Our Greatest Songs Are Still Unsung: Teaching and Learning in a Democratic Society

• In Event: Roundtable Session 95
  In Roundtable Session: Teaching About Race, Diversity, and Difference: Preparing Preservice Teachers for Teaching in a Multicultural Global Society

Abstract

We examine how a practice-based unit informs college students’ understanding of the dynamics of teaching and learning, and how these intersect with equity in American classrooms. We designed the unit to arrest students’ assumptions built through the “apprenticeship of observation,” reasoning that for effective school reform American citizens need to critically analyze the components of skillful teaching and learning in order to move beyond the existing “grammar of schooling” and imagine new possibilities. We assert that a fundamental means to challenge modal assumptions about teaching and learning is to position students to critically analyze teaching from multiple perspectives. This study’s findings are important for both teacher education and efforts to produce an informed citizenry.

Authors

• Simona Goldin, University of Michigan

• Erin Flynn, University of Michigan

• Cori Mehan, University of Michigan