Using Action Research to Promote Meaningful E-Service-Learning Experience for Preservice Teachers

2021 ◽  
pp. 49-67
Author(s):  
Svetlana Chesser ◽  
Kate Durham ◽  
Elena Aydarova
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Teacher Preparation ◽  
Action Research ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
Research Methodology ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Education Courses

Research on service-learning has documented the importance of relationships and meaningful community connections for preservice teachers' development. What remains less explored is the opportunities and challenges provided by e-service learning integrated into teacher preparation coursework. In this study, the authors utilize action research methodology to explore how preservice teachers engaged in e-service learning during the move towards remote instruction in the summer of 2020. Drawing on the analysis of students' weekly journals, final reflections, and the survey of stakeholders, they examine how e-service-learning created opportunities for students to feel connected to the community during the time of social isolation and be motivated by their ability to make an impact on children's interest in learning STEM content. The challenges emerged out of a disconnect between course content and some of the e-service learning assignments. This study's implications include better integration of e-service learning into teacher education courses.

The Value of Service-Learning in L2 Teacher Preparation

2018 ◽  
pp. 103-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristen M. Lindahl ◽  
Zuzana Tomas ◽  
Raichle Farrelly ◽  
Anna Krulatz
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Second Language ◽  
Teacher Preparation ◽  
Student Engagement ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Teaching Profession ◽  
Teacher Education Programs ◽  
Community Collaboration ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Course Content

Service-learning (SL) constitutes a particularly effective vehicle for engaging pre-service teachers with ELs during their university-level coursework, mostly due to the nature of SL that addresses the potential cultural and linguistic mismatch between teachers and learners in today's school systems by encouraging future educators to engage with the communities of their students long before they enter the teaching profession. This chapter describes four cases that demonstrate how second language (L2) teacher education programs utilize service-learning (SL) to engage pre-service teachers in diverse cultural and linguistic contexts through the lens of pedagogy of particularity. Each case presents four consistent key principles of service-learning: course content, community collaboration, integrated assignments that guide student engagement, and reflective practices that culminate the SL experience.

Incorporating Social Justice Into Science Teacher Education Courses

2020 ◽  
pp. 208-224
Author(s):  
Seema Rivera ◽  
Amal Ibourk
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Teacher Preparation ◽  
Science Teacher ◽  
Instructional Strategies ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Science Teacher Education ◽  
Teaching For Social Justice ◽  
Education Courses

In this chapter, the authors cover the importance and challenges of incorporating teaching for social justice in science teacher education courses. The chapter starts by providing an overview of the literature on social justice, specifically in science education, and define the terms social justice, equity, and diversity. Then, the authors, who are teacher educators from under-represented groups, share their own experiences about what led them to do social justice work. In addition, the authors present examples from their courses with their preservice teachers and instructional strategies they used. The chapter concludes with recommendations of ways in which we might consider implementing social justice practices in teacher preparation courses.

scholarly journals Academic Service Learning as Pedagogy: An Approach to Preparing Preservice Teachers for Urban Classrooms

2008 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret-Mary Sulentic Dowell
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Multicultural Education ◽  
Culturally Responsive ◽  
Data Sources ◽  
Academic Service Learning ◽  
K 12 ◽  
Urban Classrooms ◽  
Education Courses

