Vignett es as a tool to deal with complex situations in education

In this paper we focus on the role of vignettaes in dealing with professional dilemmas of educators. A vignettae is a short description of an educators professional context, with an explanation of the issue that is at stake. Vignettaes can be used in diffeerent ways. We start with a description of the approach in the PROMISE-project, where we used vignettaes fierstly as a method for gathering examples in diffeerent European countries. Secondly, we describe the way we encourage the use of vignettaes in a pedagogical way. Our project website contains several examples of vignettaes, which can be used by educators to help them see communalities between their context and that of others who face similar issues. Thoe vignettaes on our website can also be used in teacher education, as a means to discuss professional dilemmas and problem solving strategies with student teachers. In this paper, we will address all these options.


Introduction
Not only student teachers, but also experienced teachers do encounter challenges in their daily practice. Theese challenges range from small incidents where direct decision-making is required to more complex issues that are not easily solved with an intervention. Theese issues can be referred to as professional dilemmas.
In the Erasmus+ Strategic Partners-project PROMISE (Promoting Inclusion in Society through Inclusion: Professional Dilemmas in Practice), partners from UK, Hungary, Slovenia, Germany and Thee Netherlands work together on the topic of professional dilemmas of educators in their practice. More specifi c, we were interested educators' professional dilemmas in delivering 'high quality, inclusive education' (European Union council, 2018). Although educational systems might be diffeerent from each other, the teaching practices of educators in diffeerent countries might be more alike than diffeerent. As a group, we were interested in fi nding communalities and diffeerences between educational practices and dilemmas of educators in our countries.
In this paper we focus on the role of vignett es in our project. Vignett es can be used as a research tool to gather information, but vignett es can also be applied as a pedagogical instrument (Anast Seguin & Ambrosius, 2002). In our project, we used both applications. . We start with a description of the use of vignett es in gathering information in the PROMISE-project. Afther that, we address possibilities to use vignett es of our project in a pedagogical way, namely-for teacher professional development, as a means to discuss professional dilemmas and problemsolving strategies with (student) teachers.

What are vignett es
A vignett e is a short description of a problem or challenge in a specifi c contextual sett ing. Thee information that is given in the description can be understood by professionals who are familiar with that context. Vignett es have been used as a tool in research, modelling and refluection. According to the Jefferies & Maeder, authors 'researchers and educators have found vignett es to be very effeective in these contexts for several reasons: vignett es are relatively easy to construct, they provide a useful focus for discussion, they are valuable in adressing difficcult to explore and sensitive topics, they can be used with individuals and groups, and they refluect real-life contexts and problems' (Jefferies & Maeder, 2004, p. 17). In pedagogical sett ings a vignett e is defi ned as 'a writt en description of a situation created for specifi c educational purposes, with possible solutions and conclusions omitted. Theis pedagogy provides an opportunity for students to advance critical thinking as they evaluate various aspects of the situation and pose recommendations' (Anast Seguin & Ambrosio, 2002, p.10).

Vignett es as a tool to gather information
In the PROMISE project, we were anxious to fi nd out which questions educators in diffeerent countries have, regarding their (inclusive) teaching practice. Partners in the project are all connected to teacher education and/or teacher professional development. Together the partners represent a broad range of career stages in education -from student to experienced educators -and across academic and vocational sett ings. To gather information about teacher's dilemma's and their solutions in diffeerent countries, we decided that each partner would sample 10 writt en examples of professional dilemmas in their own educational sett ing. Theis lead to a diverse range of examples of dilemmas of student teachers, experienced teachers, school leaders from diffeerent sett ings. A total of 63 examples were gathered. As the examples were sometimes more detailed and sometimes lacked information, the examples were re-writt en into vignettes, making sure each vignett e contained the same basic information such as context of the educational sett ing, indication of level of experience of the contributor, description of the dilemma and solutions that had been tried (Beaton et al., 2021).
Thee vignett es then were analysed to categorize the dilemma's in order to get an overview of topics that teachers in diffeerent countries fi nd challenging. Also the solutions (if there were any) were looked into, in order to get an impression of the problem solving strategies that were applied.
According to our sampling, the professional dilemmas of educators could be defi ned into seven main categories, namely: classroom management, behaviour, inclusion, psychological problems, ICT, interprofessionalism, didactics. Thee analysis of the solutions that were mentioned, revealed that in all cases gathering of information was the fi rst step. Theis could mean ask advice from colleagues, interview students or parents, read about the issue. Thee information then was used to fi nd a practical solution, for example, try a new approach.

Further use of vignett es as a tool in our projekt
Thee gathering of the dilemmas already helped us to realise that educators throughout educational sett ings and career stages share the same kind of issues. In the project, we were anxious to share this understanding. For teachers it might be reassuring that they are not the only ones struggling with dilemmas, it might even help to break down the 'loneliness' or 'isolation' (Bakkenes, De Brabander & Imants, 1999) many teachers experience when they are teaching on their own in a classroom. We thus decided that we wanted to use the input from the vignett es as examples for other teachers, and apply vignett es in a pedagogical way. We therefore developed a website where we could present the vignett es, see htt ps://promise-eu.net.
Thee website offeers teachers a ranges of vignett es, categorized along the seven main topics we found. Each vignett e is an example of a professional dilemma, see the example text below. Pedagógusképzés • 20(48), 2021/1.

