Autoethnography as an instrument of research-based learning in teacher training

Reflective perspectives on (digital) teaching and learning by students.

Abstract

Following the conceptual proximity of research-based learning to the methodology of ethnography, we have developed a teaching concept due to which student teachers learn to adopt a descriptive and understanding perspective on teaching and learning. With the help of autoethnographic notes, which are created during a field phase lasting several weeks in different educational contexts and their own everyday student life, the students take a look at (digital) teaching-learning settings and analyze/identify interesting phenomena, processes and practices in these interaction situations. The teaching concept relies on close supervision by teachers and tutors who both accompany the students’ autoethnographic description practice and provide the necessary theoretical resources. The concept is interdisciplinary and focuses on the methodological potential of the ethnographic research program. Despite positive feedback from students, key challenges remain, which are primarily reflected in the fact that student teachers find it challenging to view their own observations in a scientific-analytical perspective.