Critical Dialogue Deferred in an Elementary Methods Course: Examining a Panel Discussion on LGBTQ Issues

• In Event: 65.080 - Roundtable Session 24
  In Roundtable Session: 65.080-5 - Before You Go: Identity and Methodology in Teacher Preparation Discourse

Abstract

Educational settings have long been charged with the responsibility of providing a space to allow marginalized voices to fairly challenge dominant voices. Through dialogue, teacher educators have attempted to challenge the dominant notions and cultural stereotypes of historically marginalized groups, which preservice teachers have developed from their experiences in schools and society. Panel discussions provide one method of representing marginalized voices in the classroom. Panel discussions are commonly used to provide a space for panelists to deliver specific experience-related information and to engage students in dialogue. This paper will examine the role of audience in the context of a panel discussion on LGBTQ issues in a class of preservice teachers, and specifically how participants position themselves through their dialogue.

Authors

• J. Spencer Clark, Utah State University

• James Scott Brown, Indiana University