MESHGuides

Clinical judgement develops from processes of gathering and analysing data to diagnose learning needs in order to undertake an intervention (Kriewaldt & Turnidge, 2013). School-based mentor teachers play a vital role as teacher educators in teacher preparation. In initial teacher education the school mentor specifically develops clinical judgement by taking an inquiring stance with the pre-service teacher to encourage the iterative use of data and evidence to answer questions of practice.

Clinical models of initial teacher education (CMPSTE) are those that prioritise and facilitate close alignment between sites of practice—the school—and the University in order to integrate theory and practice in initial teacher education. In these models, schools are an integral part of the design and delivery of the initial teacher education program, and contribute to the evolution and design of these programs. Clinical teacher education programs have gained traction in the United States, The United Kingdom and Australia (Burn & Mutton 2013).

A key feature of clinical teaching models is the integration of theory and practice, this approach is also reflected in assessment practices in programs which identify as ‘clinical’. Clinical models of teaching make it possible for new and more integrated assessment practices which focus on student learning to be undertaken by pre-service teachers. Three examples of integrated assessment practices are the use of teaching portfolios, learning rounds and combined assessment tasks.

Collaboration is central to the work of a teacher; however, in traditional teacher education programs, there has been a tendency, particularly in the subject disciplines, for each academic to view their area as discrete from other course components. In order for pre-service teachers to see the value of collaboration, not only within but across disciplines, collaborative approaches should be modelled in teacher education programs. Examples of collaborations include the integration of literacy across coursework subjects, interdisciplinary workshops and combined assessment tasks.

To successfully prepare pre-service teachers for their classrooms, teacher educators need to understand the ways in which the various knowledge they are learning fits together and impacts on the students that they teach.  In order for a teaching model to be ‘clinical’ it must allow students to combine the practical with the theoretical, the content with the policy, and the learning needs with the student.

In the past, teacher education programs have typically involved the university providing theoretical perspectives of curriculum and pedagogy, and schools providing contexts for professional practice placements; the lack of integration between these two components has often resulted in decontextualized learning (Darling-Hammond & Bransford, 2005). In order to prepare teachers who are clinical practitioners, strong partnerships between the university and schools is crucial.

An important characteristic of clinical teaching is the focus on student learning and development. As with other clinical professions; understanding and interpreting the needs of each client is fundamental (Alter & Coggshall, 2009; Burn & Mutton, 2013) in deciding on the best course of action. Teaching requires teachers to not only have a deep understanding of subject content, but be able to identify and address the diverse needs of their students.

Teachers use a range of specific and broader reasoning processes to decide how to improve student learning, before, during and after teaching episodes and these processes are described in various terms, including problem solving and critical thinking.

Teacher practice has often only been relatively loosely coupled with both evidence of student learning, and the current research base around what we know on effective teaching and learning. Pre-service education often exposed pre-service teachers to educational research, but there was little to support them to link this to their experiences in schools, and few requirements for teachers to remain connected to developments in knowledge around effective teaching and learning following graduation (Mclean-Davies et. al., 2013).

Clinical approaches to teacher education have gained increasing prominence in the past decade largely lead by initial teacher education programs in England, Scotland, The United States, the the Netherlands, Finland and Australia adopting research informed clinical practice models of teacher preparation (Burn and Mutton, 2013). However, with the exception of Finland, these initiatives are often within a single teacher education program.