Student Teachers’ Experiences and Reflections on Biographical Interviewing as a Learning Method

Abstract

The aim of this study was to explore how the use of biographical interviewing can work as a learning method in teacher education. The notion of biographical learning usually refers to the learning potential of autobiographical storytelling, i.e. learning from one’s own life. However, in this study we were intrigued by learning from other people’s life stories, which we call here “biographically-oriented learning”. Student teachers conducted biographical interviews as part of the course “Arts and skills in education 1”. Student teachers interviewed teachers who generally teach arts and skills, i.e. music, physical education, arts and/or crafts. The specific research questions of this study were: (1) What are student teachers’ perceptions of a biographical interview? (2) Does a biographical interviewing method foster reflective learning? The data comprised reflective essays on teacher education (in portfolios) by student teachers (N=97) at the University of Eastern Finland in 2015. The approach to the data analysis was both inductive and deductive. The findings suggest that student teachers’ perceptions of biographical interviews were positive. It was also found that a biographical interviewing method specifically supported dialogic and descriptive reflection. Biographical interviewing as a learning tool can support a movement from passive to more active learning.