Curriculum and Instruction Commons^™

What Do You Do When You Don't Know How To Respond? Supporting Pre-Service Teachers To Use Picture Books To Facilitate Difficult Conversations, Kathryn Struthers Ahmed, Nida Ali

Occasional Paper Series

In this paper, the authors – a preservice teacher (PST) and a teacher educator – consider how teacher education might better prepare PSTs to use picture books to facilitate difficult conversations in elementary classrooms. They share missed opportunities from their own experiences in a fourth-grade fieldwork classroom and in a graduate-level elementary literacy methods course where they felt unprepared to respond to students’ comments about “controversial” topics. They reimagine how these experiences might have been transformed to be more educative for PSTs, first by considering how they could have responded more thoughtfully in the moment and then by thinking about …

Facilitating A Path To New Teacher Certification Amid The Covid-19 Pandemic: Unpacking States’ Unchanged-New Flex” Guidelines, Laura E. Slay, Jacqueline Riley, Karyn E. Miller

Faculty Publications

In the United States, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, schools and testing centers were forced to close on-site locations. With teacher candidates no longer able to complete clinical teaching or take certification exams in person, states created new recommendations for facilitating a pathway to teacher certification. Specifically, 19 states provided guidelines that allowed educator preparation programs (EPPs) flexibility in how teacher candidates completed existing certification requirements. By analyzing summaries of these states’ guidelines, themes of time, technology, flexibility/nonflexibility, and EPPs emerged. Using a comprehensive lens, this brief examines the role and implications of each of these themes in teacher certification during …

The Dimensions Of Teachers Who Write And The Essence Of A Writing Life, Shari L. Daniels, Pamela Beck

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

The purpose of this grounded theory case study was to explore the perceptions among ten K-12 teachers who teach writing and also write themselves. What are the key essentials for teachers to sustain a writing life? What habits of mind or attitudes are necessary for teachers to sustain a writing life? Interviews served as the primary data source along with writing artifacts from the participants’ own writing life. Findings indicate that teacher-writers committed to a writing life do so for the purpose of 1) discovering meaning, 2) connections to others 3) commitment to learning and 4) well-being, with an overall …

Assessment Of Pre-Service Teacher Dispositions, Elizabeth Bradley, Patricia Isaac, Joseph King

Excelsior: Leadership in Teaching and Learning

Measurement of pre-service teacher dispositions is an important part of teacher preparation programs. A strong correlation exists between dispositions of teachers and the quality of their student’s learning. Teachers, in addition to sharing content knowledge, are responsible for demonstrating and sharing core values relating to virtues such as honesty, justice, fairness, care, empathy, integrity, courage, respect, and responsibility, and these values must guide their own conduct and interpersonal relations. As teachers serve pupils who are minors, their conduct and potential to serve effectively and ethically in the profession must be evaluated. However, a thorough faculty-led instrument to assess pre-service teacher …

Full Issue: Journal On Empowering Teaching Excellence, Volume 4, Issue 2

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

The full Fall 2020 issue (Volume 4, Issue 2) of the Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence.

The Learner Profiles Of Novice Literacy Coaches, Lisa L. Ortmann, Katherine Brodeur, Susan Massey

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Literacy coaches need support developing their professional capacities for coaching (Kern et al., 2018). This study explored the ways novice literacy coaches developed literacy coaching discourses during coursework in two reading specialist master’s degree programs. Through qualitative and discourse analysis of transcribed coaching videos and assignments, novice literacy coaching discourse was compared to professional literacy coaching discourse. Findings revealed candidates used coaching language and stances with varying degrees of success, but the discourse of novice and professional differed greatly. Five learner profiles of novice literacy coaching are presented: the interviewer, the role-player, the curious learner, the cheerleader, and the natural …

Encounter And Counter: Critical Media Literacy In Teacher Education, Rick Marlatt

