Teacher Formation: The Uncomplicated and the Complex
When we drop a phrase like “teacher preparation,” let’s pause for a moment to consider what’s compressed into those two words. Starting with the uncomplicated, many can likely agree we want teachers to be knowledgeable, thoughtful, skilled professionals—and compassionate, empathetic people who love both their subject matter and their students. Pretty uncomplicated. Now consider that every teacher, in every classroom, in every school, must have fluent knowledge in at least four domains: the art and science of teaching (pedagogy), the content they teach (discipline), how their students learn (psychology and human development), and, in the postdigital age, the ability to choose digital tools suited to both students’ developmental levels and teaching their disciplinary content (technology). Add to this their study of multiple educational philosophies while also incorporating their own personal experiences and worldviews. Teacher preparation is a dynamic, complicated course, indeed.
Project EDUCATE at National Louis University
At the National College of Education at National Louis University, we embrace both the complexity and simplicity of teacher education. As part of our grant-funded Project EDUCATE, our residency model seeks to increase the number and capacity of staff-to-teacher transition programs, specifically supporting diverse, multilingual candidates already working in schools as paraprofessionals or career changers.
Communities of Practice
A key feature of our residency program is the formation of communities of practice (CoPs) as collaborative, social learning spaces for our candidates. If you’re an educator, you’ve likely heard of professional learning communities (PLC’s)… or collaborative learning teams … or networked learning communities ... or collaborative teacher teams… or – well, you get the idea. You may have even heard community of practice used to describe them. However, community of practice is not just another name for a PLC.
A CoP is a group of people engaged in collective learning within a shared domain. These communities are defined by three elements: (1) a shared domain that members care about and identify with; (2) a sense of community that develops among them; and (3) an understanding of their work as practice, along with a desire to learn not just with but from one another.2 Returning to our metaphor, CoPs help us navigate the complexities of teacher education by drawing from an uncomplicated source: recognizing our students as the experts in their own funds of knowledge and helping them leverage these as valid tools for learning and growth.
Virtual Community of Practice
A major complexity we face is that our candidates teach in seven different school districts across Chicagoland. So how do we create a CoP given the challenges of geography and scheduling? We put the “virtual” in the CoP—or “vCoP”. Our vCoP meets exclusively online, using two key digital platforms: Zoom for video conferencing and Miro as a digital whiteboard.
While video conferencing has become a routine part of post-COVID life, it remains a weirdly disembodied experience. We counter this by using the digital whiteboard to deepen and enrich the flattened video environment. Miro serves as our “third space,” where members collaborate synchronously and asynchronously. From setting community norms to prioritizing growth goals to posting learning artifacts for feedback, the digital whiteboard is a vital conduit through which domain, community, and practice flow. Over time, member contributions transform the canvas into a living archive—a repository of wonderings, decisions, experiences, and storytelling.
Centering People and Learning, Not Technology
That said, digital tools are just that: tools. They are means to an end, never more important than the people using them or the learning they need. What excites us is how members transcend the barriers of geography and scheduling, forging community and deep learning that would be otherwise impossible without such virtual spaces.
The Current and the Source
Teacher formation is challenging, rewarding work. We value the digital and dynamic course the vCoP takes. At the same time, our source remains simple: educators connecting, reflecting, and growing together. That’s the current we’re most proud to keep running—the current powered by what has always mattered in teacher education: community, curiosity, knowledge, and the advancement of strong teachers prepared to lead in a turbulent, 21st-century world.
Click here to learn more about the National College of Education at NLU and our teacher preparation programs, including residency and alternative certification.
References:
1: Deng, M.-D. (1996). Everyday Tao: Living with Balance and Harmony (1st ed). HarperCollins Publishers.
2: Wenger-Trayner, E., Wenger-Trayner, B., Reid, P., & Bruderlein, C. (2023). Communities of Practice Within and Across Organizations: A Guidebook (Second edition). Social Learning Lab. https://www.wenger-trayner.com/
Douglas van Dyke, EdD, is the internal program evaluator for Project EDUCATE and adjunct professor at National Louis University. In addition to the research goals of Project EDUCATE, his current research
