Design Principles to Promote Adaptive Teaching Through Practice-Based Research in Teacher Education

Abstract

There is a legacy of teachers conducting research on their own practices to improve the efficacy of instruction and build professional identities as teachers. However, the inclusion of practice-based research in preservice teacher education programs remains rare. One challenge is the lack of evidence-based recommendations for structuring these experiences. To address this gap, this chapter reports on a study that used qualitative design/development methods informed by cultural historical activity theory. A three-semester long study was conducted with preservice teachers who conducted practice-based research. Design/development analysis was used to identify ten design principles for teacher educators who include research in preservice programs. These include introducing concepts over multiple semesters, conducting practice-based research in a shared instructional context prior to conducting it independently, and ensuring that preservice teachers retain control over their practice-based research topics while getting support with methodological processes.