Enacting Assessment: Exploring Connections between a Literacy Teacher Preparation Case Study and In-Service Teacher Practice in General and Special Education

Overview & Synopsis

The purpose of this study was to examine perceptions of the influence of a student-authored case study, completed in a teacher preparation special education reading course, on inservice teachers' current reading instruction. Study participants reported that completing the case study as a teacher candidate did impact current reading instructional practices. Further analyses indicated that general educators and special educators valued different components of the case study. In this manuscript, we describe the context of participants' current teaching positions in special education and general education, and the components of the assignment found to be most applicable to reading assessment and instruction. This study highlights the need for teacher educators to analyze teacher preparation course assignments to explore how the shift from self-as-student to self-as-teacher occurs.