part of their ITE course, thefirst time they make them is in the relatively unsup-
ported context as a probationary teacher, with many calls on their time and atten-
tion, and possibly scant access to experienced literacy practitioners (Shoffner 2011 ).
The interviewees also described some distinctive elements of the agency and
knowledge exercised through collaborative discussions with their peers to deter-
mine the learning mix that would give the biggest payoff for their child. Negotiating
across the different knowledge domains of the3 Domains of Knowledgeinvolves
balancing different kinds of evidence and it offers no single way forward. Some
students were clearly more familiar and comfortable working within just the cog-
nitive domain. As a consequence, there was strong professional debate, and
occasionally heated arguments, about what should be prioritised and why. Taking
explicit account of the evidence-based amassed across all the domains was, for most
students, a new way of thinking about teaching. Although the university ITE course
covers sociological concepts and both school and national policy documents rou-
tinely acknowledge the importance of homes and families, many students had
absorbed the idea that this implied a line of impact that went in just one direction—
from‘school to home’. This was thefirst time they had been asked to think about
how a child’s experiences outside school might impact on the learning mix pro-
vided in school. Some student teachers embraced the idea that schools might adapt
to children more easily than others, and for some it challenged institutionalised
views that‘good teaching’is rooted in prescriptive programmes of study, delivered
as specified by the publisher. Several interviewees described heated debates taking
place within the group about whether to move the child away from reductive and
skill-based approaches such as teaching decoding through phonics, or compre-
hension through reciprocal reading and introduce more contextualised, meaningful
approaches, what these might look like and how they might relate to the evidence
collected around the3 Domainsmodel.
The‘Clinic’context gave these decision-making processes a hard emotional and
professional edge. Whereas the university parts of the ITE course often involve
collaborative discussion and joint projects, the Literacy Clinic discussions were not
just of theoretical interest, but offered a real opportunity to impact on a child’s life.
The one-to-one context captured the ITE students’emotional energies, which drove
the discussions and helped to cement their commitment to social justice. One
interviewee explained that the more equal power-dynamics of the peer group and
the absence of an inherited historical pedagogy in the Literacy Clinic group allowed
them to exercise their pedagogical imaginations, envisage new teaching approaches
and to challenge each other freely. There were many instances of professional
learning from the Literacy Clinic discussions, both within the group and also in the
tutorial discussions with the university academic and other groups.
Of course some groups collaborated more frequently and meaningfully than
others. Those teams that worked most closely together reported generating ideas
and understandings in formal pre-arranged meetings, but also through informal
conversations amongst friends. These often started with one or two group members
chatting (sometimes with friends who were not participating in the Literacy Clinic),
but then fruitful ideas were then taken to the group. Not all groups worked closely
8 The Strathclyde Literacy Clinic: Developing Student... 129