Modeling and Measuring the Structure of Professional Vision in Preservice Teachers

• Published in: American educational research journal Vol. 51; no. 4; pp. 739 - 771
• Main Authors: Seidel, Tina, Stürmer, Kathleen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.08.2014; American Educational Research Association
• Subjects: Art teachers; Classroom environment; Classroom management; Classroom Techniques; Comparative Analysis; Correlation; Educational research; Expertise; Goal Orientation; Item Response Theory; Knowledge Level; Learning; Measurement techniques; Measures (Individuals); Modeling; Objectives; Pedagogy; Prediction; Preservice Teachers; Qualitative Research; Teacher Attitudes; Teacher Education; Teacher Evaluation; Teachers; Teaching, Learning, and Human Development; Thinking Skills; Three dimensional modeling; Video clips; Video Technology; professional vision; teacher expertise; video; item response theory; teacher education; competence assessment
• ISSN: 0002-8312; 1935-1011
• DOI: 10.3102/0002831214531321

Professional vision has been identified as an important element of teacher expertise that can be developed in teacher education. It describes the use of knowledge to notice and interpret significant features of classroom situations. Three aspects of professional vision have been described by qualitative research: describe, explain, and predict classroom situations. We refer to these aspects in order to model professional vision. We developed a video-based instrument to empirically test the model. The results show that our measure to assess aspects of professional vision differentiates between description, explanation, and prediction. The study provides insight into the structure of professional vision, allowing us to conceptualize it theoretically and discuss the targeted use for teaching and formative assessment of preservice teachers.