Rethinking Writing Pedagogy

This chapter examines practices, strategies, and assessments used to support preservice and inservice teachers in becoming digital writers who can thoughtfully integrate digital and multimodal writing into their pedagogical practice. The chapter is organized into two sections: (1) a research-based discussion of goals and strategies for integrating digital and multimodal writing into preservice and inservice teacher education courses, and (2) concrete examples of activities and assessments for teacher education courses that can successfully scaffold teachers into becoming digital writers. Findings demonstrate that the thoughtful and purposeful integration of digital, multimodal writing into teacher education courses can shift understandings of writing as a participatory practice and support teachers in successful classroom integration.

Blended Learning to Support Alternative Teacher Certification

This chapter reviews literature on the use of e-learning to complement and extend preservice and inservice teacher education. It also provides an in depth example of the design and implementation of blended learning for supporting alternative teacher certification. In light of the example, research findings are summarized. The second part of the chapter provides a discussion on the following strategies that led to the successful use of blended learning in alternative teacher certification and explains how applying them can contribute to effective uses of blended learning in other settings: a) leveraging a network of partners, b) designing blended learning to address needs of multiple learners and organizational entities, c) balancing standardization and customization, and d) conducting evaluation and engaging in continuous improvement.

Blended Learning to Support Alternative Teacher Certification

This chapter reviews literature on the use of e-learning to complement and extend preservice and inservice teacher education. It also provides an in depth example of the design and implementation of blended learning for supporting alternative teacher certification. In light of the example, research findings are summarized. The second part of the chapter provides a discussion on the following strategies that led to the successful use of blended learning in alternative teacher certification and explains how applying them can contribute to effective uses of blended learning in other settings: a) leveraging a network of partners, b) designing blended learning to address needs of multiple learners and organizational entities, c) balancing standardization and customization, and d) conducting evaluation and engaging in continuous improvement.

The Role of Reflection in Addressing the Social Responsibility Mandate of Teacher Education

This article makes the case that a teacher’s personal qualities should be considered to be of great importance to being a teacher and that pre- and inservice teacher education has a social responsibility mandate. Developing personal qualities in teacher education is an important way in which teacher education can address its social responsibility mandate and, conversely, this mandate can provide the perspective from which the value of teacher’s personal qualities for teaching can be judged. Finally, the article discusses the role of reflective thinking and reflective practice in addressing the social responsibility mandate of teacher education and identifies characteristics of reflective practices that seem particularly suitable for developing a teacher’s personal qualities relevant for addressing the social responsibility mandate of teacher education.