Table 2 Summary of primary codes used to analyze LA teaching reflections

Student ideas

Acknowledgement of at least one of the following:

• Students come in with ideas (using pedagogy vocabulary, e.g., mental models)

• Prior ideas could impact the way the new information is taken up

• These ideas could be built upon/related to when teaching new information

• The new information may cause some rearrangement of a pre-existing framework

“To help them when they got stuck in their mental models” (Spring 2015)

“…what the individual knew before.” (Spring 2014)

“A teacher works with what the student thinks.” (Spring 2016)

Constructing knowledge

Acknowledgement of at least one of the following:

• Learning involves the integration of new ideas into a framework

• Knowledge can be built by the student

• Using your prior knowledge to understand new ideas

• Always coded with student ideas, but the addition of constructing knowledge implies more action on the student’s part

Use of the word constructivism

“Learning means to build upon knowledge that you already have a foundation.” (Spring 2014)

“…integrate the information into their own mental models and work through the material themselves.” (Spring 2015)

“In this process, you form connections between what you already know and new ideas.” (Fall 2015)

Formative assessment

Must include at least one of the following:

• Use of the word “formative assessment”

• Reference to building at least two parts of “the bridge” which consists of the following components:

• Where the student starts (with respect to a given topic)

• Where the student needs to go

• How to help them get there

Acknowledgement of the importance of finding out why your student does not understand

“Learning required small steps so that it can get us to where we ultimately want to go.” (Spring 2014)

“It’s meeting them halfway across the ‘how we gonna get there’ bridge.” (Spring 2014)

“Effective teachers engage in formative assessment through evaluating the level that their class currently is at (through examining test performances, clicker questions, etc.) and the level that the teacher wants them to be at, and coming up with methods of how to get their class there.” (Fall 2014)