Collaborative Action Research on Mentoring Kindergarten Teachers for the Enhancement of Group Discussion

• Main Authors: Hai-Lun Chen, 陳海倫
• Other Authors: Pei-Yu Lin
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2008
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/27436564831439896360

碩士 === 國立臺中教育大學 === 幼兒教育學系碩士班 === 97 === Abstract The present study was applied with the Consulting Model for Reflective Practice, with the main purpose to help teachers improve their group discussion strategies. The difficulties encountered in applying with the Consulting Model were described. And, the factors contributing to the facilitation in teachers’ reflective practice were analyzed. This collaborative action research involves two senior teachers in a public kindergarten in Changhua County. The research spans over 13 weeks of counseling and mentoring. Data collected include on-site observation, video recordings, interview records, reflective journals and relevant documents, etc. The grounded theory was applied. The findings are as follows: 一、 Results on the Enhancement of Group Discussion: 〈一〉The purpose of group discussion: The teachers did not have a clear understanding of the context of thematic curriculum at first, leading to a lack of focus on group discussions. As the research proceeded, they became able to center group discussions on the development of thematic curriculum according to the curriculum context and construct courses with young children. 〈二〉Teachers’ inquiry skills: Originally, the teachers were not well aware of thematic curriculum developing strategies and different question types as regard significance and timing of use. In the later process of the research, they acquired familiarity with aspects mentioned above, and were able to enhance the interaction and depth of group discussions by applying various question types in accordance with the purpose set for group discussion. Moreover, their responses toward children in group discussion shifted from the kind based on fixed answers to one that depends on the children’s experience and needs. 〈三〉Group discussion situation: group discussions shifted from the original teacher-directed situation to be more interactive where children discussed and communicated with others. 二、 In the process of counseling and mentoring, the author’s initial belief in the traditional top-down mentoring model was replaced by the belief in a bottom-up approach. The researcher further realized that mentoring should correspond to teachers’ needs, and can motivate their innovative behaviors. 三、 The factors contributing to the improvement of group discussion: teachers’ belief changes in developing thematic curriculum, employment of scaffolding strategy for counseling and mentoring, teachers’ introspective and action-taking abilities and peer cooperative learning. Finally, the paper, based on the research results, proposes suggestions for government agencies, teacher education institutions and future studies. Keywords: Kindergarten consultation, group discussion, collaborative action research.