Footprints of Practice-Based Teacher Education: Understanding Teachers' Development Through Practice

Abstract

This is a qualitative, multisite case study that seeks to understand the impact of a practice-based reading course on four teachers’ development. This study traces teachers’ development across three settings (practice-based coursework, student teaching, and first years of teaching). Findings from this study show that teachers developed conceptual understandings and pedagogical tools for teaching reading through mediated opportunities working with elementary-aged students in coursework. Teachers re-contextualized these understandings during their student teaching experiences and drew upon these understandings and pedagogical tools during their first years of teaching. Findings add to the growing body of research around university practice-based teacher education and teacher development.