Education Commons^™

Poetry Is Powerful: High School Students And Pre-Service Teachers Develop Literacy Relationships Through Poetry, Susanne L. Nobles, Amy Price Azano

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

Teaching poetry can serve as a roadblock for many English teachers who lack confidence with the genre. Likewise, high school students struggle reading poetry and creating their own poetic works. In an effort to provide an authentic learning experience for our students, we created a semester-long, collaborative poetry project between our high school and college students. This manuscript provides details about the goals, processes, and takeaways for both groups of participants. The high school students were two classes of freshman-level English students who practiced developing critical literacy skills while reading, reciting, and writing poetry. The college students were pre-service English …

Developing Preservice Writing Teachers’ Professional Judgment: Design Conjectures For Supporting Equitable And Rigorous Writing Instruction, Britnie Delinger Kane

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

To meet the composition demands of the future, secondary students in the United States will need more rigorous and more equitable writing instruction. They will need opportunities to inquire into and frame authentic problems. They will need to communicate for a variety of audiences and purposes, and they will need access to a variety of linguistic and literary forms. In turn, secondary teachers will need improved preparation for teaching writing. This conceptual review outlines what intellectually rigorous and equitable writing instruction looks like, arguing that teaching writing in these ways requires that teachers deploy substantial professional judgment. I then rely …

What Kind Of Teacher For Our Citizens? A Book Review Of What Kind Of Citizen? Educating Our Children For The Common Good, Tony Decesare

Democracy and Education

Westheimer’s central argument in What Kind of Citizen? Educating our Children for the Common Good is that the current climate around public education—marked, in general, by standardization in our schools—is not conducive to the development of thoughtful and critically engaged public citizens. Westheimer demonstrated convincingly that schools—in response to recent education reform and, in some cases, pressure from parents and other education stakeholders—have increasingly emphasized individual goals at the expense of educating children for the common good. Furthermore and related, in this age of standardized testing, school curricula have become more narrowly focused on achievement in math and literacy at …

Trouble With The Edtpa: Sliding From Teaching To Preparing For The Test, Stephanie Cronenberg, Dori Johnson, Alexis Jones, Stacey Korson, Natasha Murray, Michael Parrish, Marilyn Johnston-Parsons

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

This paper was written by a group of instructors responsible for preparing 100 elementary/middle school licensure students for the edTPA portfolio assessment. It is an analysis of our experiences doing so in the pilot year. The edTPA is a performance assessment required for teacher licensure. We considered this assessment to have significant advantages over a multiple choice test and we debated for a year how best to implement it. Our plan was to integrate what they needed to know into our courses rather than to prepare them directly for the test. We approached this with a positive attitude but emerged …

Say That The River Turns: Social Justice Intentions In Progressive Public School Classrooms, Beatrice Fennimore

Occasional Paper Series

Fennimore confronts the deficit-based talk prevalent in many schools serving marginalized students in “Say that the River Turns.” She argues that teaching for social justice begins by replacing deficit-based talk with clearly articulated intentions that subsequently transform into actions.

No Shortcuts On The Journey To Learning For Students Or Teachers, Alison Coviello, Susan Stires

Occasional Paper Series

Despite the generally held view that children in low-performing, under-served schools have "deficits" teachers in such schools often have very different experiences. Students can succeed in all areas of schooling and beyond. But for this to happen, teacher education institutions need to provide teacher candidates with background information and knowledge about instruction, so they can see and support the strengths of students in high-needs schools.

Preparing Teachers For High-Need Schools: A Focus On Thoughtfully Adaptive Teaching, Arlene Mascarenhas, Seth Parsons, Sarah Cohen Burrowbridge

Occasional Paper Series

Differentiated instruction, or thoughtfully adaptive teaching, helps teachers successfully meet the needs of students in under-served schools. Teacher education institutions can do their part by forming partnerships with high-needs schools so teacher candidates can gain experience in a supportive environment. Along with providing a solid grounding in pedagogy, teacher education programs need to help candidates develop their own vision of teaching. Vision is seen as a way for teachers to remain true to their core values, and as a way to stay focused on how to do the best for all of their students.

Voices From The Field, Lina B. Soares

Georgia Educational Researcher

This research study sought to determine the impact from participation in a practicum field experience on teacher candidates’ perceived professional dispositions for effective teaching. A further intent was to describe what teacher candidates perceived to be the necessary professional dispositions for effective teaching as they reflected on their experiences in their particular preparation contexts. A mixed-methods sequential explanatory design was used to examine and understand the development of dispositions from pre-service teachers’ perspectives. The participants consisted of seventeen middle grade undergraduate students who completed over 200 hours of field experience while attending a mid-size university in the Southeastern region of …

Educational Revolution, Peter Taubman

Occasional Paper Series

Invites the reader to reclaim the conversation and turn back the on-going privatization and corporatization of public schools.

