Intersections of Culture and Community: Developing a Critical Sense of Place in Teacher Education

• In Event: Critical Place-Based Pedagogies in Teacher Education

Abstract

Knowing that teacher candidates often work with students of cultural backgrounds and in communities they have limited experience with, teacher education courses that engage candidates in cross-cultural, experiential learning opportunities in urban areas have the potential to better prepare teacher candidates to be culturally responsive educators. This presentation is based on a qualitative research project that examined how teacher candidates developed a critical sense of place-consciousness through experiential learning and the use of mobile technologies. Integrating the use of social media as a forum for sharing and reflecting upon one’s experiences provided opportunity to connect the local with the global instantaneously and support reflection on the relationship between space and culturally responsive pedagogy.

Author

• Jason R. Harshman, The University of Iowa