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Teaching in the Field: What Teacher Professional Life Histories Tell About How They Learn to Teach in the Outdoor Learning Environment

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Abstract

This research investigates the professional life histories of upper elementary science teachers who were identified as effective both within the classroom and in the outdoor learning environment (OLE). The narratives of five teachers, collected through semistructured and open-ended interviews, provided the data for the study. Professional life histories were constructed for each teacher participant and an analysis of the teacher narratives identified the themes of teacher development across the voices of the participants. Narrative reasoning was used to unify those themes into a hypothetical professional life history as reported in this manuscript. Implications of this research can be realized for stakeholders in the preparation of pre-service teachers as well as the development of in-service teachers. Future research regarding the early induction years of new teachers, impacts of inclusion of the OLE in pre-service teacher instruction, and teacher experiences regarding professional development relating to efforts to include the OLE in formal education should be investigated.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Education, Teacher Education and Administration, University of North Texas, 1155 Union Circle #310740, Denton, TX, 76203-5017, USA

    Kelly K. Feille

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  1. Kelly K. Feille
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Correspondence to Kelly K. Feille.

Appendix

Appendix

Interview Questions

Kevin, interview two

Tell me a story about a time the curriculum (frameworks or testing) has been a factor in your classroom teaching, either positive or negative.

Can you tell me a story about a district training that stands out as impacting your teaching?

You’ve been teaching long enough to see some pretty significant changes in education. Have there been legislative changes at the state or national level that stand out to you?

Last time you mentioned the RSG trainings; pretending I don’t know, talk to me about the nature of those trainings? What about them made them successful in your opinion?

You weren’t trained in science before you started teaching. How did you develop your science content understanding?

Is there anything I haven’t asked you about that you think is important?

Angela, interview two

Can you tell me about any relationships with peers or administrators that you think impacted you as a teacher, either positively or negatively?

You talked about your courses in college being textbook/lecture and theory based. So, think back if you can to those early years of teaching, what helped you know how to teach?

You talked a lot about seeking out trainings for both science classroom and outdoor teaching. Think of a memorable experience from any of those and talk to me about it.

You’ve been teaching long enough to see some significant changes in education. What is something that has made a difference in your teaching? (+ or -)

You weren’t trained in science before you started teaching. How did you develop your science content understanding?

Is there anything I haven’t asked that you think is important?

Steven, interview two

Talk me through the process of transitioning to this campus. You mentioned you wrote your job.

The community involvement with the campus, is that something that is fueled by you or someone else?

You talked about working for the district, can you tell me more about influences to get you out of the classroom?

You also talked about leading workshops, why is that something that interests you?

You’ve seen some different changes in education from the district to national level, how have any of these impacted you or your teaching?

You said your first push towards this profession was through the idea of working with troubled kids as a counselor. How has that initial draw to the profession been realized in your career?

Is there anything I haven’t asked that you’d like to tell me about?

Diane, interview two

Last time you commented you’d taught through breast cancer and that teaching probably saved your life. I’m wondering if you could elaborate.

You mentioned the trip to the Tetons last time. Pretending I haven’t been, can you tell me about the trip and why it left such an impression with you?

You have been teaching long enough to see some major changes in education. How have any of these changes affected the way you teach?

What about district initiatives like the curriculum framework and curriculum based assessments—are those implemented here like they are across the district?

Can you clarify about your experience teaching reading in college?

Is there anything I haven’t asked you about that you think I should know?

Kathleen, interview two

Can you talk more about the experience while working as an educator at Sea World that helped you become passionate about education and teaching?

Can you talk about any experiences at professional developments that impacted your teaching?

Does the garden on campus have any impact on what you think about teaching? How is it incorporated into your job and what role does it play?

You have been teaching long enough to see some major changes in education. How have any of those changes affected the way you teach?

Interview three questions

What was the most impactful about your student teaching experience?

How have you been a leader in your school and/or district? How has this impacted your teaching?

If you could attribute your success as a classroom teacher to one thing, what would it be?

If you could attribute your success as a teacher in the OLE, what would it be?

If I asked you to design an ideal teacher preparation program, what would you be sure to include?

Can you describe a moment or experience where you were able to say to yourself, “I am good at what I’m doing”?

Why do you still teach?

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Feille, K.K. Teaching in the Field: What Teacher Professional Life Histories Tell About How They Learn to Teach in the Outdoor Learning Environment. Res Sci Educ 47, 603–620 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-016-9519-9

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