The teacher guidance landscape in Denmark

By Stig Toke Gissel, Bettina Buch, Marianne Oksbjerg, Karna Kjeldsen and Maren Lytje

Abstract

Teacher guides for didactic learning materials are an overlooked object of study in teaching resource research. In this article, an analysis model for teacher guides is presented, which focuses on an overall
characteristic of the teaching aid, the degree of didactic coverage of the teacher guide – that is, whether there is guidance for the teacher at course level regarding central didactic tasks and choices, as well
as whether and in what ways the author of the teacher guide emerges as a subject in the guidance, including whether the author engages in dialogue with relevant voices on which the teaching material is based and invites the teacher to didactic reflection. The analysis model is demonstrated through example analysis of a total of 22 didactic learning materials from three school subjects: Danish, Christian
studies and history. The analyses are synthesized within each of the three subjects and put into perspective in relation to a characteristic of the subject and previous research on learning material use within the subjects. In addition, differences and similarities across the three subjects are highlighted. The purpose of the article has implications for producers of teaching aids, practitioners and teacher training, as the teacher’s guide can function to a greater or lesser extent as support for the teacher and as a source of didactic update and reflection.

This article is in Danish.