vehicle of the structured community, blogging (Settlage, Southerland, Smith, & Ceglie, 2009). Initial development as science teachers is possible because the PSTs have opportunity to observe and adapt to contextualized beliefs, which are then embodied in their practices (Bautista, 2011). This opportunity involves the PSTs’ recognition that they approach academic coursework with an established duality. This duality is the result of PST views of self as an academic student and recognition that they are preparing for induction into the teaching community. The duality is illuminated by the ideals and enculturated practices of the methods course (Baggott La Velle, McFarlane, John, & Brawn, 2004) and it is the structured community that enables the PST to recognize their own duality and begin thinking about academic activity as a precursor to professional practice. Blogging The value of the structured community is due in part to an emphasis on procedural knowledge that is learned as the members participate in academic practices (Lave & Wenger, 1991). Though procedural knowledge is a significant part of methods courses, the experiences produced by following these procedures are enhanced when the PSTs make their learning public through the use of blogging. Blogging enables those who communicate with it to wrestle with issues central to science teaching in established contexts among a community of like-minded peers. Blogging is a vehicle that allows others to interact as they struggle with their understanding of teaching, including new understandings of content, pedagogy, and students, and planning and decision-making processes (Yang & Chang, 2012). Rather than a momentary reflection meaningful to an individual PST and shared with the methods course instructor, the PSTs’ new knowledge and experiences are shared amongst cohort members because of an academic empha-


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sis upon reflection and commenting. Coupled with the PST’s desire for professional growth, meaningful experiences that create conflicts between individual identities are the central focus of communication among the PSTs. Experiences associated with teaching (Galman, 2009) produce dissonance and lead to reflections that are shared in the structured community, serving as a valuable resource for the PSTs development as a science teacher (Gomez et al., 2008). Because blogs are authored outside the context of academic spaces or focused on individual authorship rather than community participation, the saliency of blogging as an academic tool in the structured community is still being defined. With our initial evaluation of the practice, blogging is perceived as beneficial because it is a form of personal reflection, a practice associated with good teachers (Fairbanks et al., 2010), that offers insight into individual thought processes. Reflections are not uncommon in methods courses and do not require blogging. However, what makes them unique in a structured community is that they are shared amongst community members, providing meaningful information about the PSTs’ perceptions of their actions and experiences in a more public forum. Blogging in structured communities also provides the opportunity for useful practice by using the impact of public critique authored by fellow community members (Lieberman & Mace, 2009). If well-developed, the use of blogs has the potential to aid the growth of PSTs by encouraging the improvement and expansion of the PSTs’ practices. Challenges in the Development of Science Teaching Ability Structured communities that are focused on the growth of science teaching ability produce challenges that are influenced by the trust and competence that occurs amongst the community members. Community members must trust that fellow PSTs seek to offer beneficial feedback and believe that they have enough understanding of content and pedagogy to contribute to growth as a teacher. Given elementary PSTs’ anxiety about science (Bianchini, 2000), blogging amongst peers can introduce new thoughts and ideas through posting and commenting. Despite the anxiety of the participants, these posts can be salient for the PSTs as science teachers because they establish a science subculture within the structured community (Baggott La Velle et al., 2004). Even though the PSTs may not perceive that their ability or skill level warrants a meaningful contribution to the development of others (Gomez et al., 2008), vicarious growth and development can occur (Hanuscin, Cheng, Rebello, Sinha, & Muslu, 2012).

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Evidence of possibilities with blogging begin as PST perceptions about methods coursework are exposed. The PSTs enter into science methods courses with an expectation that critique of their own practices will be based upon the expertise of a knowledgeable instructor or professor with expertise. This expectation is disrupted when the PSTs are told that they will reflect upon their own practices and critique their peers in a public forum. The expectation the PSTs have for the academic course is now influenced by recognition that the input they hoped to receive may also be circulated amongst a community of peers with similar skill levels. While willing to accept this input from the classroom expert, the PSTs are now encouraged and expected to bestow trust in the ability of their peers to offer meaningful inputs. Though not easily measured, this trust is a form of belief that is evidenced when community members’ thoughts and actions are conveyed from the private to the public via the accepted mode of communication, blogging (Young & Tseng, 2008). Since interactions are governed by the extent to which members perceive the credibility and benevolence of other parties, the initial generation of the community is complicated. New modes of communication and an anxiety-inducing content area lead to belief in the structured community that is cautious, calculated and complex (Ess, 2011; Wu, Hu, & Wu, 2010). The PSTs who are used to academic classrooms with established patterns of communication and interaction now have to develop new patterns of interaction without the benefit of familiar cultural or contextual norms that they have experienced in other undergraduate coursework (Hramiak, Boulton, & Irwin, 2009; Young & Tseng, 2008). This absence of the familiar, anxiety about learning how to teach science, and issues with competence influences the community’s success because attaining established goals is determined by the meaningful participation of community members, acceptance of the community’s expected practices, and the possibility that growth as a pedagogue can occur (Lave & Wenger, 1991). The PSTs’ personal beliefs about their own learning, and a personal history with the academic classroom creates a methods course defined by learning based on acquisition and individuality (Leach & Scott, 2008). This academic culture can encourage and guide members, but the idea behind the structured community is participatory learning coupled with course expectations that are designed to create beneficial conflicts (Jones & Carter, 2007; Loughran, 2007). Though conflict is present, the input of competent mentors during synchronous, face-to-face coursework creates an environment that encourages the PSTs to experiment and use meaningful instructional methods (Zwart, Wubbels, Bergen, & Bolhuis, 2009). These ex-


