How can we effectively research and answer the multitude of questions that have emerged? Grossman & McDonald (2008) suggests that to make headway in the research of teacher education, researchers need to have a “common technical vocabulary” when describing teacher education. It is true that the education world has many terms that mean the same thing. For example, the words preservice teacher, student teacher, resident, and intern carry the same meaning. Using the same language provides clear understanding of what other researchers are finding.
Cochran-Smith (2005) also stressed the importance of having research “that use similar conceptual or theoretical framework, questions, and methods in different settings and with varying populations.” A similar framework would help researchers combine their works in order to answer critical questions regarding teacher education. This could allow researches to be more focused on policy issues concerning the preparation of teachers and on the research that could help improve teacher education. (Grossman & McDonald, 2008)
Teacher education is new to the research field. Common terminology and frameworks can help with focusing the research on the critical questions dealing with how to better teacher education.