Voices from the Classroom: Using Case Study Narratives in Building Reflective Communities in Pre-Service Teacher Education. A Dramatic Reading.

Overview & Synopsis

This dramatic reading was created from the questions generated by a class of drama education majors at the University of Alberta (Canada) and is used to describe a case study assignment approach to teacher education in drama. Education in a democratic society is underpinned with the willingness to listen. The mythology which claims that the gulf between theory and practice is natural and inevitable is hard to break. However, the situation challenges educators to bridge the gap in order to make what is said relevant and appropriate. This paper proposes that the voices of the teacher educator can intertwine with those of students and practicing teachers, creating a polyphony of acceptable voices which form the foundation of democratic education. Through the use of exemplars, reflective writing assignments, and focus instructions, drama education students were asked to write cases which documented an issue about themselves and teaching. Each case was to describe a series of incidents, use drama education theory, general education theory, and class discussions to analyze and/or interpret what took place. A crucial part of the case study assignment was student reflection about the incidents described in the case. (JLS)