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pectations lead the PSTs to recognize a need for change in belief and/or practice, which then leads to growth and the ability to critique (Spector & Strong, 2001); ideally, recognition of ability occurs early in the coursework when the PSTs have success with new experiences (Dweck, 2000): The PST’s recognition of ability imbues confidence that then leads to shared critiques amongst community members. Though possible, growth and the development of critique within the structured community are not assured because elementary methods courses have a minimal number of students with science background. Despite having adequate high school and undergraduate experiences in science (Feldman, Divoll, & Rogan-Klyve, 2009), a typical cohort of thirty or more students has few members with a declared interest or background in science (Sherman & MacDonald, 2007). The general absence of individuals interested in science coupled with an anxiety about teaching it creates a community defined by hesitance or anxiety (Howes, 2002). We acknowledge that the limitations associated with the PSTs’ anxiety and limited background with science can be overcome with the guidance of an expert mentor, yet the focus of this study is not about mentor-mentee practices typical to a CoP or the academic classroom. Purpose The use of blogging allows other PSTs access to the experiences of others, new information, and feedback (Luehmann & Borasi, 2011), but because the integration of blogging into science teacher education is still developing, a need for research that analyzes the role that blogging plays in the development of PSTs as science teachers is warranted (Gomez, et al., 2008). This study is part of a larger design based study on the impact of blogging in pre-service teacher education courses. In this manuscript we focus on the development of structured communities and how they impact PSTs. The presumption is that blogging is beneficial because blogs can enhance practices and create opportunities for the emergence of new skills and expertise (Schlager et al., 2009). Challenges do arise, but blogging practices can enhance face-to-face interactions and the personal reflections of individual members of a PST cohort (Schlager et al., 2009). Given the complexity of structured communities that are mediated through blogging and the association between trust and subject-based competence, the following research question emerges regarding the PSTs’ growth as teachers: How does blogging within a structured community influence the teacher development of PSTs enrolled in a science methods course?

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In the structured community, the PSTs and their academic environment produce a negotiation based on the purpose of academic classroom practices and their role in the PSTs’ understanding of science-related practices. This negotiation is associated with science teaching in an elementary school setting and occurs regardless of what tools are being used. The structured community and its practices foster the PSTs as science teachers through interactions that utilize language defined by specific goals and expectations (Cole & Engstrom, 2001). The practices of the structured community provide a means for communication with others or introspection (Cole & Engstrom, 2001) and produce large amounts of information beneficial for critique and opportunities for development. Theoretical Framework In this study, situative cognition is used as a critical lens. Situative cognition is consistent with historical approaches to the nature of learning (Vygotsky, 1978) where an individual’s cognition is embedded in and inseparable from the individual’s situation and activity in a community (Wenger, 1998). Though blogs are not initially enmeshed with culture and activity, the learning environment of the methods course serves to provide this meaning through contextual conditions that pervade the structured community. As a result, the viewpoints of situated cognition are valuable (Brown, Collins, & Duguid, 1989). The methods course activities introduce content (Roth & Tobin, 2007) and produce information in open-ended practical applications with the interaction among community members and the tools utilized representing a sociocultural activity. This activity contextualizes the experiences of the PSTs, lending everyday meaning to the PSTs’ published blog posts. Since the blogs are designed to de-emphasize single-answer, right or wrong questions and perspectives (Elstgeest & Harlen, 1985), students are encouraged to analyze, question and reflect upon process, putting outcomes in perspective with their peers. Theoretically, blogging is an experience that aids understanding of science pedagogy because the methods course experience introduces the culture and language of science teaching and learning and the experiences in an environment centered upon the sharing of knowledge and ideas. Emphasis on experience, critical reflection, active experimentation and abstract conceptualization occur and provide an opportunity for analysis of the thought processes and organization of the PSTs. This focus is significant to the research question because the academic endeavors of community members


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are defined by instruction designed to encourage science teaching practices known to be beneficial to teachers. Though blogging is an emerging use of digital media for instruction that occurs in methods courses, an established academic culture makes the use of it an appropriate component of the education and training of the PSTs. Research Design and Methodology Context—Students This study was conducted at a large research institution located in the Southeast United States. Participants in this study were senior elementary education majors. As seniors, participants were in their second year of the program, having already completed a year of coursework in a cohort of approximately thirty students. Thirty-one of the seventy students in the two cohorts chose to participate in the study. The participants were reflective of the students enrolled in the School of Education being predominantly white, middle class women; these students had a variety of concentrations, in addition to elementary education, including English/Language Arts and Social Studies or Math and Science. During the fall semester of the senior year, participants took methods courses in literacy, science, and mathematics. In conjunction with coursework, participants had a practicum experience one day a week within their student teaching placement. Their spring was spent student teaching. Context—Methods Course Design The methods course is structured around the idea of a teaching cycle (Shulman, 1987) that offers a framework for thinking about the different aspects of successful science teaching. The PSTs are encouraged in the clarification of what learning goals and objectives should be utilized to define the classroom through the analysis of curriculum and exposure to authentic school environments. By espousing the importance of establishing learning goals and providing exposure to field experiences in local elementary schools, the methods course encourages the development of a classroom that values science-related practices and outcomes (Holland, Skinner, Lachicotte, & Cain, 1998). The PSTs are also encouraged to develop understandings of what constitutes effective planning and teaching strategies by

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designing their own lessons around specific content and goals for that content. Through designing and implementing their own lesson plans the PSTs learn to reflect upon and revise their practices by assessing what they are learning and what they have attempted. While PSTs are engaged through classroom discussion and reflective writing on meaningful experiences, the structured community adds the new facet of blogging, making the PSTs’ individual thoughts and perceptions public and open to the critique of their peers; blogging is done in lieu of asking students to produce reflection papers. Context—Blog Entries As part of an integrated project, all students were required to blog regularly in their courses and practicum experiences. While they were given prompts to respond to, students generally composed entries that were topical to the courses or student teaching experiences. The assignment was guided by established due dates and prompts that were synchronized with course materials and practicum experiences. The prompts (See Appendix A) were designed to minimize student tendencies towards “performance” allowing the pre-service teachers a wide degree of latitude with regards to style and content. Directions to blog assignments encouraged different forms of reflection over the course of each semester and included a variety of assignments. One example was a blog post in which the PSTs produced a science autobiography that reflected upon their own scientific journeys. Another example included a prompt requesting the PSTs to comment on practices and challenges that occurred when implementing their own lessons for the instruction of students at a local elementary school. A third involved critical reflections on academic writings. On average, each participant had thirty five to forty separate blog entries that included their response to an established prompt and comments on initial posts that were received from other community members. Additionally, a number of the PSTs voluntarily completed blog entries that were not a course expectation. Mentor Relationships—Professor to student During the methods course, the PSTs received instruction from a professor who was an established expert in science education. Throughout their coursework, the PSTs would interact with this expert through class discussions, hands-on activities designed to emulate authentic science


