Practitioner Inquiry with Early Program Teacher Candidates

Abstract

This meta-analysis reports on the use of practitioner inquiry (PI) with early program teacher candidates in conjunction with elementary science and math methods courses using cognitive load theory as a theoretical framework. The findings suggest that the teacher candidates enhanced their knowledge of practice within practice across 5 dimensions of practice: inclusion, classroom discussion, classroom engagement, understanding student learning and grouping. The sixth outcome provides evidence of the ways that the practitioner inquiry fostered learning about how to learn from practice. Cognitive load theory can be used to explain the difficulty of assimilating theory into practice for emerging teacher candidates. Implications for teacher education are included.