Using Blogs to Foster Inquiry, Collaboration, and Feedback in Pre-Service Teacher Education

Theoretical Framework

As teacher educators, we support a foundation of constructivist principles in our practice. Our classes, advanced undergraduate courses for pre-service secondary teachers, work toward the ultimate goal of teaching how to think like a teacher (Crowe & Berry, 2007). We believe that beginning teachers should have not only the knowledge and skills necessary for teaching, but also the ability to think critically about instances of classroom practice from a variety of perspectives. Five key principles for thinking like a teacher include:

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  Principle One: Thinking like a teacher involves learning to see teaching from the viewpoint of the learner. Experiencing the role of learner is an important means of developing an understanding of the learner’s viewpoint

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  Principle Two: Prospective teachers need opportunities to “see into” the thinking like a teacher of experienced others

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  Principle Three: Prospective teachers need opportunities to try out thinking like a teacher in order to develop their thinking as a teacher

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  Principle Four: Prospective teachers need scaffolding (guidelines, questions, structures) to support them in the process as they begin thinking like a teacher

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  Principle Five: Developing responsive relationships is at the heart of learning to think like a teacher and at the heart of supporting our students (Crowe & Berry, 2007, p. 33)

We believe that these principles create a core set of abilities necessary for pre-service teachers to reflect and think deeply about their practice and learn from experience. Exposure to these higher-level abilities during the undergraduate years can prepare future teachers to continue learning from their practice and interacting with communities of learners throughout their professional lives.