Afther a few months of my teaching in the fierst year of secondary education, a new student, who was transferred from another school, joined our class. He had behavioural problems and while being in our school, he showed no interest in acquiring any
concrete knowledge. Thoe student caused problems with disturbing comments and passive learning attaitude, which encouraged other students to follow his example. In certain situations, he was unpredictable. Thoe instructions in this class have become awful and stressful for me, since I had to deal with psychological and pedagogical approaches, of which I was not entirely capable. I have noticed that sometimes he responds whenever I punish his behaviour (send him out from my class).
Next to the description (see example above), also the dilemma itself is elaborated. In the example above this dilemma is 'I am not fond of punishing because I don't believe that in the long run that will solve the problem. What other approaches might work?'. Each vignett e is completed with some 'choices' that were helpful in the search for a solution of the problem. Thee choices do not offeer a readymade solution, they are merely suggestions for further exploration that may contribute to fi nding ways to deal with the situation. In the example from above, the 'choices' were: consult relevant literature about punishment; discuss the situation with colleagues; discuss the situation with parents and consult an expert on emotional and behavioural issues.
In our website, we want to stress that complex issues can not be solved by simple solutions. Each situation is diffeerent, so a context-specifi c exploration is needed in order to fi nd a context specifi c way to handle the situation. Teachers can rely on routine expertise which exists of a set of skills and routines that have proved to work. But this routine is not enough, teachers also need to be innovative when necessary, rethinking their practice and values when confronted with nonroutine situations. Theis is called adaptive expertise (Anthony, Hunter & Hunter, 2015). As teachers are constantly confronted with 'nonroutine' situations, developing adaptive expertise is important, both for student teachers and for teachers with a considerable amount of teaching experience. Finding a solution for a nonroutine situation is the task of the adaptive teacher. On the way towards that solution educators need curiosity, an inquiry stance and interest in their students. With our website, we are offeering suggestions for steps to take and sources to use, but it is up to educators to build these into a pathway towards a solution that works for them and their pupils.

possibilities to work with the vignett es of the pRoMIsE website
In this section of the paper, we explain how vignett es can be used as a tool in teacher education, for example to enhance the development of adaptive expertise. We distinguish three ways to work with vignett es: 1) write their own vignett es and discuss them in professional conversations; 2) use of ready-made vignett es in professional conversations and 3) use of vignett es in a simulation situationof problem solving strategies.
In the following three sections we present these options of using vignett es in teacher education -based on our experiences in the PROMISE project.

Writing own vignett es
Thee fi rst application of vignett es is using them in a pedagogical way as suggested by Anast Sequin & Ambrosio (2004). Theis pedagogy contributes to critical thinking and reviewing own choices by discussing a situation. Student teachers are sharing their experiences about teaching, pupils and refluect on them in a group sett ing. In order to share experiences, students are invited to elaborate a specifi c situation from their teaching practice for which they seek consultation. Thee situation itself is presented by the student in the form of a vignett e, either verbal or in a writt en version. For examples of vignett es, they can take a look at the website of the PROMISE-project.
Thee process during a meeting is as follows. One student teacher starts to present his or her vignett e. Afther the presentation, the other students may ask clarifying questions or bett er understanding of the situation. Afther that, the other students ask probing questions, to further elaborate the issue and to make the student refluect and become aware of alternative visions. Theereafther, the peer-students have a few minutes to give advice about what they would do if it was their teaching practice. Thee student teacher whose vignett e is being advised upon, holds his/her silence during this step, he or she just listens. Thee fi nal step in the procedure is for the student teacher whose vignett e was at stake. He or she gets 1 minute to refluect on everything that has been said and to defi ne a next step. Thee procedure then is repeated for the next student and so on.
In this fi rst application, the vignett e is a means to help the student to defi ne the dilemma or the issue he or she wants to talk about. Thee construction of the vignett e itself is already a deliberate task, since it forces the student to explain the context, sett ing, own role and roles of other persons involved. Theis is not always easy because situations sometimes are a consequence of previous events. Being compelled to write a vignett e helps the student to analyse the situation and to view it from a diffeerent angle. Having a conversation about their vignett e with others broadens their view and add new perspectives (Stappers & Koster, 2016). Next to that, engaging in the conversation on the vignett es of other students adds to broadening perspectives as well (Stappers & Koster, 2016).

