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Preface
- Hong Kong University Press, HKU
- Chapter
- Additional Information
Preface 'Supervisors have always held sharp differences of opinionabout... the role of the supervisor:'With this quote we begin Chapter 1 of a handbook about teaching practice supervisory conferencing fo r supervisors. We were involved i n a larger group looking at practice. What was noticeable i n those meetings was the heartfelt commitment of supervisors on the one hand and the variation in the views they espoused on the other. At the same time, there was considerable apprehension on the part of new supervisors as to what to do. It was in this context that we started to work on supervisory conferences . It quickly became clear to us that no theoretical framework existe d which could satisfactorily advis e practice. Our approach was therefore to ground our analysis in data from interview s an d questionnair e survey s we conducted wit h studen t teacher s an d supervisors. (Brief details of the QUEST research project are given in Appendix 1.) At the core of our thinking is reflective scepticism. We feel teacher educators should be wary of any claims for 'the right way' to conduct supervisory conferences. Each supervisor works out a particular way which matches his, or her, own personality and battery of skills, the characteristics of the student teacher being supervised and, above all, the situation in which both are placed. In such contextually varied settings , supervisors become more effective throug h critica l enquiry an d reflection, rather than the acquisition of previously specified performanc e behaviours . Better Supervision, Better Teaching: A Handbook forTeaching Practice Supervisors has three central aims. The first is to help supervisors in teacher education institutions, and perhaps mentors in schools, t o understan d mor e abou t wha t happen s i n supervisor y conferences , t o highligh t essential characteristic s an d t o provid e example s o f typica l practice . The secon d ai m i s t o illuminate how student teachers and supervisors feel difficult an d potentially embarrassing or threatening topics can be discussed and problems avoided or at least mitigated. The third aim, and perhaps the most important, is to encourage and help supervisors to reassess their practice and become more self-reflective . xivBette rSupervision,BetterTeaching:AHandbookforTeachingPracticeSupervisors This handbook is intended either for individuals to read in the privacy of their sitting rooms or for staff developmen t groups to use as workshop materials. In Appendix 2, suggestions are given on running workshops. Some topics will be of more interest to some supervisors than to others and we look on the handbook a s something to dip into. We have been asked whethe r some chapters are better tackled at one time rather than another. We have used the chapters out of the first part of the handbook in workshops run for new supervisors going out for the firs t time. The second part , whic h concentrate s o n handling difficul t topics , is perhaps best rea d when people have a little experience in the field. Each chapter has a broadly consistent structure. The chapter begins with an issue or set of questions. These are then explored usually throug h the interview data. In the margin are questions which are intended to help the reader reflect on his or her own practice. Most chapters conclude with an 'Action (or key point) Checklist' which is our statement of advice. The handbook avoids for the most part direct reference to the literature. Instead, we have provided in Appendix 3 An Annotated Bibliography. Individual readings do not relate to any one topic specifically, bu t provide extensiv e reading in the general area s of teaching practice supervision and conferencing . OVERVIEWOFTHECONTENTS The handbook i s divided int o three distinct parts. In Part A, we introduce som e initial idea s about teachin g practice supervisor y conference s i n general. Chapter 1 focuses th e reader o n thinking about what is involved in teaching practice supervision. Chapter 2 considers the general framework o f teaching practice supervision within programmes for the training of teachers. Its purpose is to raise the awareness of supervisors to the broader context in which they work. We contrast two models, one in which supervisors and student teachers to a large degree functio n independently an d a second i n which ther e is shared experience . Chapter 3 encourages th...