Prompting Preservice Teachers' Reflections About Teaching Through the Arts

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session 23
  In Roundtable Session: Reflective Modalities in Preservice Teachers' Field Experiences

Abstract

As instructors of a field-based writing course, we recognized early in the semester that our education majors had difficulties reflecting about their teaching. They were motivated to teach but, as neophytes were preoccupied with survival and self rather than how to offer culturally relevant, research-based writing lessons. Turning to the arts, we chose two alternative modalities (self-portraits with dialogue, and poetry) to facilitate their reflectivity and meet their individual multiple intelligences. Throughout the semester the education majors’ e-mail reflections remained superficial. But their artistic representations revealed considerable reflexivity. This discovery opens up emancipating, introspective possibilities for education majors and teacher educators. Education majors might choose to reflect though visual art, drama, music, etc., or a combination of these artistic representations.

Authors

• Janet C. Richards, University of South Florida

• Patrick Mannion, University of South Florida

• Rebecca Lovering Powell, Florida Southern College