Designing for the Future

Abstract

In this article, the authors discuss how they redesigned an educational psychology course for preservice teachers using insights from the burgeoning, interdisciplinary field of the Learning Sciences. Research on the situated nature of learning and the value of out-of-school contexts for supporting children’s development informed their decisions to require preservice teachers to work with children in community-based settings, frame their interactions with children as “service” rather than as explicit preparation for teaching, and conduct research on the social, cultural, and cognitive nature of these experiences. Two case studies illuminate preservice teachers’ learning trajectories in relation to course practices. Analyses suggest that the course created opportunities for preservice teachers to develop views of learning as inherently cultural and not limited to the acquisition of academic content. Emerging findings point to the potential of using Learning Sciences research as a touchstone for reorganizing educational psychology courses for preservice teachers.

Teacher Candidates’ Conceptions and Practices of Computational Thinking for Equity

“…We view the learning of TCs as a historically and culturally informed process of interpreting and implementing the theories and pedagogies emphasized in their university coursework (Jurow et al, 2012). As such, in this study we use the concept of Situated Sensemaking (Rosebery & Puttick, 1998) to trace TCs' experiences as they engaged with theories and pedagogies of CT and enacted and revised their practices.…”

Cultivating Skillful Means of Care in Schools Through Compassion Practice and Individual and Joint Inquiry

“…They provide an opportunity for educators to reflect-after the fact-on their interpretations of their own and others' actions in ways that can help them distinguish the inferences they make from others' motivations or intentions from their observations. Developing field notes does not help educators to escape bias in what they notice or replace judgments of others with more generous interpretations (Emerson et al, 1995); here, there is a critical role for theory in helping educators interpret their actions differently (Cole & the Distributed Literacy Consortium, 2006;Jurow et al, 2012). Guidance from theory often seeks to counteract educators' less than generous interpretations of others' intentions and motivations, particularly when they reveal deficit perspectives of students and their families (Van Steenis, 2021).…”

Recommendations in Child Development Textbooks for Teachers’ Developmentally Appropriate Practices

“…Of course, mere exposure is not enough. Teacher candidates are learners themselves and need to approach concepts in a way that makes sense to them, clarifies the implications of developmental concepts for caring for children, and gives them an opportunity to try out recommended practices with children (Jurow, Tracy, Hotchkiss, & Kirshner, 2012;McDevitt &Ormrod, 2008). Unless new perspectives and pedagogies are presented in a manner that is clear and believable, powerful in realistic contexts, and superior to their existing ideas, teacher candidates are unlikely to change their fundamental beliefs or instructional methods (Hushman, Napper-Owen, & Hushman, 2013;Larkin, 2012;Posner & Gertzog, 1982).…”

“…First, it has been standard practice for concepts in child development to be introduced as part of a course, the ideas and implications of which are not followed up with carefully sequenced extensions. Such isolated exposures to child development are unlikely to instill teacher candidates with deep understandings of children (Jurow et al, 2012;Pianta et al, 2010).…”