Functional literacy in a constructivist key: A nontraditional student teacher’s apprenticeship in a rural elementary school

Abstract

Part of a special issue on moral imperatives in contentious times. The writers describe the experience of a nontraditional university undergraduate whose student teaching took place in a small, impoverished rural community in the Southwest. This student teacher's concrete ability to order information embodied her belief that students needed direction and order as part of their meaningful transactions with their worlds.

Reference

Smagorinsky, P., Sanford, A. D., & Konopak, B. (2006). Functional literacy in a constructivist key: A nontraditional student teacher's apprenticeship in a rural elementary school. Teacher Education Quarterly, 33(4), 93-109

Journal

Teacher Education Quarterly

Analysis

Is this article part of a larger project or series of studies?

Does this study draw on a large, preexisting data set?

Research Approach

Socio-cultural theory (Wenger 1998, Vygotsky 1978)

Geographic Setting

Southwestern United States

Institutional Context

University based

Certification Level

Elementary

Programatic Focus

Research Location Context

field placements (not related to methods courses)

Preservice Participants

undergraduates in a Reading Methods course

Preservice Sample Size

Other Participant Data

Cooperating teachers
University Supervisor(s)

Duration of Data Collection

two semesters

Data Sources

Interviews
Observations

Data Analysis Tools

Case study analysis
Coding (descriptive)

Researcher Positionality

inside (staying their own students)

Research Questions

Our study is thus concerned with the pedagogi cal tools through which Sandy carried out her instruction and worked to achieve her broader goals for her students.
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? Yes