Negotiating scripts, humanizing practice: Remaking methods instruction in an era of standardization

Abstract

This article highlights two key problems of practice the author faced as the instructor of an elementary literacy methods class for Teach for America corps members in a large, northeastern city during an era characterized by strict state and district control: the deficit perspectives the corps members held of their students and the lack of autonomy they experienced as educators. The author illustrates how each of these issues can be traced to the institutions that socialized the corps members into the profession and then draws on practitioner inquiry methodology to describe two possible pedagogical responses. The author concludes by discussing the implications of this work with particular attention to (1) how various institutions frame teaching and learning, (2) the role of methods courses in interrupting these frames, and (3) the pedagogical possibilities inherent in doing so for both students and teachers.

Reference

Crawford-Garrett, K. (2016). Negotiating scripts, humanizing practice: Remaking methods instruction in an era of standardization. Action in Teacher Education, 38(3), 240-258.

Journal

Action in Teacher Education

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

Qualitiative

Geographic Setting

not stated

Institutional Context

Teacher training institute

Certification Level

Elementary

Programatic Focus

Elementary

Research Location Context

TFA Elementary Methods Course

Preservice Participants

Not stated

Preservice Sample Size

Duration of Data Collection

1 year

Data Sources

Classroom Discussion
Focus group discussions
Observations

Data Analysis Tools

open coding and examined for emergent themes

Researcher Positionality

inside (staying their own students)

Research Questions

What frameworks concerning urban education do TFA corps members bring to bear on urban classrooms?
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? Yes

How do these frameworks shape and inform their curricular and pedagogical practice? Their interactions with their schools, the District, Teach for America, and the University?
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? Yes

What happens when TFA corps members are invited to consider the knowledge of students, families, and communities as a starting point for curriculum design and pedagogy?
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? Yes