Redefining a Secondary Education Program Through the Use of Service-Learning Field Experiences

• In Event: Service-Learing as Innovative Practice for Building Teacher Efficacy and Understanding

Abstract

There is increased attention in the teacher education community on the importance of clinical practice. To expand the field component of our secondary education program, we added service-learning field experiences to three courses. This qualitative study (n=99) was designed to determine what our students learned from participating in the service-learning field experiences and to examine whether the experiences supported our programmatic goals. The findings demonstrate that students developed strategies for communicating with and teaching English Language Learners, they developed a more complex understanding of diversity, and they gained knowledge of the local community. As teacher educators work to reframe teacher education around clinical practice, we posit that service-learning field placements should be an important component of this remodeling process.

Authors

• Barri E. Tinkler, The University of Vermont

• Alan Scott Tinkler, The University of Vermont

• Lia Cravedi, The University of Vermont

• Jennifer Prue, The University of Vermont