Reimagining Teacher Education: Forming Communities of Practice Across Content Areas and Contexts for Learning

• In Event: 61.086 - Roundtable Session 21
  In Roundtable Session: 61.086-6 - Roundtable 2

Abstract

This paper describes an integrated approach to elementary teacher preparation in which Communities of Practices (CoP) were established to facilitate academic and professional learning. Through action research, we explored the experiences of integrating literacy and social studies methods courses held in a local elementary and the CoPs that resulted. We present the findings that resulted from an analysis of pre-service teachers’ words and actions in response to course experiences. The assertions developed in this paper include: 1) students open to participating in the CoP were more likely to have critically examined their experiences in becoming an educator and 2) students who resisted the CoP were less likely to see the school-based experiences as much more than “working with kids.”

Authors

• Kristy Brugar, University of Oklahoma

• Kathryn Roberts, Wayne State University