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teaching practices, and feedback produced in response to turned-in assignments and in-class activities. Though able to interact through the activities of the structured community, which included responses to published blogs, the professors limited their interactions to in-class assignments because of the ability to provide feedback in a more meaningful way. The rationale for handling professor feedback in this way was two-fold. First, the volume of blogging that occurred was substantial. The size of the cohorts and the number of prompts for each student meant that professorial feedback through commenting on each in a meaningful way was limited. Second, one of the goals of the blogging project was also to encourage students to develop a sense of community not influenced by their perceptions of what the professors wanted to hear, but of what they were experiencing in the classroom. We wanted the students to interact without preconceived notions influenced by ideas of academic performance. These rationales for output from the professors were seen as the most salient approach to commenting by non-PSTs, yet the research team did not presume the preferred status of these methods to be resolved. We are still in the process of evaluating and discussing the most effective way to determine the role of feedback from the professor, as well as evaluating the potential conflict that exists because instructors are also researchers: One resolution was that the instructors allowed the conversations to develop with minimal interaction. Data Sources The data for this study was collected from three primary sources: preservice teacher blog entries from the participants, comments on the blogs, and interviews about their blogging experience. For the blogs, students used their choice of commercial blogging websites. Students were encouraged to name, personalize and format their blogs to reflect their own personalities. Researchers examined 1,127 blog entries posted by the participants of this study, and another 2,241 comments made by the participants posting remarks on other participant blog entries. Non-participant blogs were also reviewed to determine if there were any unique trends in those blogs compared to the ones that did volunteer. No noticeable differences were observed when comparing these blogs. At the conclusion of the school year, after students had graduated, the pre-service teachers were interviewed in small focus groups. Three groups of 5 teachers (forty eight percent of the participants) volunteered to participate in these interviews. In all, eight hours of recorded focus group interviews were transcribed in full for analysis.


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Data Analysis Blog content and interview transcript data were coded using grounded theory with a constant comparative method (Corbin & Strauss, 2008). Data analysis was an iterative and inductive process. In analyzing the blogs, we developed and used a list of codes that came from emergent open coding. Three members of the research team, including two faculty researchers and five doctoral students, independently reviewed five blogs and coded the responses. The team then came together to compare and condense lists of codes. Definitions were agreed upon by the research team and a final code list with definitions was created. Raters then independently coded five more blogs from the defined code list looking for features that were present in the blogs but absent from the code list. Coding results were compared a second time and a final formal description was developed for the codes that had a high level of agreement. Discrepancies were discussed, identifying the reasons that they occurred, and reaching consensus on the code. Once the common codes were identified, a third set of five blogs were coded and an inter-rater reliability of r=0.90 was established. Codes were assigned on a line-by-line basis using Hyper-research© qualitative software. Data was triangulated across blogs, interviews and comments on these blogs in order to increase trustworthiness and validate the findings of this study (Lincoln & Guba, 1985). RESULTS According to Vygotsky, thinking and knowledge construction requires a dialogue between participants (Vygotsky, 1978). In this study, the intent was that the blogs and free-responses would create a dialogue amongst the PSTs who shared their own personal educational experiences, reactions to coursework, and opportunities in the local schools. The nuance afforded by blogging was that the PSTs were able integrate what they experienced into a critical self-reflections or critiques of other PST experiences. This type of interaction was encouraged by the blog prompts, which were designed to aid the students in taking experiences and generating abstract conceptualization of science teaching for elementary grade level students. Blog prompts and responsive comments were produced as a result of academic expectations and experiences, aiding understanding of the PSTs’ thinking about expertise associated with science teaching. They also revealed possible contributions for current and future structured community goals because posts


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and responsive comments represented initial experimentation by PSTs engaged by interactions afforded by the structured community. In reviewing the PSTs’ blog responses and comments on them from cohort peers, three primary findings emerged: phenomenological processing, calculative practice and the effectiveness of blogging as an educational tool. These findings were seen as a reflection of the mediated interactions of the PSTs with each other, the impetus of classroom and field experience, and emphasis based on the long-term goals of the methods course. Phenomenological Processing We define phenomenological processing as a natural response associated with either a field experience or personal educational experience that involved the PSTs in evaluation and reflection on the experience. Phenomenological processing was reviewed based on its importance to the research question in three ways: First it produced a lens that the PSTs used to communicate perspectives on past, personal experiences; second, it enabled the PSTs to “differentiate” between good and bad experiences or practices; third, it enabled the PSTs to reflect upon contemporary experiences, personal or otherwise. This ability to process phenomena related to science teaching influenced each PSTs’ acceptance of various science teaching experiences and practices (Ricoeur, 2007), yet was not a guarantee of an acceptable standard that could be applied to the evaluation of current practices. However, the presence of phenomenological processing did contribute to the overall goals of the structured community. Blog posts viewed as exemplary of phenomenological processing were generally located in initial blog posts and responses to these posts coded as autobiographical (See Table 1). Personal autobiographies were the first blog entries and were designed to have the PSTs reflect upon experiences that shaped their current ideas about science. The goal of the prompt was not just a retelling of the PST’s experience, but an expression of how the students perceived the experiences that occurred. This retelling and reflection was accomplished by using a prompt that included the following questions: “What do you think constitutes science? What are your perceptions of science in elementary schools today? What do you think the foci for science should be in elementary school?”


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Table 1 Codes associated with science teaching experiences and reflections of Pre-service Elementary Teachers Basic Code

Definition

Example

Awareness and consideration of personal educational biography

Involves reflection upon personal education history within the subject domain of interest. Reflection is not merely a summarization. It is a form of critique of what memories are present and why these memories about science are strong

I have no memories of science lessons or science classes until 3rd grade. Mrs. Mills was the school science instructor, and she traveled from room to room, once a week for 3rd grade and twice a week for 4th grade…Science was NOT exciting when she was teaching. There was never an experiment, never any demonstration, and most definitely never any student participation…

Engagement in thoughtful, intentional professional practices in general

In this code, PSTs consider and critique their own practices by reflecting on current experiences in order to evaluate and possibly integrate them; These reflection include reflections all components of science teaching including planning

Example 1: Going into the Elementary school I was not confident with the bubbles experiment and it showed when I attempted to do it with my students. Example 2: The ability to make a piece of information relevant to all students is a skill that I fear I might not develop (but I am working on it)

Studying content in ways that are connected to pedagogical practice

This code involved specific critiques of content that was being taught and how the content shaped pedagogical practice; reflection took into consideration responses to the content and its related activity by the students

While going over what would occur in our experiment that day, one of the things that we discussed was the term “water molecule.” All we saw were bland stares on the faces of our group members. We tried to explain the term in the best way that we could, but I am not sure that they completely grasped the concept

Affective Domain

Volitional responses to experiences, feedback from peers, or initial posts; Affective domain often involved some form of external expression of emotion associated with an idea or action related to science teaching or general pedagogical practices though it could also reflect a phenomena beyond such a scope

I sometimes found it (blogging) would take away the isolation factor because often people would say something like, ‘Oh that happened to me, too.’ I’m not the only one with x, y, and z problem so it took away the isolation factor I would say to know that I wasn’t the only one experiencing something, but I didn’t often find that they would say something and I would act differently because of it.