Preface: Challenging The Politics Of The Teacher Accountability Movement, Gail M. Boldt

Occasional Paper Series

Explains that this issue is intended as a resource for anyone concerned with re-framing and taking back the educational conversation, moving toward meaningful school reform that is based in a commitment to creating conditions under which teachers can develop the kinds of complex and sophisticated professional knowledges and practices that support authentic student learning.

Constructing Online Communities Of Practice, Marvin Cohen, Babette Moeller, Michelle Cerrone

Occasional Paper Series

The authors document the ways in which online communities of practice enable teachers to have meaningful conversations sharing practices and discussing the nuances of teaching math.

Teaching Science Teachers In An Online Context With A Constructivist Approach, Frederick W. Freking, Jenny D. Ingber

Occasional Paper Series

The authors discuss the development of an online STEM-based teacher education program, providing a template for the inclusion of constructivist practices, such as course activities and student teaching.

Enhancing Teacher Learning From Guided Video Analysis Of Literacy Instruction: An Interdisciplinary And Collaborative Approach, Carrie Eunyoung Hong, Irene Van Riper

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

The technological infrastructure for the use of instructional and professional videos is common in today’s educational venues. However, there has been a dearth of awareness and training to help teachers critically analyze and effectively utilize video recordings of authentic classroom instruction for their professional development. This self-study examined the teaching and learning process, particularly knowledge and lessons that we, as teacher educators, learned from commentary regarding video analysis and pre- and post- surveys completed by the candidates in a graduate level special education course. The investigation explored the extent to which the guided video analysis process facilitated the candidates’ learning …

An Investigation Of The Development Of Pre-Service Teacher Assessment Literacy Through Individualized Tutoring And Peer Debriefing, Dennis Murphy Odo

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

Many pre-service teachers lack deep understanding of assessment concepts and have low self-efficacy for using assessments but pre-service on-campus programs have been shown to support their assessment literacy development. Likewise, individualized tutoring has helped pre-service candidates improve instructional practice and peer debriefing has been found to help push their thinking. However, questions remain regarding the usefulness of these techniques to develop candidates’ assessment literacy. The primary aim of this exploratory qualitative study was to describe pre-service teachers’ perceptions of assessment literacy and the process of their assessment literacy development during a literacy assessment class containing an individualized tutoring component. Five …

Problematizing Assumptions, Examining Dilemmas, And Exploring Promising Possibilities In Culturally Relevant Pedagogy. A Response To “'I Didn’T See It As A Cultural Thing': Supervisors Of Student Teachers Define And Describe Culturally Responsive Supervision", Maria Dantas-Whitney, R. Dana Ulveland

Democracy and Education

In response to the study and recommendations presented in the article “'I Didn’t See it as a Cultural Thing,'” written by Linda Griffin, Dyan Watson and Tonda Liggett, we explore three interrelated topics. First, we seek to problematize some of the assumptions in the study. We review some of the authors’ approaches and assertions that seem to reflect a hierarchical power structure and a deficit model. Second, we examine our own dilemmas and struggles in enacting culturally relevant practices within our teacher education program. Our reflections derive from our recent experience preparing for a reaccreditation site visit by NCATE. Third, …

Examining Changes In Pre-Service Teachers’ Beliefs Of Pedagogy, Lynn Sheridan

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Pre-service teachers enter teacher education with beliefs about teaching and ideas on pedagogical approaches. This research focuses on monitoring the pedagogical beliefs of a cohort of pre-service teachers’; pre-existing pedagogical beliefs on important/relevant pedagogy for secondary teaching and how these beliefs changed over the course of their degree. Data were collected from a cohort via a survey at the beginning and end of the year of the study. The cohort comprised pre-service teachers from each year of the four-year degree.

This research found that pedagogical beliefs changed over the duration of the course. This finding indicates that there are …

Enhancing Teacher Education In Primary Mathematics With Mobile Technologies, Sandy Schuck

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Abstract

A challenge of teacher education is to produce graduate primary school teachers who are confident and competent teachers of mathematics. Various approaches to primary school teacher education in mathematics have been investigated, but primary teacher education graduates still tend to be diffident in their teaching of mathematics. In an age where personal use of mobile technologies is becoming ubiquitous, such technologies could provide a conduit into making mathematics teaching and learning more accessible to primary teacher education students. This paper introduces the use of a pedagogical framework which can scaffold mobile learning in mathematics teacher education programs. The paper …

The Social Construction Of Teachers' Practical Knowledge In The Advisement Conference Group: Report Of A Case Study, Gail Hirsch

Thought and Practice: (1987-1991) the Journal of the Graduate School of Bank Street College of Education

The work described here concerns the phenomenon of teachers' practical knowledge and the dynamic processes involved in its articulation and development within the local context of the teacher education experience as these were examined in a longitudinal case study, Telling Tales Out of School (Hirsch, 1987).

