ERIC Number: EJ1171791
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012-Jun
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-2154-6282
EISSN: N/A
Urban Teacher Candidates Discover Inquiry-Based Learning While Developing Oral History Projects
Blumenreich, Megan
i.e.: inquiry in education, v3 n1 Article 3 Jun 2012
The current generation of urban pre-service teachers attended K-12 schools under the increasing influence of a testing and standards-based, market-driven education, a trend that has been growing since the 1990s (Ravitch, 2010). Because of this, I argue here that exposing these pre-service teachers to an inquiry-driven learning experience, in this case working on an oral history project, is vital if we are to develop new urban teachers who can foster student-centered teaching and learning. This study focused on one section of a course at an urban university in which most students were either immigrants or children of immigrants, representing a diverse group of countries. Almost all the students went to urban public schools and most were the first in their families to attend college. In this course, pre-service undergraduates were introduced to inquiry-driven education and then developed an oral history project stemming from their own questions. I provided three examples of the students' digital final projects and then discussed the themes that emerged across the class' work throughout the semester. This article ends with a discussion of the value of these experiences through the lens of the educational concept Funds of Knowledge.
Descriptors: Active Learning, Inquiry, Oral History, Student Projects, Preservice Teacher Education, Preservice Teachers, Training Methods, Urban Education, Urban Teaching, Undergraduate Students, Measures (Individuals), Portfolio Assessment, Knowledge Base for Teaching, Educational Practices
Center for Practitioner Research at National Louis University. 122 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60603. Tel: 800-443-5522 x2277; e-mail: digitalcommons@nl.edu; Web site: https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/ie/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: New York (New York)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A