Using Cultural Border-Crossing Experience to Enhance Preservice Teachers' Pedagogical Practice in Urban Setting

• In Event: Fairmont Roundtable Session Sixteen
  In Roundtable Session: Preservice Teachers' Education: Content and Pedagogical Practice (Table 5)

Abstract

This paper highlights an urban teaching curriculum that uses a holistic praxis of theory- and practice-based immersive learning experiences to prepare preservice teachers for diversified urban classrooms. This well-crafted praxis offers rich and authentic learning experiences resulting in the positive transformation of beliefs, dispositions, and self-efficacy to become culturally aware and responsive teachers. The study examined the impact of the curriculum on preservice teachers’ development of cultural knowledge base leading to cultural competency. The findings indicate that cultural isolation and deficit perspectives contributed to the participants’ lack of cultural knowledge. However, the immersive experience presented through the curriculum provided them access to authentic informal learning that transformed their worldviews and enhanced their self-efficacy to teach in urban high-need settings.

Authors

• Justina Ogodo, Baylor University
  Presenting Author

• Dana Morris, University of Texas - Tyler
  Presenting Author