The REFLECT Project in Norway: interactive pedagogy using email

Given the constraints in teacher education at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, (NTNU), one-to-one interaction via email between the student teacher out on teaching practice and a professor or a university supervisor is a favoured approach. The case studies from NTNU describe how student teachers learn to reflect over episodes from the classroom in a structured interaction with their supervisors. The cases formed part of the European REFLECT project. The article also discusses the processes of reflection and preparation to use free writing over email as a way of opening up resources. We have connected all these analyses, interpretations and the more overarching ideas to build on an interactional principle (Hoel, 1995, p. 13). In this project, the email messages had a double function. First, the writing in itself was intended as a tool for the student teacher’s own thinking. Secondly, email is intended to enable communication between the student teacher and their tutors. On the basis of our research findings, we believe that structured email communication can make an important contribution in teacher education. One-to-one communication is time-consuming but may be appropriate for those student teachers who need assistance in connecting theory to practice, as a supplement to the individual supervision they are given at the school where they are on teaching practice. There is also a place for one-to-one communication in distance teaching and the in-service education of experienced teachers.