Journal of Media Literacy Education

This practitioner article describes the recent implementation of critical media literacy (CML) activities in secondary teacher education at a large university in the Southwestern United States. Preservice teachers in a content area literacy course analyzed a variety of media coverage of events that occurred near their university. Using an analytical framework for approaching texts, images, and messages, preservice teachers practiced critical exploration of media sources and motivations while articulating hidden figures of power and authority behind the dissemination of content for public consumption. Highlighting the pursuit of independent media and the cultivation of intellectual self-defense, this “Voices from the Field” …

A Critical Disability Studies Reading Of Beauty And The Beast: Détournement In Pedagogical Practice, Nicole Eilers

Journal of Media Literacy Education

Disney’s interpretation of the fairy tale, Beauty and the Beast, and the decisions made to include or exclude certain key elements of the original plot, provide insight into how ideas about what it means to be human have changed over time. Specifically, a critical disability studies reading of Beauty and the Beast brings to light the taken-for-granted category of disability as a social construct, the ever-shifting indicators of an individual’s normality/Otherness, and the socio-historical context that results in such distinctions. The intent of this paper is to (1) explain the theoretical framework behind a détournement, or counter-text, I created …

Keeping Things Going: Reflections On Teaching “Teaching Writing” Online, Emily S. Meixner

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

What does it mean to “keep things going online” in an undergraduate teacher education course on teaching writing? In this article, a teacher educator describes how, in consultation with her students, she adapted a secondary English methods course on teaching writing to teach it online. While highlighting and celebrating what worked, she also reflects on lessons learned and teaching questions that continue to persist.

Valuing Voices: Construction Of Meaning Through Discursive Interactions During A Critical Service-Learning Partnership, Jane Helen Noble

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

As teacher educators strive to prepare preservice teachers for careers as literacy instructors and advocates of social justice in education, critical service-learning pedagogy has been considered as an approach for teacher education programs. Tenets of academic study, reflective practice, social change, and the development of authentic relationships between universities and communities outline the structure for critical-based field experiences. What are preservice teachers learning in these spaces? How do they grow as part of critical service- learning courses? How do community organizations and members interpret experiences in the partnership, and how do they describe their roles?

This study highlights the voices …

Development And Assessment Of A Continuing Education Unit In Quantitative Literacy For High School Stem Teachers, Craig P. Mcclure

Numeracy

Influencing the teaching of quantitative literacy at all levels of education can be difficult due to the many demands placed on educators. In a continuing education course, public high school science teachers participated in a pilot study of a program on quantitative literacy, involving defining quantitative literacy, how it is beneficial to students, examples of quantitative literacy education, and how it may be supported in the science classroom. Surveys administered before and after the unit indicate an improvement in the teachers’ understanding of quantitative literacy, and a follow-up survey indicates that the unit impacted classroom practice. Results support the conclusion …

Using Visual Journals As A Reflective Worldview Window Into Educator Identity, Christina Belcher, Terry Loerts

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

This ethnographic case study research and content analysis presents the conclusion of a three-year study involving 37 teacher candidate participants across a three-year study within a two year (2 semester program) Bachelor of Education program at a university in Ontario, Canada. Each academic year participants were intentionally given time over two semesters of literacy courses to engage in literacy practices and knowledge of self through the use of multimodal visual journals. Candidates reflect on their conceptions of literacy, teaching, identity and worldview within an institution grounded in the Christian faith. Findings, philosophical ponderings and content analysis suggest that the identity …

Disruptive Teaching: Centering Equity And Diversity In Literacy Pedagogical Practices, Anne Swenson Ticknor, Mikkaka Overstreet, Christy M. Howard

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Teacher educators must prepare preservice teachers (PSTs) to become equitable practitioners who honor the voices and experiences of their future students. In this article, we advocate for centering equitable teaching in literacy education courses and making explicit how to disrupt traditional perspectives of teaching diverse students. This qualitative study investigated PSTs’ perceptions and attitudes about teaching diverse students after a series of modeled lessons. Analysis revealed that over the course of the semester PSTs either continued to focus on barriers related to equitable teaching, began to discuss new possibilities for teaching, or were ready to enact the practices they had …

Lessons From The Field: A Collection Of Findings From Teacher Candidate Field Experiences, Tony Durr

Empowering Research for Educators

No abstract provided.

