Learning to Teach With Twitter

• In Event: The Role of Practice, Rehearsal, and Inquiry in Apprenticing Preservice Teachers to Professional Practice

Abstract

This study examined how pre-service teachers in an undergraduate literacy methods course used the social media site Twitter as a tool in learning to teach. The course instructor for the course introduced Twitter to connect students with each other by means of class discussion outside of face-to-face meetings and to give students the tools to build a professional learning network (PLN) of in-service teachers and education professionals on Twitter. The study found that pre-service teachers embraced Twitter for a variety of purposes. Although more explicit instruction may be needed for students to use Twitter to build their PLN, pre-service teachers did use Twitter to connect with their classmates to share resources and to reflect on their coursework and field experiences.

Authors

• Annie McMahon Whitlock, University of Michigan - Flint

• Cheryl L. Rosaen, Michigan State University