scholarly journals Towards Socially Just Literacy Teaching in Virtual Spaces

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-41
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Isidro ◽  
Laura Teichert
Keyword(s):  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Field Experience ◽  
Methods Course ◽  
Teaching Experiences ◽  
Literacy Teaching ◽  
Complex Process ◽  
Teachers Experiences ◽  
Literacy Methods ◽  
Competency Based ◽  
Research Questions

This study inquires into preservice teachers’ teaching experiences within a virtual tutoring field experience in a literacy methods course. Our work is situated against the greater institutional and social-political context of a competency-based model in education and the Covid-19 pandemic that led to a shift to online instruction. From a social justice lens, we approach the research questions: What are undergraduate preservice teachers’ literacy teaching experiences in a newly-transformed-to-online literacy methods course? In what ways does a virtual tutoring field experience prepare preservice teachers towards socially just literacy teaching? By engaging in Narrative Inquiry, we unraveled preservice teachers’ experiences in facilitating literacy lessons that combine print-based and multimodal instruction, while learning about the specific tensions and questions that they confronted during the process. We realized that preservice teachers’ virtual teaching experiences develop towards more socially just teaching along the areas of knowledge, interpretive frames, teaching strategies, methods, skills, and advocacy and activism. We further found that this approach is a complex process characterized by the personal, contextual, and relational aspects of teaching.

Critical Thinking in Teacher Education

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Katie Peterson-Hernandez ◽  
Steven S. Fletcher
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Teacher Education Program ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
Teacher Preparation Programs ◽  
Methods Course ◽  
Preparation Programs ◽  
Literacy Methods

This chapter documents the development of critical thinking skills in preservice teachers as they engaged in practicum settings in a teacher education program. Qualitative data helps illustrate the shifts in thinking that correlated with particular experiences in the program. Data is used to illustrate strategies that teacher preparation programs might draw on to help teacher education students develop critical thinking skills related to pedagogies and practices. The authors conclude by theorizing a relationship between the structure and strategies employed within a literacy methods course and the expansion of preservice teachers understanding of literacy, teaching, and learning.

scholarly journals Beyond Apple Pies, Popsicles and Patriotism: Leveraging Digital Literacy to Unpack Matters of Race, Power, and Privilege

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 25-42
Author(s):  
Crystal Shelby-Caffey
Keyword(s):  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Digital Literacy ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Methods Course ◽  
Information Communication Technologies ◽  
Information Communication ◽  
Digital Terrain ◽  
Literacy Methods ◽  
Do So

It is important for all educators, but especially those working in P-12 systems, to not only be prepared to navigate the digital terrain but to do so while taking a critical stance and encouraging students to critically examine and confront injustice. To that end, this article spotlights the work being done in a literacy methods course for preservice teachers. Consideration is given to efforts to engage preservice teachers in the integration of information communication technologies (ICTs) in ways that develop critical consciousness while promoting social justice and equity.

scholarly journals Preservice Teachers Defining and Redefining Reading and the Teaching of Reading

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 21-44
Author(s):  
Beverley A. Brenna ◽  
Andrea Dunk
Keyword(s):  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Language Arts ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Literacy Teaching ◽  
Teaching Of Reading ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Reflective Narrative ◽  
A Current

This qualitative study was developed to explore changing beliefs about literacy teaching and learning in the context of one required introductory English Language Arts course. Research questions targeted shifts in individual as well as group responses from a current class of teacher candidates interested in PreK-Grade 8 classroom teaching. Research methods included pre- and post-course surveys, and reflective narrative statements on mid-term “exit cards”; these tools were designed to support course improvement as well as gather data that might facilitate the development of other courses and programs. Important implications emerged for teacher preparation in the area of literacy education. Many of the teacher candidates reported transformation of ideas in relation to the conceptualization of reading and the teaching of reading, shifting from word-oriented approaches to meaning-oriented approaches. Offering opportunities to recall, unpack, and share experiences with other teacher candidates appeared to provide a useful context for interrogating and reinforcing perspectives, or adopting new beliefs, about the teaching of reading.