A Theoretical Framework For Advisement, Dorothy Bloomfield

Thought and Practice: (1987-1991) the Journal of the Graduate School of Bank Street College of Education

Describes the theory and practice of advisement, offering a glimpse of the developmental facet of advisement and the relationship involved between advisor and advisee.

Advisement: From Bank Street To Binghamton, Margaret Yonemura

Thought and Practice: (1987-1991) the Journal of the Graduate School of Bank Street College of Education

The author describes her experience of adapting the Bank Street advisement model to a new master's program in early childhood/elementary education at the State University of New York at Binghamton.

The Advisement Process In School Reform, Esther Rosenfeld

Thought and Practice: (1987-1991) the Journal of the Graduate School of Bank Street College of Education

As the new Teacher Director at Central Park East II elementary school, the author chose to adapt Bank Street's advisement model to the staff development work at her school. She suggests that the process may be appropriately applied more broadly in efforts at school reform.

Developing Collaborative Leaders: Reflections On Leadership Advisement At Bank Street College, Lonnetta Gaines

Thought and Practice: (1987-1991) the Journal of the Graduate School of Bank Street College of Education

Describes the educational leadership advisement process in its role in preparing collaborative leaders.

Storytelling In Advisement, Nina Jaffe

Thought and Practice: (1987-1991) the Journal of the Graduate School of Bank Street College of Education

As a folklore educator and storyteller, the author considers the role of storytelling as it occurs in advisement, not as performance art but as the primary role of communication in group meetings and individual conferences.

Advisement And Collaboration, Maureen A. Hornung, Ariel Katz, Claire Wurtzel

Thought and Practice: (1987-1991) the Journal of the Graduate School of Bank Street College of Education

Describes a collaboration between two Bank Street College advisees who had different strengths and levels of experience within the classroom.

Advisement: The Journey For Preservice Students, Maritza B. Macdonald

Thought and Practice: (1987-1991) the Journal of the Graduate School of Bank Street College of Education

Describes the characteristics of advisement in the Preservice Program at Bank Street College of Education within the context of nine field-related issues, which seem to be predominant in the professional development of preservice students.

Spreading Out Its Roots: Bank Street Advisement And The Education Of A Teacher, William Ayers

Thought and Practice: (1987-1991) the Journal of the Graduate School of Bank Street College of Education

Describes the intricate and life shaping lessons learned by the author during his tenure as a graduate student at Bank Street College.

Teacher: Being And Becoming, Edna K. Shapiro

Thought and Practice: (1987-1991) the Journal of the Graduate School of Bank Street College of Education

Describes an approach to teacher education that highlights aspects that have been treated as peripheral in most discussions of the education of teachers. Developed in the Graduate School of Education Bank Street College, this program, known as advisement, has retained its basic structure for more than four decades, although its rationale and practice have evolved and changed.

Navigating The Challenges Of Becoming A Culturally Responsive Teacher: Supportive Networking May Be The Key, Nina L. Nilsson Ph.D., Ailing Kong Ph.D., Shantel Hubert

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Research shows graduates of teacher education programs do not always transfer, or apply, the best practices they learn to instructional practice due to factors related to course features, the student, and workplace environment (e.g., Brown & Bentley, 2004; de Jong et al., 2010). This study examined the challenges a secondary-level English teacher in the United States encountered when she attempted to implement culturally responsive teaching practices she learned from a graduate course to her class with ELLs. Findings indicate she faced strategy- and language-related challenges due to student culture and school environment factors (“external challenges”), as well as her own …

Preparing Pre-Service Teachers For Professional Engagement Through Place/Community Pedagogies And Partnerships, Monica M. Green

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

There is an expectation that Australian teachers engage professionally in all aspects of teaching and learning, including engagement with teaching networks and broader communities. This paper reports on a partnership between a teacher educator and an environmental educator who set out to expand pre-service teachers’ professional knowledge, engagement and practice in an undergraduate Bachelor of Education (primary) course. The paper reports on a study about teacher education students’ perspectives of fieldwork-based learning and its potential to inform students’ future engagement with the broader school community. Using a conceptual framework of place- and community based education, the study examined data from …

Practising Teaching Using Virtual Classroom Role Plays, Barney Dalgarno, Sue Gregory, Vicki Knox, Torsten Reiners

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Practice in the role of the teacher is an essential part of teacher education, however professional experience placements are becoming increasingly difficult to find. Consequently, additional university-based teaching practice, such as classroom role play with student teacher peers is important. Classroom role plays can be effective but there are limits to the realism of the experience and such strategies are not feasible for students studying at a distance. This article reports on a study in which a classroom in the virtual world of Second Life was used to house role plays of student teachers in preparation for their first professional …