ABSTRACT ACADEMIC SERVICE-LEARNING AS PEDAGOGY: AN APPROACH TO PREPARING PRESERVICE TEACHERS FOR URBAN CLASSROOMS Teacher education struggles with multifaceted and increasingly complex issues surrounding preparing majority (White) teachers to work effectively with minority (non-White) students, families and communities. Novice teachers entering the workforce need to be culturally responsive. What are the benefits to students, community, and university when academic service learning (AS-L) is a course component? How does AS-L impact the personal intellectual growth of preservice teachers? This phenomenological qualitative study examined dispositions of 177 preservice teachers engaged in literacy and multicultural education courses with AS-L components. A nesting design was selected for this study situating preservice teachers in the center, surrounded by university teacher education coursework, which in turn, is surrounded by a larger circle encompassing local K-12 public schools and the community at large, where all are located. Data were collected over the course of five consecutive semesters, using four different data sources, with written reflections the primary source. Ethnographic techniques of participant observation, informal and formal interviewing were also used to collect data. Artifacts and field notes resulting from observations and interview transcripts were considered when triangulating reflection data, comparing evidence from different sources and using multiple perceptions to clarify meaning. Using different data sources permitted examination of the same phenomena through different lens. Data were analyzed using open coding, an inductive content analysis, and the constant comparative method, both systematic yet dynamic approaches. Comparing different data sources allowed for the comparison of views, situations, actions, and experiences of different individuals. Data analysis led to four significant categories: displacement, transformation, acceptance, and moving from negative, judgmental attitudes to positive, non-judgmental attitudes. This investigation suggested that AS-L components improved and strengthened teacher education courses in terms of adequately preparing preservice teachers to teach successfully in urban environments. This study resulted in preservice teachers whose dispositions and appreciation of diversity and culturally responsive teaching increased.

scholarly journals Implementing Action Research in a Teacher Preparation Program: Opportunities and Limitations

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 47-71
Author(s):  
Glenda L. Black
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Teacher Preparation ◽  
Action Research ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
Teacher Education Program ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Teacher Preparation Program ◽  
Preparation Program ◽  
Problem Solving Skills

Action research has the potential to reconstruct schools into professional learning communities that are able to identify educational issues and develop appropriate solutions for 21st century learning. Increasingly, teacher education programs are providing action research experiences to encourage analytical thinking and problem-solving skills (Darling-Hammond, 2009, 2012). The purpose of this study was to critically examine the experiences of the teacher educator and teacher candidates involved in the implementation of an action research component over four years in a revised consecutive initial teacher preparation program. A case study design using action research methodology was used in the research, which provided the tools to explore a complex phenomenon within its context: the implementation of an action research assignment in a core course in a teacher preparation program. The perceptions of the faculty teaching the course and the teacher candidates (n=544) in each of the four years provided insight into challenges, benefits, and lessons learned.  The discussion centers on the implementation of action research in a compulsory course in a teacher education program; identifying opportunities and limitations settled into four main categories: structural incongruence, reflection, growth, and recommendations.

Best Practices in Teacher Preparation for Inclusive Education

2020 ◽  
pp. 52-68
Author(s):  
Holly H. Pinter ◽  
Lisa A. Bloom ◽  
Charmion B. Rush ◽  
Cameron Sastre
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Teacher Preparation ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
General Education ◽  
Inclusive Education ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
School Partnerships ◽  
University School Partnerships ◽  
Teacher Education Faculty ◽  
Education Courses

Research regarding best practice for preparing both special education and general education teachers for inclusion has been sparse in the US. The purpose of this chapter is to systematically review and summarize research regarding teacher preparation for inclusion. A thorough search uncovered 35 relevant studies. Themes that emerged from analysis of this research of best practices for teacher preparation for inclusive education included content for inclusion infused in teacher education courses, attention early and often to attitudes and dispositions toward inclusion, opportunities for collaboration and co-teaching, strong university-school partnerships, and collaboration to teacher education faculty.

A Typology of Conscious Decision Making for Service-Learning Field Experiences

2018 ◽  
pp. 504-513
Author(s):  
Tynisha D. Meidl ◽  
Leah Katherine Saal ◽  
Margaret-Mary Sulentic Dowell
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Teacher Education ◽  
Teacher Preparation ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Culturally Responsive ◽  
Field Experiences ◽  
Engaged Pedagogy ◽  
Culturally Responsive Practice ◽  
Conscious Decision ◽  
Typological Structure

In this concluding chapter, the authors, who are service-learning and teacher education scholars, present a typology of service-learning field experiences as a means of considering how and why service-learning field experiences are included as teacher preparation. The typology is a way to examine and inform the critical decision-making process when planning, implementing, and assessing service-learning field experiences. This chapter is a departure from other chapters in this edited volume, but its purpose is to extend the conversations all chapters inspire, which is to include service-learning as a form of community-engaged pedagogy and scholarship that endorses, represents, and promotes culturally responsive practice. The authors presume it is impossible to create a complete and comprehensive taxonomy of service-learning as community-engaged work continues to evolve. The typological structure can be used to identify, define, and describe the nuanced applications salient in service-learning field experiences within teacher education.