The responses of the PSTs included their earliest memories of science and why those experiences stood out in comparison to others, revealing that the PSTs were differentiating between meaningful experiences and those that were less influential (Fairbanks et al., 2010). For example: Perhaps the reason my memories do not include knowledge as much as memories is because they were teacher produced and student executed instead of student produced and


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executed. I did not necessarily have a desire to learn why colors separate in milk with Dawn detergent or other parts of the cell—so the memory didn’t stick. Whereas I had an inquiry about fireflies and the answer is still with me almost 20 years later. –Anne (Blog Post) This response to the autobiographical prompt produced two meaningful revelations. First, it revealed that the PST, Anne, recognized a difference between experiences that occurred early in her educational journey. Second, it revealed that Anne recognized, without specifically addressing it, a contrast between acquisition and participation-based models of learning. Anne’s reflection revealed that past experiences shaped her perspectives on science teaching practices. Not only did the PSTs reveal the presence of an analytical lens, they also revealed a developing aptitude to articulate strong opinions about what made past phenomena memorable or current phenomena worthy of similar distinction. For example: I also enjoyed how the case study showed how hands on and student driven science can be. I feel that the students will also come to like science more this way. I definitely was not given as many of those kinds of opportunities in science...maybe that’s why I do not really enjoy the sciences as much!?—Sarah (Blog Post) The PSTs’ opinions revealed that the PSTs were making a connection between experience and practice that could be utilized to analyze new experiences. For example, Tina and Sarah both recognized student-centered activity as an important component of effective science teaching. This recognition was likely to influence the PSTs’ perceptions of contemporary practices, important for the PSTs’ ability to contribute constructive and timely feedback for the members of the structured community. The critiques of the PSTs were not without limitations. For example, Sarah looked at science instruction in its entirety instead of being critical and differentiating between meaningful and unimportant components of her experiences. Sarah’s perspectives were common for the PSTs who acknowledged when they observed good practices in their own learning, yet did not exhibit understanding of what was meaningful about the experiences. Also, the PSTs did not explicitly state how their past experiences served as a platform to develop their own teaching.

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The classroom instructor recognized that the PSTs’ personal histories could influence contemporary experiences. To minimize the limitations of such influences, the PSTs were given opportunity to prepare for field experiences by doing run-throughs of activities during class. These run-throughs were designed with inquiry in mind and guided by the professor and a TA who would discuss content and the goals of the activity without giving a step-by-step plan. The run-throughs provided opportunity to anticipate questions and minimized unanticipated results while shaping the lesson into one that was designed to introduce or reinforce inquiry. Even so, surprises occurred. For example: What worked with the experiment was the penny, and tooth pick not floating in the water, but we still had trouble making the paper clip float. It was hard to explain to the student why the paper clip didn’t float…My partner and I explained that [surface tension] was the skin of the surface, but the students still did not understand... –Catherine (Blog Post) In the case of unexpected results, success was sometimes questioned because it was defined by achieving expected results rather than the fact that the activity prompted the elementary students to ask questions that represented a desire for increased understanding of the content and its correlating concepts. Though this phenomenological processing by the PSTs was not extraordinary or unique, it was meaningful because the act of blogging about the experience made it visible to other members within the community. The value of these postings was not fully realized because the PSTs’ initial responses revealed that they did not fully recognize that such activities were encouraging inquiry by the elementary students. Though seeking to adapt practices represented meaningful reflection, instances such as the “failure of the paper clip to float” represented a teachable moment that was not fully recognized in the conversations occurring among the PSTs in the structured community. Ideally, the goal for blogging was for these reflections to start or enhance ongoing conversations between the PSTs. For example, reflecting upon the same experience with surface tension, a different PST added: If I was to do this experiment again I would change (the) Bubble Basics activity (an experiment with surface tension in water) [sic]. I would not use a paper clip because the students and I had difficulty trying to get it to float. I would also come up with another way to explain surface tension, although I still think that this concept is too advanced for


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second graders...With some changes this activity could be a good experiment. –Thelma (Blog Post) Though Thelma did not receive feedback, her reflections revealed valid perceptions, critical reflection, and an adaptation of practices based upon how activities progressed. Thelma was prompted by a blog prompt that emphasized an expectation for reflection, but the blog prompt (Appendix A, #3) minimized the idea of an explicit right answer, meaning that the response continued to aid the generation of a science subculture that was beneficial to the structured communities members. PSTs tended to produce self-reflections focused on acceptance or alteration of an activity’s results. Though beneficial, we also hoped that the community would learn to critique in the form of challenging or embracing ideas. For example: I was not confident with the bubbles experiment and it showed when I attempted to do it…From the beginning [practice runs] I was not sure how well this experiment would work with 2nd grade students…every child loves bubbles, but overall I believe the concept of the activity was too advanced…if I was to do this experiment again I would change [it]. I would not use a paper clip because the students and I had difficulty trying to get it to float. –Erin (Blog Post) While Tina exhibited an enthusiasm for student engagement and the use of hands-on learning, her personal reflections received little critique and did not generate conversation among the members of the structured community. Likewise, Erin’s critique of her experience revealed characteristics associated with development as a teacher, yet her commenting on relevant experiences also failed to generate meaningful commenting or feedback from within the community. Calculative Practice We defined a calculative practice as any attempt at a new or untried activity governed by a careful estimation of its benefit and/or reception among the community. Though blogging was common in informal, social spaces, such as popular social media and the use of microblogs, many of the PSTs expected their academic achievement to be individualistic and based on the acquisition of material and beneficial skills. The PSTs who had developing identities as teachers (Akkerman & Meijer, 2011) were cautious because of

