Date of Award
5-2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
College/School
College for Education and Engaged Learning
Department/Program
Teacher Education and Teacher Development
Thesis Sponsor/Dissertation Chair/Project Chair
Douglas Larkin
Committee Member
Kathryn Herr
Committee Member
Erik Jacobson
Abstract
Despite extensive research conducted on issues concerning preservice and beginning teachers, there is little research that follows teacher candidates from their full-time clinical practice placement into their first-year of teaching, and even less that focuses on literacy instruction related decisions made during this time (Maloch et al., 2003). To address the gap in the existing literature, this study investigated how two beginning elementary literacy teachers self-described the development of their pedagogical decision-making as they moved from a supervised clinical teaching experience into their first-year as a teacher of record. Additionally, this study sought to uncover the influences behind the pedagogical decision-making of these teachers during this time period. Kahneman’s System 1 (intuitive) and System 2 (effortful) thinking were used to categorize pedagogical decision-making, and situated learning theory was used to analyze the data collected throughout the ten-month span of this study. Although all teachers, regardless of experience level partake in intuitive and effortful thinking, findings suggest the two participants who took part in this study experienced more effortful thinking as they began their first-year of teaching. The automaticity they developed during their clinical experience did not transfer to their new community of practice. Based on my findings, becoming a teacher was difficult because these beginning teachers were expected to make a multitude of complex decisions without the adequate heuristics and expertise to make them. Administrators, teacher educators, and CTs must work together to streamline the transition from teacher intern to beginning teacher by educating about intuitive and effortful thinking, with the goal being for beginning teachers to carry over of the automaticity developed during their clinical experience into their first-year of teaching. Additional research is needed to continue to examine these connections on a larger scale. A more streamlined transition could ultimately lessen unnecessary effortful thinking, which could potentially lead to a greater retention of teachers.
File Format
Recommended Citation
Farley-Lynch, Jessica, "An Examination of the Pedagogical Decision-Making of Elementary Literacy Teachers as They Move From a Supervised Clinical Teaching Experience Into Their First Year as a Teacher of Record" (2025). Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects. 1569.
https://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/etd/1569