This study aims to know what experiences two novice teachers have gone through the team teaching situation in the field of child care and what it means for two teachers.
The research questions are set up as below.
1. What experiences does novice tea...
This study aims to know what experiences two novice teachers have gone through the team teaching situation in the field of child care and what it means for two teachers.
The research questions are set up as below.
1. What experiences does novice teachers have in the team teaching class?
2. What meanings are given for team teaching experiences by novice teachers themselves?
The participants of this research are two novice teachers, Yoon and Choi, started working at Dream Child-care Center.
The qualitative research method is chosen to reveal the team teaching experiences from their voices.
The research results are as following.
As two novice teachers had started working, they experienced misunderstanding and conflict to each other because of their lack of understanding about the team teaching and detailed life at the child-care center. However, they showed their improvement of team teaching knowledge gradually by fellow teachers' support and by the connection between two teachers, children.
First, two teachers learned the meaning of better teachers, and they improved their relationship by team teaching. Two teachers took time for self-reflection by looking each other so that they formed the meaning of better teachers through this experiences. As they had chances to see themselves through other person, they could imagine about detailed image of better teachers. In addition, they improved their personal and practical knowledge by fellow teachers' support and their concern for children.
Through the relationship, two teachers not only learned technical knowledge, which is necessary as a better teacher, but also had a chance to think about the meaning of being a better teacher by matured personality.
Second, there were some efforts to resist following the educational custom. Two teachers encountered reality, which is different with educational theory what they had learned, and they felt the difference much more as novice teachers. The reality of child-education field was a place which is different to what they had learned, which is restricted practically, and sometimes which has to follow since they had done so far.
Between the theory and the practice, two novice teachers refused to follow the existing educational custom, and they tried to implement what they had learned. During the experiences, two teachers saw the actual educational situation by some experienced teachers who make their efforts meaninglessly, however, they felt worth through children and parents who understand their efforts.
Finally, two teachers' relationship was improved from the relation, which has no concern with each other, to the intimate relation so that they could share their private daily life. As two teachers became intimate, they could talk sincerely about their life, so they could understand each other much more. The understanding made them to take care of each other and to share a burden together. Therefore, two teachers became cooperative companions who share their life both inside and outside of the class, in other words, they got valuable partners.
Keyword : team teaching, novice teacher