Middle-Level Teacher Candidates' Collaboration: "Each Day, I Am Becoming a Better Teacher"

• In Event: Teaching and Leading in the Middle Grades: Exploring Elements of the Middle Grades Concept

Abstract

How is integrated curriculum developed? Drawing on place-based education and middle level guidelines, eight middle level teacher candidates and two teacher educators collaborated to create integrated curriculum based on local historical sites. A phenomenological approach allowed the teacher educators to trace the candidates’ collaboration: how they shared ideas, drew on resources, and used disciplinary knowledge to create plans based on places. Implications for middle level teacher preparation are discussed.

Authors

• Amanda Wall, Georgia Southern University

• Taylor Norman, Georgia Southern University