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exposure to new material and because blogging as an academic practice was unexpected and unfamiliar. For example: At the outset, um, when we showed up on the first day of our fall semester and we were told that we were going to keep a blog. I didn’t really see that as a legitimate academic endeavor –Alexis (Interview response) The PSTs entered the class expecting most of the work to align with acquisition-based practices that were typified as individualistic. However, the use of blogging and the PSTs’ limited familiarity with science content and pedagogy (Howes, 2002) produced dissonance by subjecting the PSTs to practices that required them to use undeveloped skills. Coupled with a lack of familiarity with how blogging should be used academically, Alexis’ response was not an isolated one. Rather, it typified the perspectives of most of the PSTs. Critiquing and commenting on other’s ideas and performances was a contrast to the PSTs’ perceptions of academic classroom practices where learning was not usually subject to peer critiques. For the community to be beneficial, trust in the contributions of blogging within the structured community was necessary (Ess, 2011). However, the PSTs’ perceptions of the community’s practices and abilities did not initially reflect this type of confidence. For example: I often found myself just copying a YouTube© link and putting it up there because I thought “someone might like this.” … If some of those had been our assignments “find one image that represent the week you had at school” that would have been interesting and stimulating. You know, I would have been more encouraged to comment on someone’s post if it were a YouTube © video that was supposed to evoke something rather than a summary –Jessica (Interview response) Initial interviews revealed that the PSTs accepted blogging, but that the practice was not ideal. The hesitance of community members to share fully in the blogs indicated that the students were influenced by individual notions of academic learning and that participation was out of academic commitment, rather than perceptions that the practice was salient for their development as teachers. Responses to posts like “I agree” or “great job” were common and seemed to echo a sentiment amongst the PSTs that blogging was something just to get done. For example:


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I often found myself, this is, oh my gosh, I can’t believe I’m saying this on a recording…I often wanted there to be a “I like this post” button like on Facebook © so I could be like “agree” and then call it done cause I didn’t have anything particularly insightful to offer. –Ashley (Interview response) The legitimacy of blogging was often challenged by the PSTs, but these challenges were not articulated until the completion of academic coursework. Both Ashley and Jessica responded to interviews in a group setting that occurred with their cohort members acknowledging their agreement as each responded to the interview questions about the practices. Another form of calculated practice involved perceptions of audience. The PSTs were asked if they ever found the process of blogging influenced what they did in the classroom. Responses to this were fairly mundane in most of the PSTs, but several revealed the influence of contextual agents such as professors and cooperating teachers. For example: First of all I never did anything with my blog at the computers at school because I was always scared that the web page would get memorized in the little address bar, and that my teacher would check it. Not that I’ve ever put anything bad. –Amanda (Interview response) or But we did see each other in class every single day so I didn’t ever want to comment on someone’s blog post and say like ‘I completely disagree with what you said; that was poor thinking’ or ‘you have students pegged all wrong’ or ‘you don’t know anything about kids.’ –Mariah (Interview response) The focus group interviews also revealed an awareness of the academic audience. For example, Stella noted, “I knew my professors were reading the blogs.” The professors and TAs were reading various posts, yet reserved their own reflections for the classroom or communications outside the blog project. Stella’s admission occurred after the completion of the project and even though her admission had a limited audience amongst her peers, it was considered a break-through because the declaration had not been previously voiced. Besides acknowledgement of audience, calculated practices also revealed that the PSTs were reflecting in a way that represented some growth as a pedagogue. For example:

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I think that the other two models, inquiry and critical, are definitely something to think about. As the world around us is evolving, teaching practices should as well to accommodate those changes in the classroom. My students are growing up in a completely different generation filled with technology that no one believed would be possible years ago. With these resources comes different means of learning—Caitlin (blog post) Calculative practice was not just based on limited belief or trust; it also involved the PSTs’ alignment of their communications with academic expectations. Caitlin’s post was almost a summary of methods course objectives and demonstrated that she understood expectations for academic classes. The hope was that her personal experiences and others would be a vital part of the community’s practices and goals for development of the PSTs as teachers. Flora’s post could almost be typified as a critique highlighting her awareness. Both Caitlin’s and Flora’s posts were a transition away from careful utterances designed to acknowledge audience, encourage, or empathize with cohort members. Caitlin’s comment was an indicator of a critical positionality regarding her role, while Flora’s was a direct challenge to the positionality of others and the practice of blogging. As we considered Flora’s posts, it became clear, based on the timing and content of the comment, that what was being said was not a spontaneous utterance. Outside of learning the routine of blogging, posts indicated that the PSTs’ calculative practices were evolving from doubt about the efficacy of the practice of sharing and community building. Brief posts about struggles or expectations embodied the evolution of blogging use. For example, Janet said, “I am still struggling to understand backwards planning” or “I (Shelby) am so programmed to create intensive lesson plans that it was a weird feeling to not really have generated one.” Both of these posts revealed that these particular PSTs were formulating ideas about teaching that involved accepted practices. Their posts revealed conflicts that produced salient information about pedagogy, but were viewed as calculative because they were not uncommon to community members and were a reflection of established expectations for the methods course. Calculated practices hinted at possibilities for growth within the structured community through the use of blogging, yet also resulted in limited fulfillment of expectations for blogging practices. The PSTs did reveal a critical awareness of the community and advances in thinking. For example “Working with second grade students was such fun for me (Ellen)”


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or “Parachuting with the fourth grade students was loads of fun (Twila).” These particular posts exhibited an emergent recognition of roles with students and were valuable in the sense that others in the community could relate, but offered little in the way of constructive critique. Such shared thoughts and experiences led to increased connectivity among the PSTs and between methods course experiences and learning. Some posts revealed awareness and desires for the contribution from members of the structured community. In an interview, Lora stated, “I also didn’t always, I didn’t always find commenting or receiving comments to be particularly meaningful…It didn’t do a lot for me. On occasion blogs would offer up ideas…but I would say those were rare.” In such cases, the PSTs revealed that blogging was a vehicle to express expectation for the production of ideas. Though expressed during an interview, Lora revealed expectations associated with the idea of community. Other responses also revealed these expectations and others that emphasized the structured community’s value beyond academic goals. For example: I sometimes found it (blogging) would take away the isolation factor because often people would say something like, ‘Oh that happened to me, too.’ I’m not the only one with x, y, and z problem so it took away the isolation factor I would say to know that I wasn’t the only one experiencing something, but I didn’t often find that they would say something and I would act differently because of it. –Tatiana (Interview response)For Tatiana, the value of the community was not just about development as a science teacher. Her posts revealed the beginnings of trust on an interpersonal level and that the structured community represented potential for acceptance. Though Tatiana’s perspectives were shared in a focal group interview and did not stimulate conversations about teaching science, her sharing showed that the structured community produced and evoked PST aspirations for community building. These community-building practices also included affective posts, encouraging statements, and the sharing of common experiences and struggles, though a critique of science pedagogy was generally absent because of a perceived risk for socially awkward interactions and a calculation of perceived lack of competence associated with limited practice. Blogs and interviews were influenced by desires to maintain intact relationships within the structured community. Academically, calculative methods also meant that posts reflected individualistic and introspective

