This project is made possible with funding by the Government of Ontario and through eCampus support of the Virtual Learning Strategy. To learn more about the Virtual Learning Strategy visit: https://vls.ecampusontario.ca .
This project centres on creating a series of animated video vignettes for Ontario’s initial teacher education (ITE) programs to access and use within a variety of ITE program courses. This will provide ITE program students (teacher candidates or TCs--i.e. future teachers) opportunities to analyze the oftentimes, messy moments in K-12 classrooms that not all TCs have the opportunity to view within practicum. It is well documented that in order for K – 12 teachers to foster deep learning in their own students, initial teacher education (ITE) programs must also teach for deeper learning, equity, and social justice (Darling-Hammond & Oakes, 2019).
Practices that foster deeper learning within ITE programs include integration of coursework and field experiences, modeling of deeper learning pedagogies in coursework and in the field, and applying knowledge in practice (Darling-Hammond & Oakes, 2019). These video vignettes seek to address the noted gap of video examples within an Ontario context and to foster deeper learning of our future teachers so that they could foster deeper learning in their K – 12 students. Some of the scenarios contain controversial, outdated, or inappropriate comments / content in order to create opportunities to discuss a wide array of topics to help teacher candidates grow as professionals and future educators.
The overarching learning objectives of TEd-ViV are to (expand below for additional details):
1. Enhance deeper learning opportunities (Darling-Hammond & Oakes, 2019) for Ontario’s ITE program students...
(i.e., teacher candidates) via a repository of animated video vignettes--grounded in accreditation content requirements and ITE program literature—for faculty members to access and integrate within their individual courses and create structured learning opportunities for teacher candidates to apply their learning within practical and relevant contexts.
2. Augment strong coherence and integration of on-campus work and practical experiences...
found in exemplary ITE programs (Darling Hammond 2006). Rationale: Well documented strategies within ITE programs to enhance such coherence include the integration of coursework and practicum work within K-12 classroom settings; modelling of deeper-learning pedagogies and practices; applying coursework knowledge in practice; collaboration within productive learning communities; and ongoing feedback to support reflective practice on teaching (Darling-Hammond & Oakes, 2019 )
3. Provide authentic learning opportunities for teacher candidates to apply their learning about specific topics...
in a wide range of coursework (such as social justice or classroom management strategies for example), within contextualized examples of Ontario’s K – 12 settings. Rationale: It is often challenging, however, to provide such authentic learning opportunities for teacher candidates within practicum experiences. Ideal practicum placements are those that provide opportunities for teacher candidates to: practice and make connections between coursework and experiences within classroom settings; view expert teachers model (and make explicit for teacher candidates) sound classroom practices; practice reflection on a regular and structured basis for improvement purposes (Darling-Hammond & Baratz-Snowden, 2007). While Ontario practica aspire to achieve these opportunities, for a host of reasons, not all practicum experiences provide such opportunities to make explicitly experience the interplay of theory and practice.
4. Expand access for Ontario ITE programs to content that reflects deeper learning principles grounded in the Ontario context and research-based practices.
Rationale: Video examples within “real” classrooms are challenging to create for a number of reasons (children’s privacy, costly, intrusive, sometimes staged thereby not reflecting the authentic experience) ; Some videos exist but they often require financial resources and they are not necessarily in the Ontario context.
This collection of TEd-ViV (Teacher Education Video Vignettes) is designed to generate authentic learning experiences for teacher candidates. The vignettes offer opportunities for teacher candidates to apply their professional knowledge, ethical judgment and pedagogical skills to authentic situations that commonly occur in schools. Each vignette focuses primarily on a single theme derived from the accreditation requirements from the Ontario College of Teachers, while often intersecting with other important themes. The vignettes are intended to generate deep reflective and critical learning through the guidance of a teacher educator in a foundational course, pedagogical course, or course that connects theory to practice in the field. Teacher educators might employ a vignette to open exploration of a topic. Alternatively, a vignette could be used for the application of concepts introduced by the teacher educator or through course readings. Finally, a vignette could be used as part of a culminating activity to demonstrate deep thinking about possible situations that occur in practice. This site is a work-in-progress and will be updated to include discussion prompts or other useful resources related to the themes explored in each vignette.