Discovering and developing student teachers' practical teaching theory -- writing logs as a tool?

Abstract

This paper explores how writing logs sustain student teachers’ professional development. This is done through analysis of logs written during field practice in initial teacher education. The reason for writing and sharing these logs with fellow student teachers and mentors is embedded in theories of writing to learn, following Vygotsky and Bakhtin. Sociocultural theory also guides the research process. The study is designed as a qualitative case study. Data is collected from nine student teachers’ logs over a period of one and a half years. The paper presents findings from the initial phase of a content analysis showing thematic breadth and presence of traces of learning theory and traces of pedagogical content knowledge. The examples presented indicate the potential logs have as rich texts representing a dialogue and a bridge between theory and practice.