Action research as instructional supervision: Impact on the professional development of university based supervisors and science student teachers

This study examines the effect of action research on the professional development of supervisor and student teacher in a practicum setting. In this collaborative action research, both the supervisor and student teacher identified problems of teaching physics for 16 years old students, planned an action to overcome it, excuted and reflect on the effectiveness of the plan. Findings showed the student teacher improved her own subject matter knowledge, developed pedagogical content knowledge and enhanced research skills. For the supervisor, the collaborative action research enabled her to reflect on the effectiveness of her supervision and of the methods course in helping student teachers to teach. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.