- The teacher evaluates their own impact on student learning on a regular basis;
and - The teacher exercises professional judgement involving all these elements.
In light of this, in this chapter we identify three core components that are central
to characterising teaching as a clinical practice profession: (1) a focus on student
learning and development; (2) evidence-informed practice; and (3) processes of
reasoning that lead to decision-making. In the following sections, we will explore
these central tenets of clinical teaching; bringing together, where appropriate,
research in thefields of medicine and education to illustrate this framework.
A conceptual framework for clinical teaching can be seen as a contribution more
broadly to developing teaching as a profession, as it offers ways in which theory
and practice are integrated and evidence-based judgements are made in the daily
work of teachers. At a time when teachers are increasingly called to account for
their impact, and policy imperatives such as high-stakes testing present often
limited ways of understanding this, a framework for clinical teaching offers ways of
responding to, negotiating, contesting and reclaiming the professional work of
teachers.
10.3 Characteristics of Clinical Practice for Teaching
10.3.1 Focus on Learning and Development
Adefining feature of a clinical approach to teaching is that of purpose: all teacher
interpretation, decision-making, action and reflection are centred on fostering stu-
dents’learning and development. Other writers have noted that the centrality of the
client is fundamental to all clinical practice (Alter and Coggshall 2009 ). While this
may seem a rather self-evident point to make about any approach to teaching, there
are demands on teachers and opinions on what and how they should teach that are
multifaceted and come from many sources—government, media, parents, school
leadership—and these may constrain and shape teacher behaviour.
The hallmark of the professional clinician, whether in education or medicine, is
that the student or patient’s needs are placed above all these competing demands in
importance (Alter and Coggshall 2009 ; Burn and Mutton 2013 ; Ure 2010 ). In a
school setting, these needs are conceptualised largely in terms of student learning,
with a focus on ensuring that all students have the conditions and support needed to
excel as learners.‘Learning’here refers not only to academic skills and knowledge,
but to the broad range of capabilities students need toflourish in the twenty-first
century, including aspects such as interpersonal, problem-solving and
self-management skills.
In teacher education, and in particular, the initial preparation of teachers, a
clinical approach makes the students’learning central to observation, feedback and
formation of teacher candidates. Pre-service teacher candidate assessment and
10 Clinical Practice in Education: Towards a Conceptual Framework 155