Developing reflective practice in pre-service student teachers: what does art have to do with it?

Abstract

Developing reflective practice in pre-service student teachers is a goal of many teacher education programs. This article describes three activities used in a graduate teacher education program that were designed to use an arts focus to provoke deeper reflection about teaching and learning. Clay tiles were used for illustrating personal metaphors about teaching and learning; a clay landscape was designed by students to illustrate a group metaphor and mixed media was used by a third group to illustrate personal timelines with direct connections for teaching social studies to elementary students. Each activity had opportunities for extending pre-service students' thinking about what it means to be a teacher.