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perspectives versus views intended to critique and aid community members. Though critique did occur in posts related to other content areas, especially literacy, the results of the PSTs’ calculative practices left us desiring more critique and reflection based on understanding of community building and personal improvement as science teachers amongst the PSTs. The predominance of self-evaluation that occurred was the result of perceptions about social relationships and anxiety about ability as a science teacher. The PSTs demonstrated a latent ability with science and the posts and feedback on them improved as time progressed, but focus group interviews revealed that the PSTs did not relinquish their hesitance to speak out, even though their thoughts and posts were valued. Blogging as an Effective Method Considering the importance and role of the blogs in the methods courses, data were evaluated to determine how the PSTs valued the blogs with the presumption being that when the PSTs valued the blogs, development as a science teacher was possible. Effective use was exemplified by the posting of meaningful feedback or recommendations that aided the goals of the methods course. Blogging was disruptive, which proved to be an initial challenge, because the practice required PSTs to make public their experiences and reflection on methods course activities and field experiences. Rather than individualistic efforts typically the result of reflection papers, the PSTs were making their post-experience reflections available to all members of the structured community. These public reflections were meaningful on an individual level because the PSTs were studying their own practices, yet their value beyond individual reflection was still being determined. For example: At times we found ourselves making sure the students knew the purpose of the activity and did not get carried away with the excitement of the experiment…When we recorded the speed of the falling parachutes...the students really enjoyed this part and gave their thoughts about why they needed to record the falling twice…When we asked students to make prediction about which factors would make the parachute fall slower, their answers were almost identical to the ones that we gave in our science methods course. –Sylvia (Blog post)


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Such reflections were common, showing that the methods course and its experiences were helping the PSTs to develop. Nina’s reflection led to the modification of learning experiences for future use and her willingness to evaluate and adjust practice increased the likelihood that other elementary students would be engaged by her future practices. Her reflection was a model of good teaching practice that provided an exemplar for the community. Sylvia’s blog revealed that inquiry was a significant component of the planned learning experience because the elementary students were required to collect evidence and use prediction to design objects for experimentation. Given the importance of shared experiences for the development and perpetuation of the structured community, such posts ensured the structured community had potential. The following is a similar example. We felt like we should have explained surface tension before even doing the experiment so that they could know how to think during the experiment. I felt constrained by the inquiry model because it did not give us an opportunity I felt to introduce surface tensions. –Alina (Blog post) Given the positionality of the students, the value of the blog posts became evident. By having the students’ thinking and perceptions expressed in a format that allowed for response, the opportunity for growth as a science teacher already provided by the methods course was enhanced. Though not as common as preferred, well placed responses to posts or discussions initiated by posts like Alina’s were a goal for the blogging project because they offered reflections and/or critique critical for development. In Alina’s case, the structured community produced an opportunity for growth because her posts addressed issues related to teacher practice stimulated by authentic field experiences. Not all embraced the method. Some expressed hesitancy regarding its use, but consistent expectations encouraged even the reluctant to utilize the method. Increase in use occurred for PSTs who questioned the use of blogging, but effectiveness was varied because of predispositions. For example: So I didn’t always find like we were given assignments…and it would be like ‘read this’…I didn’t love thinking…that way, like, I don’t know, I just didn’t get anything out of reading a blog…And I didn’t think that those blogs gave a lot of room that…I mean I thought that the prompt was very determinant of how we responded... –Tina (Interview response)

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Though resistance to the method occurred, the general trend was an increase in acceptance. However, the PSTs still revealed a preference for acquisition-based models for learning. Rather than academic practices enhanced by participation, meaningful feedback, and critique from community members, the PSTs expressed a desire for learning that was a provisional alignment with familiar academic practices evaluated based on certain proficiencies. For example: It was a little bit hard for me to imagine…I’m not saying this did or did not happen,, but it was a little bit hard for me to imagine that it would have been easy for our professors to keep up with everybody that was, mainly with the comments, like who is commenting on other peoples’ blogs…Not to say that our comments didn’t count, but it was, I think, I focused more on like my own blog posts, than maybe my comments. –Ashley (Interview response) Much like inquiry-based questions, blog expectations were ambiguous in requiring no particular right answer while being graded based on participation rather than content. This often meant that the PSTs did not realize the benefit of blogging or were unwilling to embrace the new practice. Also, they noted the community, but often acknowledged that the method could have been more effective. For example: I would say that this semester if we had a community of student teachers blogging about …um… either resource we found or things like that while we were student teaching that would have been much more beneficial than the blogging assignments we were given this semester…um, because if I had found a really great website to use on the Smartboard © it would be so easy to share it with the rest of the student teachers. –Brittany (Interview response) Though such limitations were acknowledged, blogging did reveal unexpected benefits that went beyond the scope of growth specifically associated with science teaching. Previously noted, Tatiana’s interview comments showed a desire for the community to provide relationships. In one sense this was ironic because the desire for relationships and a hesitance to diminish them limited the PSTs’ willingness to critique. For example: I mean I developed an understanding of my peers in a way I wouldn’t have, um, because if in the classroom I don’t


