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To garner further in-depth responses, a focus group was convened, which com-
prised eight participants who had used the Teaching Tracker Tool to observe lessons
and to inform their post-lesson conversations with preservice teachers (four teach-
ing fellows and four clinical specialists). The focus group participated in a semi-
structured interview that was audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed thematically.
Participants were asked to respond to questions related to the extent to which they
used components of the T3 and the effect this use had on them.
Analysis and Discussion
In this section, to advance our argument that the Teaching Tracker Tool is a valuable
addition to teacher education, we draw on selected excerpts from the semi- structured
focus group with teaching fellows and clinical specialists and from the open
responses to the surveys completed by mentor teachers and preservice teachers. The
excerpts are chosen because they are representative of the accounts that were made
by others in each group. Through thematic analysis, three key findings that emerged
from the data were:
- That descriptive observation is important to collect evidence, but suspending
judgement can be difficult - That the descriptive approach embedded in the T3 fosters an inquiring and col-
laborative stance when reviewing the lesson - That the processes of gathering evidence, and the opportunity for professional
dialogue that focuses on evidence, provide the preservice teacher with opportu-
nities to enhance their capacity to reflect on their teaching. We discuss each
theme in sequence and then synthesise them to demonstrate how relational
agency was changed through using the Teaching Tracker Tool and what this
means for fostering learning through observation and dialogic cycles.
Descriptive Observation Is Important to Collect Evidence,
but Suspending Judgement Can Be Difficult
Overall, focus group participants had a positive view of the descriptive observation
process. They articulated how the collection and analysis of evidence from the les-
sons that they observed enabled them to give feedback to preservice teachers that
was specific and less judgemental. Participants could also see the links between this
evidence-based approach to mentoring and the clinical approach to teaching that is
based on the collection and analysis of evidence to inform teaching. One of the
school-based teacher educators, Andre, describes the importance of this clinical
approach by attending to data to provide realistic and useful feedback. Andre also
J. Kriewaldt et al.