ERIC Number: EJ1023142
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014-Apr
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0141-1926
EISSN: N/A
A Situative Metaphor for Teacher Learning: The Case of University Tutors Learning to Grade Student Coursework
Boyd, Pete; Bloxham, Sue
British Educational Research Journal, v40 n2 p337-352 Apr 2014
In the continuing concern about academic standards in the higher education sector a great deal of emphasis has been placed on quality assurance procedures rather than on considering how university tutors learn to grade the quality of work produced by students. As part of a larger research project focused on how tutors grade student coursework, this paper offers a new metaphor for such tutor learning, based on a sociocultural perspective. The research project used think-aloud protocols recorded as university tutors graded student coursework, and this was followed by semi-structured interviews. The voluntary participants consisted of 25 lecturers in four contrasting domains--humanities, art and design, medicine and teacher education--in three universities, two teaching-led and one research intensive. We developed a metaphorical framework that helps to understand the work and learning of the lecturers and tested it by applying it to analysis of the tutor interview data. Grading, writing feedback, second marking and moderation are important situated professional learning opportunities for tutors to debate and reach agreement on the academic standard demonstrated by student coursework. The metaphor considers professional learning as interplay between the vertical domain of public knowledge and the horizontal domain of teachers' practical wisdom. The metaphor presented in this paper is proposed for critical consideration and wider use by academics, teachers, academic developers and teacher educators as an aid to better understanding of teacher's professional learning.
Descriptors: Grading, College Faculty, Protocol Analysis, Semi Structured Interviews, Faculty Development, Figurative Language, Feedback (Response), Academic Standards, Learning, Tutors
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A