Lesson Plan Template, Karen Escalante

Q2S Enhancing Pedagogy

Lesson planning supports beginning teachers in their development as an educator and it helps to ensure PK-12 students are being taught to think and engage with the content area, with the ultimate goal of transferring that knowledge to global understandings and patterns. Becoming an effective teacher takes time, preparation, purposeful planning and deep knowledge of your students and the content / curriculum.

Learning To Teach Reading Responsively Through Tutoring, Jodi Nickel, Scott Frederick Hughes

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

This article describes a community service learning collaboration between a teacher education program and a nonprofit literacy society. Seventeen teacher candidates (TCs) tutored young readers weekly for seven months as part of their course-related field experience and completed reflective assignments analyzing their own learning and the learning of their tutees. The study demonstrates how the tutoring experience enhanced the pedagogical competence of TCs (kid-watching, assessment, instruction, responsiveness, professional conversations, and affirmation of impact). These findings align with contemporary research in literacy teacher preparation, which identifies that the combination of coursework and tutoring is effective in promoting the integration of TC …

Supporting Pre-Service Teachers In Becoming Reflective Practitioners Using Conversation And Professional Standards, Ondine J. Bradbury, Angela Fitzgerald, Justen P. O'Connor

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

A significant goal of teacher education is to support the development of reflective practitioners. This intention, however, is not easily achieved when after-the-fact recall and reporting are key features of pre-service teacher learning rather than critique and contemplation. This research reports on a small-scale pilot study evaluating a novel approach to help pre-service teachers develop reflective skills in order to both understand and address the requirements of the profession. The approach involved a set of Conversation Cards with a series of question-based prompts directly linked to the APSTs and designed to enhance reflective conversations. Focus group interview discussions unveiled the …

Making A Difference To The Student Experience Through Purposeful Course Design, Lucia Zundans-Fraser, Alan Bain

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The study described examines the student experience in a graduate inclusive education course purposefully designed to address areas of need identified. These include the need for theory to underpin course design, the need for collaborative practice, and the need to reduce the theory-to-practice gap. Throughout their enrolment and after course completion, feedback from students is presented and examined in order to determine whether these needs have been met through the design of the course. Findings suggest that the organisation of learning materials, embedded capacity-building skills, and the practical applicability of course content was highly regarded by students and contributed to …

Three Ways To Help Esl Content Linger Beyond The “El Course” In Teacher Preparation Programs, Melanie Gonzalez

Journal of English Learner Education

Like many other states, our teacher preparation program arrived at this compartmentalized, “single-experience” ESL-focused course model as a result of local, state, and federal policies in the United States that have increasingly placed ELs into mainstream classrooms rather than into language and literacy development courses (de Jong, 2014). TESOL faculty might have questioned: how can everything related to effective ESL teaching be covered in one semester? The fact of the matter is that the onus on this work largely rests upon teacher candidates’ shoulders after they depart the ESL-focused course. What follows are three practices that largely have arisen …

Designing Teacher Preparation Courses: Integrating Mobile Technology, Program Standards, And Course Outcomes, Serena Hicks, Devshikha Bose

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

This discussion paper demonstrates the need for applying backwards design principles to already-existing course syllabi in order to embed technology alongside pedagogy in teacher preparation programs. The problem is first addressed as a need to integrate technology in one secondary course based on lack of proficiency demonstrated on multiple measures. A design framework that was implemented is then explained, including a step-by-step process for aligning mobile technology applications to course standards and outcomes. Challenges to the process are explored, as well as supports available for duplicating this work in other contexts. The paper concludes with steps the instructor is now …

Literacy Curricula, The Common Core, And Defending An Unpopular Profession: The Lived Experiences Of Undergraduate Preservice Literacy Teachers, Susan A. Sturm