Pedagogical Approaches and Service-Learning in Teacher Preparation

2018 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Margaret-Mary Sulentic Dowell ◽  
Tynisha D. Meidl
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Teacher Preparation ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Culturally Responsive ◽  
Field Experiences ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Pedagogical Approach ◽  
Pedagogical Approaches

As the initial chapter in this volume, the authors set the tone by inviting service-learning practitioners who are situated within teacher education into dialogue regarding the foundational aspects of service-learning as an effective pedagogical approach for preparing pre-service teachers to teach from a culturally responsive stance. In this chapter, practitioners from across the field of teacher education's spectrum, from emerging scholars to veteran service-learning researchers, are encouraged to reflect on the ways they envision and position service-learning. Overall, service-learning is presented as a pedagogical approach involving various partners, including faculty, staff, students, community members, and agencies. This chapter foreshadows the varied methods and approaches contributors to this edited volume employ to strengthen and extend traditional field experiences and, thus, teacher preparation.

“If Not Me, Then Who?”

2018 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Ann Ethridge ◽  
Vickie E. Lake ◽  
Amber H. Beisly
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Early Childhood ◽  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Education Program ◽  
Teacher Education Program ◽  
Early Childhood Teacher ◽  
Agents Of Change ◽  
Sense Of Power

Research has indicated that teachers typically do not view themselves as advocates for many reasons such as fear of personal and professional risk (Peters & Reid, 2009). Participants include both preservice teachers and graduates of an early childhood teacher education program. This chapter addresses how the program utilized intentional assignments and group and individual scaffolding as preservice teachers moved from experiencing service learning to pure advocacy. Through a mixed methods study, preservice teachers began to see themselves as agents of change with increased confidence and sense of power. These transformations continued as graduates of the program reported they were still engaging in advocacy.

Promoting Culturally Responsive Pedagogical Competence among Preservice Teachers

2017 ◽  
pp. 643-664
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Adjei-Boateng
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
Teacher Preparation ◽  
Preservice Teacher ◽  
Culturally Responsive ◽  
Teacher Education Program ◽  
Demographic Changes ◽  
Preservice Teacher Preparation ◽  
Pedagogical Competence

This chapter examines primary issues confronting preservice teacher preparation in the US public schools. There are several issues confronting teaching and teacher education programs. However, this chapter explores cultural and linguistic diversity issues given the critical need for inclusive education. The increasing nature of demographic changes in the schools and the U.S. society also has ramifications for students' learning and preservice teacher preparation. To that end, this chapter examines efforts by organizations and educational researchers to respond to the phenomenon of demographic changes in US public schools and the need to equip teachers with competencies needed to help students become successful in schools. The author examines how one teacher education program is preparing teachers to meet the demands of teaching culturally and linguistically diverse student population. Finally, the author provides suggestions on how to improve and enhance culturally responsive pedagogical competence among preservice teachers.

Question Development in Two Online Graduate Teacher Education Courses

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 68-84
Author(s):  
Lynda R. Wiest ◽  
Eleni Oikonomidoy
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Sociocultural Perspectives ◽  
Self Study ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Course Material ◽  
Graduate Teacher Education ◽  
Question Development ◽  
Student Discussion ◽  
Education Courses

The authors conducted a self-study of the questions they developed for student discussion in their respective fully online graduate teacher education courses. Through individual and joint analyses of their decision-making processes and the resulting question content, the authors found that they had used both similar and different approaches to question development, influenced in part by their differing course content. Their deliberate decisions in developing questions for student discussion at times served, but in some cases constrained, course goals to have students address equity/diversity content candidly and in sufficient complexity. The authors found participating in a self-study with a colleague who had similar sociocultural perspectives useful for helping them undertake more exacting self-analyses that could lead to greater change in future development of course material.

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