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interact with you socially, you know, make a comment that I find particularly golden…a golden nugget of comment like in the classroom or if you’re quiet and I don’t and I’m not friends with you I’m probably not thinking about you as a student… -Tatiana (Interview response) Tatiana exhibited an almost acute awareness of her peers, but it was through blogging that she began to recognize them on a more personal level. Her comment showed that the academic classroom was no longer an environment where close relationships with a few peers were intermingled with meaningful learning experiences and the completion of academic assignments. The classroom was now a place that provided a new connectivity among members of the structured community. While Tatiana’s interview results could only be viewed as evidence that the development of such relationships was in progress, the recognition of her peers as individuals with the same goal to develop as science teachers represented the value of the structured community and its use of blogging. Given the right experiences and the right opportunities, the development of new perspectives and new relationships represents the possibility of a new methodology afforded by blogging. Results demonstrated a learned or developing response to the disruptive practices that manifested in academic coursework and field experiences. Though practices were not uniform, the PSTs did demonstrate a deliberate use of blogging and a resistance to the disruptive practice. Discussion At the beginning of this study, we asked the following research question, “How does blogging within a structured community influence the teacher development of PSTs enrolled in a science methods course?” Based on the results that we discussed above, blogging coupled the expertise of the instructor with feedback produced through blogs to aid and influence the development of the PSTs. These influences included reflections on how the PSTs perceived and processed new experiences, a group-oriented ability to communicate perspectives on past and current experiences, and a subject-related ability to differentiate between good and bad practices or experiences. The affordance of membership in the group provided each cohort member with opportunities to reflect upon personal or observed contemporary experiences, yet the full potential of these affordances was hindered by the cautious nature of the PSTs. Trust was limited by the PSTs’ perceptions

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of their academic roles, which was also coupled with an academic history that had little, if any, opportunity to develop through opportunities such as those afforded by blogging. Though this research did not interrogate the role of academic salience upon the interactions that occurred, the consensus was that limited pedagogical knowledge played a significant role initially in the academic contribution of the blogs and subsequent comments amongst the PSTs. This tendency did change as the PSTs developed comfort and competence with the process. Though discomfort and hesitancy indicated a limit to the benefit of blogging, an unexpected gain that manifested was that their sense of isolation was reduced. In summary, methods coursework introduced PSTs to the culture and language of science teaching and learning with the goal of developing the PSTs’ ability to use skills and knowledge appropriate to teaching science at the elementary school level. The process of developing these skills involved learning designed to expose students to new experiences situated within a structured community while encouraging participation in practices that emulated good teaching. Isolated and individualistic steps and stages typical to the classroom were modified by the use of interaction through blogging and blog posts and responsive comments to guide and shape future classroom discussions and activities. The methods course already had established expectations supported by theory and practice, so for blogging to enhance established practices, certain conditions needed to be met. The first condition involved PSTs’ initial posts and comments on posts that were not focused upon the proper use of academic or technical language, but upon thinking about science pedagogy. A second condition involved sharing of this worthwhile knowledge about science pedagogy highlighted by posting initial reflections and comments that established a form of ongoing dialogue amongst some or even all community members. In the first condition, the PSTs did blog with a competence viewed as acceptable regarding perspectives as beginning science teachers; they also showed a transition from hesitance regarding the practice of blogging to varied degrees of willingness to blog. Though their reflections and actual use of blogging practices showed growth, their interactions did not produce ongoing or meaningful dialogues in a manner that was satisfactory to the goals of the structured community. A rudimentary level of meaningful science teacher practice manifested in the PSTs’ blogs, but the common trend was a lack of commenting or interaction in response to what we viewed as well-written reflections on meaningful teaching experiences or practices. In many cases blog posts represented an understanding of experiences and a critical reflection, a practice typical to a good teacher, yet because little or no response or commenting ensued, the influence of the reflection was lim-


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ited. This finding was illuminated by focus group interviews in which the PSTs offered candid reflections about their perceptions of blogging. The PSTs indicated that minimal reflections were not because of the tool (blogging) but because the practice was not effectively designed or reflective of typical forms of communication. The PSTs’ interview comments reflected a value that blogging was beneficial, yet limited because the practice did not utilize more engaging practices. We recognized the difficulty associated with limited commenting, yet also saw it as valuable to the evaluation of blogging going forward. In considering the limited amount of commenting, outside of course requirements that were more an effort to satisfy academic expectations, we recognized several trends. One was the previously mentioned expectation of PSTs regarding methods courses. The PSTs entered coursework anticipating opportunities for professional growth because courses were presented and defined by goals for developing and improving science teaching practices. The initial perspectives of the PSTs led to resistance against blogging practices that gradually evolved through the progression of the methods course. The PSTs did begin to share amongst themselves because of an established norm, consistent expectations, and academic encouragement with blogging shifted from a resisted practice to an acceptable one met by the PSTs’ willingness to reflect and comment. A second trend limiting commenting centered upon the PSTs’ perceptions of science. Blog posts and responsive comments centered upon experiences revealed a continuing need for the PSTs to develop a better understanding of science as an act of inquiry. This understanding of science was crucial on both an individual and community level because the competence of individual community members affected the PSTs’ ability to contribute meaningful critiques. For example, when faced with ambiguity in results, the PSTs sought to change activities in order to minimize the unexpected results they experienced. The PSTs’ adaptations were viewed as practices associated with good teaching, yet their responses to unintended outcomes revealed that they maintained a perception of science largely based on established results from discrepant events or hands-on activities. Growth was occurring, but in the timeframe of the structured communities’ existence, the PSTs’ understandings of learning had not yet reached a point where ambiguity was recognized as common to science-based activity. The PSTs maintained a tendency for the minimization of ambiguity through the use of adaptive practices, when the ideal practice would have been commenting from community members that science involved unexpected answers. A third reason for limited commenting diminished as the course progressed. The PSTs began to accept blogging and established personal con-

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ditions that its use be improved; a significant shift from their initial perspectives of the practice. The PSTs were willing to embrace the practice to the point that they were offering suggestions for its improvement; a perspective we saw as a validation of blogging within the context of a science methods course. Though issues associated with PST perceptions still require resolution, the project produced multiple cases where the PSTs revealed growth associated with methodological or conceptual change. Blogging made these valuable serendipitous revelations possible, yet the research group also realized that the sparse amount of dialogues that we wished to occur needed to be resolved. Reasons for this lack of dialogue amongst the PSTs varied, yet three predominant trends were revealed in the analysis. The first trend was agreement. Classroom and field experiences provided new insights or “aha” moments that the PSTs found interesting enough to mention, leading to a blog post. The posting of these experiences was a potential thread for conversation, yet the conversations were generally an informal “howare-you?” that equated to a digital hello. The minimal responses to initial postings was typically a form of agreement or a congratulatory statement such as “Great job!” or “I liked what you did!” A second reason for lack of dialogue was centered upon issues associated with personal relationships and volume. Because of the sheer number of posts a type of invisibility occurred. The amount of information to be processed usually meant that someone reflected on the blog of someone they knew. This choice produced a form of conundrum because the PST commenting knew the individual and was often concerned with the face-to-face relationship that existed beyond the scope of the methods course. A third reason was anxiety about science. The interactions and responses of the PSTs during focus group interviews revealed that they viewed science teaching differently than they did literacy, math, or social studies. This anxiety about teaching science was also mirrored in their initial resistance to the practice of blogging, which they acknowledge was caused by a lack of familiarity. Their hesitancy was based on an expectation for the methods course that involved a desire to develop or increase science teaching ability apart from classroom practices such as blogging, which were designed to encourage participation. The Implications of Blogging for Pre-Service Teacher Education Though the PSTs adapted to the practices of blogging, their processing of science teaching phenomena in the classroom and during field expe-


