Transforming pedagogies: encouraging pre-service teachers to engage the power of the arts in their approach to teaching and learning
Abstract
This paper describes and analyses, through the use of case studies, two experiences of transformative learning in an undergraduate arts education unit. Pre-service teachers designed and engaged with arts-based curriculum activities, created their own artwork, participated in a modified production of The Tempest and kept a reflective journal. These activities constituted the data which was analysed using creative frameworks such as case writing, script writing, narrative analysis and found poetry as ways of developing richer understanding of pre-service teachers’ self-perceptions and self-awareness as teachers and as potential artists. The stories explored here uncover two different ways of encountering the challenges of learning - resistance and struggle - and highlight the significance of the educator’s response to individual student needs, and the value of reflective skills in shifting pre-service teachers’ cultural, political and institutional understandings.
Reference
McLaren, M., & Arnold, J. (2016). Transforming pedagogies: encouraging pre-service teachers to engage the power of the arts in their approach to teaching and learning. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 41(5).
Journal
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
Analysis
Is this article part of a larger project or series of studies?
no
Does this study draw on a large, preexisting data set?
no
Research Approach
Geographic Setting
Institutional Context
Certification Level
Programatic Focus
Research Location Context
- Compulsory arts-based unit
Preservice Participants
Preservice Sample Size
150
Duration of Data Collection
Data Sources
Data Analysis Tools
- Case study analysis
- narrative analysis (Labov)
- Thematic analysis
Researcher Positionality
- Inside (studying their own programs)
Research Questions
"Does preservice
teachers’ engagement with the arts increase their confidence and competence in
teaching generally? (Russell-Bowie, 2012)" (p. 22)
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? Yes