Jenny Goransson has collaborated with researchers at George Mason University to examine the impact of a new clinical experience model used in Secondary Education teaching methods classes. This model pairs pre-service teachers (PSTs) with a school-based teacher educator (SBTE)—sometimes called “mentor teachers”— to go beyond the traditional model of passive observations of teaching. The “Problems of Practice” is a critical, project-based (CPB) clinical practice model that positions PSTs as co-researchers examining “problems of practice” identified jointly by school- and university-based educators. This model attempts to bridge the false theory/practice dichotomy by engaging PSTs in systematic inquiry and co-planning/co-teaching, drawing on scholarly literature and the situated knowledge of practicing teachers.

This year, two publications have come out of this work:

• Rudder, L., Zenkov, K., Goransson, J., Calabrese, S. (2026). Problems of Practice, Solutions for Sustainability: Reconceptualizing Mutual Impact in School-University Partnerships. School-University Partnerships. https://doi.org/10.1108/SUP-02-2026-0007
• Rudder, L., Zenkov, K., Goransson, J., Photiou Ettenson, S., & Singleton, S. (2026). “It’s like being on a road trip with a driver you trust”: Augmenting practice-based methods with critical, project-based clinical experiences. Midwest Journal of Education, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.69670/mje.3.1.9