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Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6" x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. ProQuest Information and Learning 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA 800-521-0600 UMT USING THE COGNITIVE APPRENTICESHIP MODEL TO TEACH ACTION RESEARCH TO PRESERVICE TEACHERS DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Georgene Rawding Risko, M.Ed. ***** The Ohio State University 2001 Dissertation Committee: Approved by Professor Marilyn Johnston, Adviser Professor Rebecca Kantor College of Education Professor Barbara Seidl UMI Number 3031256 UMI' UMI Microform 3031256 Copyright 2002 by Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 ABSTRACT This study explored two questions. First, how an apprenticeship model for action research shaped eight preservice teachers’ beginning identities and skills as researchers. Using an apprenticeship model, the goal was to demonstrate the kind of inquiry the instructor/ researcher was advocating in a course on action research. The researcher shared action research methods and analyses with the preservice teachers to model the purposes and methodologies of action research. The study looked at how their perceptions about themselves as teacher changed from the beginning to the end of the course. The study also analyzed aspects of the course that supported or impeded changes in their understanding. Themes that emerged from the data sources and analyses indicated that the preservice teachers were beginning to adopt the attitudes and processes of action researchers. Second, the study explored how the researcher’s action research in the course influenced her understanding of how to teach the course, and the changes that occurred as a result of those understandings. She used the preservice teachers’ feedback to make changes in her instruction. The apprenticeship model allowed her to model the action research processes. The course seemed to be a natural fît for a cognitive apprenticeship approach, because teaching action research and doing action research at the same time provided an authentic context. it The goal of this study was to add to the thin body of research that examines preservice teachers’ perspectives of action research. ui Dedicated with. love to my mother, Catherine Periakowski Rawding. “And He will raise you up on eagles’ wings. Bear you on the breath, of dawn. Make you to shine like the sun. And hold you in the palm of His hand.” Isaiah 40:31 IV ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This study would not have been, possible without the generous support and participation of many people. I would like to offer sincere thanks to my adviser, Marilyn Johnston, for her support of my work. She encouraged me and responded with great care to my questions and dilemmas. Her help has proved to be instrumental in successfully completing this dissertation. Thank you to Rebecca Kantor and Barbara Seidl for their kindness and willingness to assist me as my committee members. I would especially like to thank my eight students for allowing me to observe their development of beginning identities as researchers and beginning skills in action research. Their kindness in sharing their time, views, and camaraderie was tremendous. My life is richer because it has been touch by you. To my friends who cheered me on—Susan Wanken, Connie Thomson, Lynn Ogle, Patti Alubaugh, and Debbie Shepperd-Gregg—many thanks. Finally, thank you to my family: To my mother and father, Catherine and George Rawding, for their unconditional love, pride, and prayers. To my children. Heather, Marcy, and Michael, who, with their own passion for the world of knowledge and ideas, lovingly encouraged me to Gnish this degree. They continue to amaze me with their incredible energy for involving themselves in a multitude of exciting experiences. To my husband, Jim, I give my deepest thanks. His inexhaustible practical and emotional support allowed me to pursue this project in a manner that would not have been possible otherwise. He has truly been the wind beneath my wings. Most important, 1 thank our Lord. He has shown me that through Him, all things are possible. VI VITA March 10, 1948...................................Bom - Darlington, Pennsylvania I97L... .............................................. 3.S. Elementary Education, Geneva College 1990.....................................................MÆd. Elementary Education, Pennsylvania State 199 2....................................................MÆd. Educational Administration and Elementary Principal Certification, Temple University 1993 -1995......................................... Doctoral Student in Education Administration and Curriculum Design, Immaculata College 199 6 ....................................................Assistant Superintendent Certification and High School Principal Certification, Ashland University 1997 - Present ......................................The Ohio State University PUBLICATIONS & PRESENTATIONS L S. Bendau, L Covert, J. Dyer, M. Christenson, M. Johnston, G. Risko, and R. Slutsky, Conducting action research while teaching about it. Paper presented at the annual conference of the American Education Research Association, Montreal, Canada (1999). 2. S. Bendau, J. Covert, J. Dyer, M. Christenson, M. Johnston, G. Risko, and R. Slutsky, The rocky road o f teachers becoming action researchers. Paper presented at the annual conference of the American Education Research Association, New Orleans, Louisiana. (2000). 3. Christenson, M., Slutslqr, R., Bendau, S., Covert, J, Dyer, J., Risko, G., & Johnston, M. (April, 2002). The Rocky Road of Teachers BecomingAction Researchers. Journal of Teaching and Teacher Education, 18(3), in press. vii FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: Education Others: Action Research Socioculture Early & Middle Childhood Education PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE 2001 - Present The Ohio State University Assistant Visiting Professor 1997 - 2001 Mount Vernon Nazarene College, Mount Vernon, Ohio Assistant Professor 1995 -1997 Knox County. Educational Service Center, Mount Vernon, Ohio Secondary Consultant/Supervisor 1993 -1995 E. H. Markle Intermediate School, Hanover, Pennsylvania Co-Principal, Grades 5-8 1971 -1993 Public School Teaching Experience, Pennsylvania vui TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract................................................................................ ......................................il Dedication ................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgments ...................................................................................................... .v Vita.............................................................................................................................vii List of Tables.............................................................................................................xv Chapters: L Introduction to the study ......................................................................................... I LI Introduction .......................................................................................................I 12 Action research ...................................... 5 I J Cognitive apprenticeship.................................................................. 8 L4 Research questions ............................................................................................9 1.5 Definition of terms ..........................................................................................11 1.6 Confines .........................................................................................................13 1.7 Significance of this study ................................................................................ 14 1.8 Overview........................................................................................................ IS 2. Related literature .................................................................................................. 17 2.1 hitroduction ................................................ 17 2.2