Empowering Urban Teachers Through a Multimedia Capstone Project

• In Event: Roundtable Session 76
  In Roundtable Session: Technology and Teacher Professional Development

Abstract

Empowered teachers transform traditional approaches to education so that students develop as critical thinkers, inspired learners, and involved citizens (Shor, 1992). Outcomes of content and constant comparative analyses of a multimedia Capstone Project from an urban accelerated certification and Master’s program are discussed. This project emphasized public display through a multimedia Capstone to encourage candidates to reflect how their learning experiences empowered them as educators. Based on the goal of the program to develop teachers as change agents, we addressed the following: (a) How did first-year teachers define and represent empowerment in their Capstone projects?; (b) What projects within the Capstone stood out as empowering?; and (c) What was the nature of first-year teachers’ empowerment as reflected in their Capstones?

Authors

• Nancy Jo Schafer, Georgia State University

• Vera Stenhouse, Georgia State University