Discover – Deepen – Do : a 3D Pedagogical Approach for Developing Newly Qualified Teachers as Professional Learners

Abstract

This article presents a strategy for teaching newly qualified teachers (NQTs) during their first year of teaching, developed by teacher educators from the University of Hertfordshire School of Education. The strategy included a new learning and teaching approach designed to enable NQTs to: develop as critically reflective teachers; build confidence in their professional 'voices'; learn collaboratively; and assess their learning. Pedagogical tools created to support the new approach included 'Discover - Deepen - Do' (3D), a model for driving change in teaching through analysing critical incidents or critical moments. The NQTs who completed the Master's level module used the 3D model, completed critically reflective 'learning journals' and were assessed through 'learning conversations'. This article describes the learning and teaching approach and evaluation method. Findings from the evaluation provide insight into the participants' perspectives of the approach, and the NQTs' development as confident and critically reflective teachers and as professional learners