ABSTRACT
Reflective journaling is common practice in teacher preparation and often utilized as a tool to cultivate teacher candidates’ dispositional development. This paper details a study that implemented a methodology of teaching self-coding to 45 preservice teacher candidates as a pedagogical tool to support reflective practices within a field-based course. Analysis of teacher candidates’ codes and written reflections on the process suggest that the authors’ self-coding method helped teacher candidates develop concrete understandings of the relationship between professional teaching dispositions and pedagogical decision-making. Further, findings suggest that two cycles of self-coding facilitated a continuum of reflection wherein teacher candidates initially gained tangible awareness about professional teaching dispositions, and over time translated their new understandings to deeper analysis of their reflections, which elicited asset-based views of diverse learners. Findings suggest that by sharing the tools of a researcher, teacher educators can enhance candidates’ reflective capacities, which in turn can support dispositional growth, deeper reflection and reflexivity.
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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Kristina M. Valtierra
Kristina M. Valtierra, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Education at Colorado College. A scholar-practitioner, she spent over 15 years as a classroom teacher, instructional coach, and educational consultant. Her expertise is in literacy, curriculum and instruction with an emphasis on inclusive studies. Her research examines urban teacher preparation with focus on promoting teacher reflection, teacher identity, and teacher thrival. She is the author of Teach and Thrive: Wisdom from an Urban Teachers Career Narrative, co- author of Schooling Multicultural Teachers: A Guide to Program Assessment and Professional Development and two-time recipient of the American Association for Teaching and Curriculum (AATC) distinguished article award for her scholarship on teacher identity formation.
Lesley N. Siegel
Lesley N. Siegel, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at West Chester University of Pennsylvania, where she teaches courses on special education, research methods, and culturally responsive practices. Her current scholarship includes the experiences of LGBT faculty, dis/ability and public pedagogy, and the use of qualitative data analysis for teacher reflection.