Discussing vignett es
Thee second application of vignett es is the use of readymade vignett es (of our website) as a tool in teacher education.
Thee procedure and its benefi ts (Stappers & Koster, 2016;Anast Seguin & Ambrosio, 2004) are similar to the procedure described above, where student teachers bring their own vignett es. Thee diffeerence in this situation is that the vignett es are not 'owned' by any of the group members, the vignett es are from an outsider who is not present in the meeting. Discussing an 'outsider' vignett e has the advantage that there are no personal emotions involved. All student teachers can participate without being emotionally or personally involved. Theey can talk freely about the vignett e and they can discuss options and explore the problem at stake without offeending one of them personally.
Thee readymade vignett e can consist of a short video of a teacher in a classroom, which is paused at a certain moment with the question 'what would you do?'. Thee vignett e can also be a writt en vignett e, that is discussed in-depth. In both cases, Student teachers are invited to read the vignett e and unravel the situation at stake. What do they think is happening, what would they advise the owner of the vignett e to do, what suggestions do they have from theory or from their own practice?
Use vignett es in a game on inquiry stance Thee third option for the use of vignett es is to use readymade vignett es as a starting point to explain the importance of an inquiry stance. As mentioned before, developing an inquiry stance is considered an important part of the teaching profession in our institute. Thee vision towards teacher inquiry relies on the work of Fichtman-Dana (2015). According to her, 'teacher inquiry is a continual cycle that all educators spiral through throughout their professional lifetimes a professional positioning or stance, owned by the teacher, where questioning, systematically studying, and subsequently improving one's own practice becomes a necessary and natural part of a teacher's work' (Fichtman-Dana, 2015, pp. 163-164.). According to Bolhuis (2012) teacher inquiry is a professional learning strategy, since inquiry of their own teaching practice helps teachers to evaluate, innovate and improve their work. Kelchtermans (2019) stresses the fact that the best way to prepare future teachers for the inevitable changes in their future teaching practice is to develop their ability for critical thinking and inquiry as stance. Thee critical analysis of their insecurity, uneasiness and practical discomfort offeers powerful possibilities to develop their professionalism. Theerefore, in our Teacher Education Institute, we want to prepare our student teachers for their future careers not only by equipping them with subject knowledge and pedagogical skills, but also by equipping them with an inquiry stance.
In order to explain the how and what of the inquiry stance to (student) teachers, a game was developed to engage (student) teachers in a simulation of the inquiry process. Thee game is developed for the PROMISE-project and is also available on the website of the project (htt ps://promise-eu.net/). In the game both 'vignett es' and 'tools' from the PROMSE-project are used. Thee purposes of the game are 1) to experience an inquiry stance in a nutshell; 2) to practice writing down a storyline of the process followed; 3) to refluect on the process and 4) to apply this strategy in other situations in professional sett ings.
In the game, 3 diffeerent vignett es (A, B and C) and matching tools are prepared beforehand. To play the game, students form groups from 2 or 3. Theey choose which vignett e (A, B of C) they want to use in the game. Each vignett e is a short description of a context and a professional dilemma. Next to description of the vignett e, also a list of available 'tools' is given. Tools can be a piece of an handbook, a set of refluection questions, writt en down interviews with pupils, etc.
Afther having read the vignett e and the list of 'tools', the students take their fi rst step: they need to decide which tool they are going to explore to start with. Theey need to write down their decision and the underpinning for this choice, as well as their expectations of the 'tool' in a storyline. In the next step, they get access to the tool of their choice. Afther having looked at its contents, they decide on the usefulness of the tool and write down their experiences in their storyline. Theen they may decide to use another tool. Thee steps of decision making, underpinning and taking notes is repeated until all the tools have been used, or until the time for the game is up (in online sett ing 40 minutes is enough, in physical sett ing 2 hours may be required). Thee next step in the game is the presentation of the storylines of the diffeerent groups of students, in which the students tell about the choices they made and the way the information in the tools helped them (or not). If several groups chose the same vignett e, this is even more interesting, since they might have made diffeerent choices in the order to use the tools.
In the fi nal conversation about the game, the teacher educator draws conclusions on the approaches of the student teachers. It is important to stress the fact that every approach in the use of the tools is justifi ed. Furthermore, it is important to stress that the game is just a simulation, and in real life, even more tools (sources) are available.

Conclusion
In this contribution we have described several possible applications for the use of. Firstly, we addressed vignett es as a means of data gathering in our project. Thee input from the vignett es showed us the communalities between educators throughout careers stages, educational sett ings and countries concerning professional dilemmas they encounter in their teaching practice.
Thee second application for vignett es that we described in this paper is the pedagogical use in teacher education or in other professional development sett ings. Writing a vignett e about ones' own practice helps to elaborate the issue at stake and to view the issues from a diffeerent angle. Using ready-made vignett es offeer the possibility to refluect on a situation that is similar to one's own experiences, and invite to discuss possible solutions with others. Vignett es are a powerful instrument as a starting point for a professional conversation.
In this paper, we wrote about vignett es as a tool to deal with complex situations in education. Afther having read our contribution, it will be clear that not the vignett es itself will solve complex sett ings, they only serve as a tool. Furthermore, it is good to realise that a writt en text (in a vignett e) only provides limited information and details must be fi lled in (Hughes & Huby, 2001). Despite these limitations, vignett es do offeer a starting point for a professional conversation, in which several perspectives can be taken into account. We hope that our website with the diversity of vignett es will serve that goal.