| Research indicates that new teachers can find the challenges they face overwhelming, and the support they receive insufficient to find their new careers rewarding (Kaufmann, Johnson, Kardos, Liu & Peske, 2002). Exploration of the implications of this research for teacher preparation is just beginning (ECS, 2003).;Constructive-developmentalist Robert Kegan (1982, 1994) suggests that differences in the ways adult learners construct meaning of their learning experiences can predict and explain what they may find satisfying, challenging, and supportive about them. This study explores preservice teachers' experiences in a teacher preparation course. The primary research questions were: (1) How do six preservice teachers experience a K--6 teaching methods course that focuses on decision-making skills? What do they find satisfying, challenging, and supportive in class sessions, field experience and an online environment? (2) What relationships, if any, exist between preservice teachers' different ways of making meaning (Kegan, 1982, 1994) and their course experiences? Are there patterns in the ways that participants with different developmental positions make sense of experiences of satisfaction, challenge, and support? In what ways does Kegan's theoretical framework provide insights into understanding participants' experiences, and what are the implications for teacher educators?;Qualitative analysis of three in-depth interviews with each of six participants was implemented in two phases; in the first, the researcher was blind to the independently-scored developmental positions of the participants. In the second, the researcher brought the developmental positions to bear on the findings of the first analytic phase.;Findings suggest that developmental patterns exist in socializing and self-authoring (Kegan, 1982, 1994) participants' experiences of satisfaction, challenge, and support, their engagement in transformative learning (Mezirow, 1990, 2000) and ownership of course learning. Socializing learners looked to others for their learning, found satisfaction and support in self-validating and resource-gathering experiences, and found challenge in self-generating their own learning. Self-authoring learners looked to themselves for their learning, and found generating their own learning and perspective-gathering experiences satisfying and supportive. These findings can inform teacher educators' design of experiences that help preservice teachers develop professionally valuable decision-making skills, and affirm the utility of Kegan's theory for improving teacher preparation. |