Preservice Teachers Taking Action: Enacting Teaching Practices and Pedagogical Theories in an After-School Literacy Club Field Experience

2021 ◽  
pp. 002248712110335
Author(s):  
Jennifer VanDerHeide ◽  
Joanne E. Marciano
Keyword(s):  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Teaching Practices ◽  
Field Experience ◽  
After School ◽  
Field Placement ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Taking Action ◽  
Analyze Data

This article examines the teaching practices and pedagogical theories preservice teachers (PSTs) enacted in a newly designed after-school literacy club field placement. We draw from sociocultural and activity theories to analyze data collected in the qualitative study that examined the following research questions: (1) What teaching practices do PSTs enact in an after-school literacy club field placement? (2) What pedagogical theories guide their choices about which teaching practices they enact in the after-school literacy club field placement? and (3) In what ways does this field placement afford and constrain PSTs’ appropriation of these practices and theories? Findings consider three ways that the field experience afforded—and at times also constrained—the opportunities made available for PSTs to enact teaching practices and pedagogical theories related to their learning in coursework including learning from and with fellow PSTs, developing ownership over curriculum, and making connections to university coursework.

Influence of an Elementary Methods Course and Early Field Experience on Preservice Teachers’ Value Orientations

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Leah K. May ◽  
Matthew D. Curtner-Smith ◽  
Stefanie A. Wind
Keyword(s):  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Field Experience ◽  
Short Form ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Value Orientation ◽  
Value Orientations ◽  
Methods Course ◽  
Occupational Socialization ◽  
Early Field Experience ◽  
Elementary Methods

Purpose: To determine the influence of an elementary methods course and early field experience on eight preservice teachers’ (PTs’) value orientations. Method: The theoretical perspective employed was occupational socialization. Data were collected with the short form of the value orientation inventory and five qualitative techniques (formal and informal interviews, nonparticipant observation, critical incidents, and stimulated recall). The value orientation inventory profiles for the instructor and PTs were visually inspected for similarities and changes. Analytic induction and constant comparison were employed to analyze the qualitative data. Results: Value orientations of PTs with teaching and moderate coaching orientations were influenced by the methods course and early field experience, while those of PTs with strong coaching orientations were not. Factors leading to this evolution were the curriculum model employed, the instructor, and PTs’ increased confidence and knowledge of students. Summary and Conclusions: The study highlights the importance of faculty facilitating reflection on connections between instructional models and value orientations and how these relate to PTs’ beliefs.

scholarly journals Implementation of Immersive Classroom Simulation Activities in a Mathematics Methods Course and a Life and Environmental Science Course

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 3-18
Author(s):  
Carrie W. Lee ◽  
Tammy D. Lee ◽  
Ricky Castles ◽  
Daniel Dickerson ◽  
Holly Fales ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Environmental Science ◽  
Peer Group ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Methods Course ◽  
Teacher Education Programs ◽  
Teaching Experiences ◽  
Personal Reflections ◽  
Classroom Simulation ◽  
Mathematics And Science

This study investigated the influence of immersive classroom simulation activities on the development of elementary pre-service teachers in two separate mathematics and science education courses that simultaneously focus on pedagogy and content. Participants submitted written personal reflections about their teaching experiences using the immersive classroom simulation activities. These reflections were analyzed for common emergent themes within and across courses. The participants discussed the benefits of the immersive classroom simulation activities in their written personal reflections. They viewed the experience as helpful in developing their skills as a practicing teacher in mathematics and science. Specifically, participants identified three sub-themes including: (a) the immersive classroom simulation activities as being beneficial by providing more authentic real-life teaching experiences than those experienced during peer-group teaching activities; (b) the importance of holding complete and appropriate understandings of content when teaching mathematics and science; and (c) the role of deep content knowledge in the process of developing high quality questions for students. This study has shown immersive classroom simulation activities to be a viable alternative for teacher education programs to engage elementary preservice teachers in developing skills regarding classroom mathematics and science discourse.

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