Abstract
In this article, we present the intertwining stories of a teacher education learning community who are (re) writing the current dehumanizing narrative of standardization, crisis mongering, and survival of the fittest ethos that continue to harm our learners, teachers, and communities. We argue that when teacher education candidates are repositioned from consumers of theory and methods to inquirers of practice, their collectively constructed knowledge not only illuminates locally significant issues but also disrupts institutional hierarchies. Drawing from narrative inquiry theory and a collaborative methodical approach, we—a professor and students—share our personal stories of learning together in a required teacher education course and practicum placement at a local high school. Bringing together conceptions of voice, human capability, and “place”, we provide a layered framework to understand pedagogical practices that operate to unravel systems of standardization and hyper-individualism. Our inquiry approach, public narration, and our democratization of knowledge serve as an example of teacher education pedagogy with a disruptive agenda.
Highlights
IntroductionPedagogy grounded in place challenges notions of these fixed roles across schools and communities, and begins with the cultivation of belonging (Lowenstein, Grewal, Erkaeva, Nielson, & Voelker, 2018)
We have come to believe that teacher education programs that adopt a human capabilities approach are grounded in place, value voice, and can serve as spaces of cultural transformation and counter-hegemonic disruption
Bringing together conceptions of voice, human capability, and place, we provide a layered framework to understand pedagogical practices that operate to unravel the harms of standardization
Summary
Pedagogy grounded in place challenges notions of these fixed roles across schools and communities, and begins with the cultivation of belonging (Lowenstein, Grewal, Erkaeva, Nielson, & Voelker, 2018) It is from a sense of belonging that students can flourish and develop their capabilities as humans—of what they can do and what they can be (Walker, 2005). The priority, on the first day and throughout the semester, is to create spaces and experiences shaped by humanness This means a syllabus that has clearly stated outcomes while allowing each unique group to determine their unique path; it means coconstruction of projects and papers; it means getting out of the classroom; it means replacing lecture with dialogue and experiences; it means individualizing assessment and goals; it means focusing on creating meaningful growth; it means being flexible and adapting throughout the term; and most importantly, it means placing love and community in the center of my teaching and learning.”. Throughout the semester-long project, groups were given time in class to plan and reflect, and at the conclusion of the course, students publicly shared the stories of the different neighborhoods
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