Excelsior: Leadership in Teaching and Learning

This study explored the lived experiences of eight pre-service teachers, specifically their understandings of teaching Common Core-aligned English language arts (ELA) and their feelings about becoming teachers of literacy amid the current era of accountability. Phenomenological methods were used to interview participants and analyze data for significant statements made by all eight pre-service teachers involved. Major themes to emerge include that pre-service teachers felt prepared to design ELA lessons but unprepared to develop an ELA curriculum; they felt the Common Core State Standards had changed everything about teaching; and they were anxious about becoming teachers during a time of great …

Being In Tension: Faculty Explorations Of The Meaning Of Social Justice In Teacher Education, Mary Shelley Thomas, Christine D. Clayton, Shin-Ying Huang, Roberto Garcia

Excelsior: Leadership in Teaching and Learning

This study explores faculty perspectives of social justice in teacher education within one New York institution with a social justice focus. Grounded in the institution’s self-study process for accreditation, the researchers were a part of a team that collected data from structured interviews, including a card sort, of 42 full time teacher educators across 16 programs in the institution. Informed by sociocultural theories (Vygotsky, 1978, Wertsch, 1991), a content analysis revealed the language selected by faculty as well as their meaning-making process and describes how individuals contextualized those meanings. Findings demonstrated a range of meanings and lack of a shared …

White Pre-Service Teachers’ Perceptions And Their Development Of Culturally Relevant Literacy Practices, Lakia M. Scott, Elena Venegas

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

Existent literature purports that providing White teacher candidates with increased exposure to urban schools in order to create culturally competent educators has failed. These findings reflect the notion that teacher ideologies and overall perspectives about working with diverse student groups must be harnessed in a genuine ethic of care and intentionality for students of color. However, few studies have taken the approach of examining the development of culturally relevant pedagogy through context-specific field experiences using content-specific courses. This study examines the perspectives of twenty-five White pre-service teachers from a predominately White, private university regarding their initial perceptions and gained conceptual …

Real-Time Support: Using Ecoaching To Increase Preservice Teachers’ Confidence To Teach, Morgan V. Blanton, Aftynne E. Cheek, Elizabeth Bellows

Journal of Media Literacy Education

The role of teacher education preparation programs is to equip preservice teachers (PSTs) with the knowledge and skills to support the development of all students. To do this, university faculty must establish and monitor PST’s progress toward quality standards for teaching. eCoaching is a professional learning tool that provides real-time feedback to PSTs during instruction. In this article, the authors present eCoaching as a professional learning strategy. An overview of eCoaching logistics, perceived impact of eCoaching on PSTs, a description of eCoaching in action, and an explanation of how it meshes with current support practices are provided.

Framing Teaching In Retrospect: A Qualitative Study Of Educational Philosophies And Teacher Socialization Through The Teach For America Experience, Angela Marie Kraemer-Holland

College of Education Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the capacity of neoliberalism and organizational socialization to shape alternatively certified teachers’ preparation and understanding of their teaching roles within the context of Teach for America. Using theoretical lenses of both neoliberalism and organizational socialization, I conducted a qualitative study on Teach for America teachers’ previous educational experiences, participation in the program, and the impact of this preparation on their careers post-teaching. None of the five participants are currently classroom teachers. Data collection included semi-structured interviews and critical discourse analysis of program documents. Findings reveal how participants’ educational and program experiences challenged their initial conceptions of teaching …

Constructivists Online: Reimagining Progressive Practice

Occasional Paper Series

No abstract provided.

Problem-Based Learning In Teacher Education, Susan M. Bridges

Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning

No abstract provided.

Promoting This We Believe And The Amle Standards With Teacher Candidates, Amanda Wall

Current Issues in Middle Level Education

This article describes approaches to integrating This We Believe and the Association for Middle Level Education Standards into a middle grades course.

Supporting Middle Grades Teacher Candidates In Becoming Culturally Competent, Nathan Carnes

Current Issues in Middle Level Education

The author describes practices to support middle grades teacher candidates' becoming culturally competent.

Keynote. Motivation: Theory Into Practice, David Vawter

Current Issues in Middle Level Education

This paper is based on Dr. Vawter's keynote address at the Southeast Professors of Middle Level Education Symposium.