Using the metaphor of orchestration to make sense of facilitating teacher educator professional development

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this research was to examine the ways that a metaphor could help describe and make sense of the facilitation practices of a teacher educator who collaborated in a self-study of teacher education practice project with colleagues in Norway, and an international critical friend. Our research question was: ‘How does the metaphor of orchestration offer an understanding and elaboration of the complex and dynamic processes of facilitating teacher educator professional development through self-study of teacher education practices?’ Data generation involved three layers composed of reflective diaries written troughout and at the end of the data generation, and audio records of pair and group meetings. The metaphor of orchestration provided insight into the ways the facilitator initiated and tried to steer dynamic and uncontrollable teaching and research practices while providing some concrete examples of how metaphors might be manifested in the practices of facilitators of professional development.

KEYWORDS:

• Facilitation
• leadership
• pedagogy
• self-study
• teacher education

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mats Hordvik

Mats Hordvik Mats Hordvik is an associate professor at the Departement of Teacher Education, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences. His main teaching and research interests revolve around physical education and teacher education, professional development, rhizomatic inquiry, models-based practice, and intimate scholarship (i.e., self-study methodology).

Tim Fletcher

Tim Fletcher is an associate professor at the Department of Kinesiology, Brock University. Tim does research in physical education teacher education and self-study. His current focus is on developing and implementing pedagogies that promote meaningful experiences in physical education and youth sport.

Anders Lund Haugen

Anders Lund Haugen is a PhD candidate at the Department of Primary and Secondary Teacher Education, Oslo Metropolitan University. His PhD research is part of a larger project that aim to develop and implement a new didactic approach that will enable pre-service teachers to facilitate the development of young people’s health and life skills.

Berit Engebretsen

Berit Engebretsen is an assistant professor at the Department of Primary and Secondary Teacher Education, Oslo Metropolitan University. Her main teaching and research interests revolve around teaching and learning in physical education and teacher education.

Lasse Møller

Lasse Møller is an assistant professor at the Department of Primary and Secondary Teacher Education, Oslo Metropolitan University. His main teaching and research interests revolve around teaching and learning in physical education and teacher education, and particularly the notion of models-based practice.