Preparing Teachers to Cultivate Classroom Communities of Inquiry: Difficulties and Dilemmas

• In Event: Poster Session 5
  In Poster Session: Showcasing the Diverse Facets of Self-Study Research (Organized by James A. Muchmore)

Abstract

Understanding teacher educators’ efforts to help future teachers cultivate classroom communities of inquiry can inform efforts to foster democratic teacher education practices and prepare future teachers to teach democratically. We know very little, however, about helping future teachers adopt inquiry-based approaches to teaching. This self-study examined the difficulties and dilemmas of preparing teachers to cultivate classroom communities of inquiry. The findings suggest that overcoming students’ deeply rooted familiarity with authoritarian teaching, situating subject matter in classroom interactions, and making the shift from transmission to dialogue present potential frameworks for helping teacher candidates effectively lead class discourse.

Author

• Nathan D. Brubaker, Monash University