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riences was based on the assumption that they were valuing science in an appropriate manner. For example, many PSTs revealed a focus on science teaching that involved an incomplete perspective on inquiry, which was exemplified by their responses to unexpected results during field experiences. The PSTs revealed a proclivity for rigid and unambiguous practices, and instead of accepting unexpected results as possibilities for future inquiry questions, they truncated portions of the experiences; this adaptation of practice occurred even as the PSTs presented reflections that revealed the elementary students were inquiring as a result of the activity. Given the nature of inquiry as a practice that values observation and rational argument, the PSTs needed to increase comprehension of inquiry in order to improve their practices. We did hope that improvement would occur and be evidenced amongst the PSTs’ blog posts as the semester progressed, yet the conversations we desired to see in which the values, assumptions, beliefs, and behaviors of community members reflected understandings of inquiry science did not materialize. The orientation of the PSTs towards the acquisition of knowledge beneficial for science teaching was revealed in individual posts, yet for us, these posts and any comments that occurred needed to produce conversations about science teaching that involved elementary students. Though these conversations did not materialize as we desired, the PSTs’ phenomenological processing did produce reflections acknowledging the validity of practices and perceptions. Based on what the PST reflections revealed, we assessed that blogging as a teacher education practice needs further improvement. The main reason was that learning remained individualistic even though blogging and class activity were a social process involving the influences of interactivity among the PSTs. Blogging relied upon peer relationships, but the PSTs did not grasp the practice as a benefit associated with the development of teaching expertise. This limitation was not because the PSTs lacked an ability to communicate, but because they were governed by a desire to maintain acceptable associations. Unwilling to offend one another, the PSTs hesitated in their commenting; a practice further compounded by an acknowledged hesitancy with science and its associated practices. Though social mores and the PSTs’ perceptions of self-competency with science governed their interactions, the PSTs did show they were learning and attaining desired methods course goals in their individual posts. We acknowledge that blogging produces challenges, yet we see resolution as possible through the use of the right written or oral prompts. If designed to encourage critique of practice amongst the PSTs, the right prompts will produce reflections that delve into the personal experiences of


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the PSTs. These prompts can encourage PST awareness and acceptance of the benefits of the structured community. Ideal prompts will produce more reflection and posting based on shared experiences because they lead to the sharing of good ideas about effective teaching. Coupled with a logistical improvement that allows diverse forms of posting including audio, pictures, and/or video clips, better developed prompts can emphasize communication of meaningful ideas through community reflections In conclusion, getting the PSTs to recognize the value of blogging coupled with face-to-face instruction is important because PST recognition of the significance of posting and commenting increases the sharing of ideas through interactivity. Though daunting, we believe one solution will be to get each PST to become part of a smaller focus group within the structured community. By dividing the cohorts into cells comprised of four or five PSTs, each cell member will be able to offer more knowledgeable critiques of practice. This critique will be based on established guidelines set forth by the course instructor. With the right emphasis, current practices coupled with new ones such as cell groups and more diverse posting media mean that blogging has potential to encourage the growth of elementary education majors preparing to teach science. Coda With the influence of the structured community, the situated nature of learning in the methods course, the advent of social networks in students’ lives, and a shift towards 21st century methodologies blogging is a viable vehicle for future methods course instruction. However, the challenge will be in initiating blogging practices that induce growth on a community level. We are challenged by the fact that information beneficial to the PSTs’ growth is present, yet unshared. We know that blogging grants others access to important practices and provides benefits beyond face-to-face coursework, yet until we understand how this potential can be tapped the promise of blogging will remain unfulfilled. Also, methods courses will occur with or without the use of blogs, yet blogging offers value by encouraging growth through activity that is socially situated among PSTs in a structured community. To be more effective work is required, yet the use of blogging in its current state does increase PST awareness of the value of input and sincere critique. The challenge is in determining how to best use blogging, while maintaining established practices in order to aid the PSTs in the critique of their own teaching and that of others. We believe this devel-


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Appendix A—Examples of Blog Prompts Example of an autobiographical prompt: Science Autobiography We all bring preconceived ideas and beliefs about teaching to the classroom teachers tend to teach as they were taught. The first step in becoming an enthusiastic and skilled teacher of science is to reflect upon the experiences that have shaped your current ideas about science. This will set the stage for the new perspectives offered by this course. A science autobiography is an essay in which you describe your personal experiences, both in and outside of school, and then analyze how those experiences have shaped the way in which you define and view science. First, relate your earliest memories of science and your feelings about them. Why do these experiences stand out and not others? If you don’t remember much, speculate why. Continue with your experiences up to the present- be sure to include experiences both in and outside of school. Don’t spend too much time retelling instead, concentrate on how you felt about the experiences. As a guide you address in some way the following the questions: What do you think constitutes science? What do you remember from you own elementary experiences about science? What are your perceptions of science in elementary schools today? What do you think the foci for science should be in elementary school? Next, after you have described your experiences, reread them for analysis. What are the general characteristics of your positive experiences? Negative experiences? Be as candid as possible in responding. What trends do you notice? Finally, give your definition of science. Be sure to explain how your experiences have shaped this definition. Examples of field experience prompts: Reflect on your experiences on working with the students on the surface tension activity. What conceptions did the students bring to the activity? What surprised you about their thinking on the Page Keeley Exercise? What worked in the activity? What didn’t work? What will you do differently next time? Reflect on your experiences in working with the fourth graders a second time. What was different from your first experience? What would you do differently in a third visit? How might you begin to assess students’ conceptual change and understanding of magnets?


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Example of a continuation of classroom discussion and/or reading prompt: How might you use elements of UDL in your classroom? Do you see these in the classroom in which you are currently working? How might they be incorporated?

Structured Communities, Science Instruction

Structured Communities, Science Instruction

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