Search

One essential part of teaching multilingual learners is leveraging their funds of knowledge, or students’ dynamic knowledge and practices developed in their households and communities. However, it can be challenging to identify funds of knowledge, especially in a virtualenvironment. This case study examines a virtual internship experience where preservice teachers (PSTs) completed a Community Exploration project designed to enhance their knowledge of students’ lives outside of school. PSTs identified important locations in the surrounding community, (virtually) visited these locations, and explored how to integrate possible funds of knowledge from these sites into their curriculum. Upon analyzing the Community Exploration projects, recordings of PSTs presenting their projects, and interviews with PSTs, we found that PSTs purposefully planned opportunities to discover students’ viewpoints, which allowed them to identify concrete examples of funds of knowledge and make connections to curriculum. We also discuss various challenges and implications for teacher education.

Although educators can use digital tools to meet emergent bilingual students' unique needs, language teachers generally feel unprepared to use technology with students, and language teacher education programs face challenges in implementing technology. This study uses ethnographic methods to explore 12 pre-service teachers' (PSTs) experiences learning about digital tools in ways intended to support emergent bilingual students. I interviewed the PSTs and observed their participation across student teaching and a concurrent practicum course, and I analyzed these data through the lens of activity theory. PSTs perceived that their participation in teacher education was characterised by a shared responsibility where all the PSTs, their teacher educator, and mentor teachers contributed new knowledge about digital tools. The co-construction of knowledge afforded the PSTs opportunities to learn in the moment, and many described their learning as 'playing around'. This study has implications for teacher education programs and theory related to teacher learning. Through shared responsibility and playfulness, all educational stakeholders can take on roles as learners and experts where they leverage one another's experiences and contributions to support PSTs' instructional practices, challenging traditional roles between PSTs and their multiple mentors.

Research continually demonstrates that a significant learning curve exists related to educators integrating technology into classrooms. This learning curve was exacerbated when instruction shifted entirely online following school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study examines the complex process of preparing pre-service teachers (PSTs) to transition to a new world of online teaching, shedding light on critical components of teacher education during this time. Looking across multiple sources of data (i.e., interviews, Zoom lessons, written feedback, lesson plans), findings point to the importance of creating opportunities for PSTs to collaborate and to practice teaching virtually.

This article presents an approach to teacher education that combines case-based pedagogy, action research, and communities of practice, which ultimately conceptualizes preservice teachers (PSTs) as problem solvers. Eleven PSTs conducted research and authored reports during their student teaching experiences in a large, metropolitan school district. This study examined the PSTs' reports to better understand how they deepened their understanding of the multifaceted demands of teaching in diverse classrooms. The findings demonstrate how PSTs used their research to navigate their role as students/teachers, identify classroom limitations and resources, and persist through challenges. These findings contribute implications for teacher education and new directions for research, including increasing PSTs' opportunities to collaborate within a professional learning community, providing spaces to self-reflect on actions and biases, and supporting strategic problem-solving. Ultimately, this approach to teacher education reinforced the idea of teachers as continuous learners who partner with their community of educators to meet the fundamental goal of improving student learning in urban schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One essential part of teaching multilingual learners is leveraging their funds of knowledge, or students’ dynamic knowledge and practices developed in their households and communities. However, it can be challenging to identify funds of knowledge, especially in a virtual environment. This case study examines a virtual internship experience where preservice teachers (PSTs) completed a Community Exploration project designed to enhance their knowledge of students’ lives outside of school. PSTs identified important locations in the surrounding community, (virtually) visited these locations, and explored how to integrate possible funds of knowledge from these sites into their curriculum. Upon analyzing the Community Exploration projects, recordings of PSTs presenting their projects, and interviews with PSTs, we found that PSTs purposefully planned opportunities to discover students’ viewpoints, which allowed them to identify concrete examples of funds of knowledge and make connections to curriculum. We also discuss various challenges and implications for teacher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]