School-University Collaboration: Perspectives on a Hybrid Space for Literacy Learning

This paper examines the ongoing collaboration between a teacher certification literacy course and a local elementary school. Teacher candidates, elementary students, classroom teachers, and university instructors all collaborate to implement a literacy methods course, creating a hybrid space for learning in which university and school personnel work together to the benefit of all participants. The background of this collaboration is described, and literacy learning is explored from the perspective of each participant group. Themes from these perspectives suggest that structured interactions between teacher candidates and elementary students help bridge the gap between literacy concepts and classroom practice, and that participating classroom teachers and university instructors, as well as teacher candidates, learn from the ongoing examination of instructional practice. Six years ago a teacher certification literacy methods course moved from its university campus location to a K-6 elementary school located nearby. The course instructors hoped that the move would provide increased opportunities for teacher candidates to connect course content to work with children in classroom settings. The school principal and teachers who welcomed the instructors and teacher candidates hoped that their students would benefit from tutoring by the ―teacher buddies.‖ We all hoped that collaboration between university instructors and classroom teachers would provide meaningful professional development opportunities for all. We had many questions about this project. We were especially curious about whether the benefits of the collaboration would meet our expectations. Our questions were: 1. Does the collaboration between a university and an elementary school support the learning of teacher candidates? If so, how? 2. Does the collaboration between a university and an elementary school support the learning of students at the school? If so, how? 3. Does the collaboration between a university and an elementary school contribute to the learning of both classroom teachers and university instructors? In this paper we explore the perspectives of teacher candidates, students, teachers, and instructors on these three questions. We also consider themes and implications that emerge from our exploration of these perspectives on learning. 1 Place and Smith: School-University Collaboration: Perspectives on a Hybrid Space f Published by PDXScholar, 2011 148 NORTHWEST PASSAGE, 9(2) Background This collaboration takes place in the context of a two-quarter course called ―Learning, Teaching and Assessing in Reading, Writing and Communication.‖ It is the only literacy course required for teacher candidates enrolled in the University of Washington Bothell‘s postbaccalaureate K-8 teacher certification program. It occurs during fall and winter quarters, just prior to full time student teaching in the spring, and meets once a week for four academic hours. The course is taught by two tenure-line professors, and covers fundamental literacy topics. There are two K-8 cohorts each year, with teacher candidates taking all of their certification classes as members of a cohort. Teacher candidates in this program have completed their baccalaureate degrees and range in age from their mid-twenties to their mid-fifties. Juanita Elementary School is in the Lake Washington School District, a suburban district neighboring the city of Seattle. This district is moderately socioeconomically and linguistically diverse, with 36% of students qualifying for free or reduced-priced meals and 13% of students classified as transitional bilingual. This K-6 school has had principals who are supportive of the university teacher certification program. The school has hired several graduates, and principals and teachers serve on various university committees. The principal supports the schooluniversity collaboration by providing a classroom for the literacy course two mornings a week. Approximately 60 teacher candidates, six classroom teachers, two university professors and 150 students have been a part of this experience each year since it began. Teacher candidates in the literacy methods course meet with Juanita Elementary student ―buddies‖ from three different grade levels (kindergarten, primary, intermediate) over two quarters. Each of the teacher candidates is assigned a student buddy with whom they meet for 30-minute sessions over three to eight weeks as part of scheduled course sessions. During the time with their buddies, teacher candidates administer assessments they have been taught in class and provide instruction based on these assessments. This work is linked to course concepts and is discussed in both whole class and small group settings. Juanita Elementary teachers provide background on students and share their instructional practices with the teacher candidates. In turn, they receive reports from teacher candidates on their work with their student buddies. Teachers often provide feedback to the course instructors on the validity of the teacher candidates‘ reports. Overall, university instructors and school personnel work together to provide a rich learning context for teacher candidates to learn literacy concepts in practice. Theoretical Framework There has long been a recognition of the disconnect between university teacher education programs and practitioner work in schools (Bullough, Draper, Smith & Burrell, 2004; Zeichner, 2007). This recognition has prompted some institutions to create ―hybrid spaces‖ in which university and school personnel work together to develop sites where academic (university) knowledge is equally valued and utilized along with practitioner (school) knowledge to the benefit of all participants (Zeichner, 2010). This is what we have been working to create at Juanita Elementary School. For teacher certification candidates, participation in a hybrid space acknowledges the situated nature of teaching (Putnam & Borko, 2000; Smith & Shephard, 1988) and that the variables of instruction change with every context and every child. Duffy (2004) has made the 2 Northwest Journal of Teacher Education, Vol. 9, Iss. 2 [2011], Art. 13 https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/nwjte/vol9/iss2/13 DOI: 10.15760/nwjte.2012.9.2.13 FALL 2011 149 case that adaptive teachers—teachers who can respond to changing environments and individual students—are needed to successfully meet the complex demands of 21 st century literacy instruction. Recent research on exemplary programs in teacher education suggests that programs where field experiences are carefully structured, matched to coursework, and closely monitored help teacher candidates develop the skills of adaptive teaching and an ability to carry out complex instructional practice (Darling-Hammond, Hammerness, Grossman, Rust, & Shulman, 2005). Students may also benefit from the creation of a hybrid space. A number of studies have suggested positive benefits for students participating in structured tutoring programs (Juel, 1996; Lysacker, McCormick, & Brunette, 2004; Wasik & Slavin, 1993). In tutoring situations, students can benefit both academically and socially by interacting with knowledgeable and caring adult tutors. In this situation, the tutoring occurs in the context of students‘ own classrooms and the tutoring they receive may be linked to their current coursework. Finally, the creation of a hybrid space, one that recognizes the knowledge and skills equally brought by university instructors and practicing classroom teachers, should extend learning through the formation of a learning community, a group of educators focused on improving student learning in literacy and the continuing intellectual development of participants (Grossman, Wineburg, & Woolworth, 2001). Learning communities offer a number of elements of effective professional development including ongoing collaboration, an open exchange of ideas, and frequent connections to classroom practice (Darling-Hammond & McLaughlin, 1996). Professional development occurring in the context of a learning community draws strength from the range of participants involved, including novice and experienced teachers, teacher educators, and students (Darling-Hammond, Hammerness, Grossman, Rust, & Shulman, 2005). To examine perspectives on the learning of teacher candidates, students, and classroom teachers/university instructors participating in the hybrid space, data were collected from all groups of participants. Data sources, gathered over two academic years, include: teacher candidate written reflections, formal written projects, and written responses to course readings; instructor field notes of teacher candidate-student buddy interactions and conversations with teachers; student responses; teacher, principal, and instructor written reflections on the hybridspace experience across both quarters of the course. Data analysis involved a two-part qualitative process of first sorting and coding data to identify a set of emerging themes (Miles & Huberman, 1994) and then examining the viewpoints of individual participants to highlight themes across experiences. This process resulted in a set of emerging themes in relation to learning and the hybrid space from the perspectives of teacher candidates, students, and teachers. In the following discussion we use the voices of participants to highlight these themes.