Abstract
This chapter introduces a storied learning model to create opportunities for praxis within teacher education courses in order to humanize student experiences through book clubs. As many argue that people perceive the world in narrative form, embedding book clubs within methods courses creates opportunities for pre-service teachers to explore and reflect upon unfamiliar experiences, identities, and stories in order to cultivate their critical consciousness. Building off of Bishop's metaphor of mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors, as well as existing literature that discusses the use of book clubs in pre-service teacher methods courses, two case studies are offered highlighting theoretical and practical ways for book clubs to be embedded within methods courses. Case studies are followed by a framework for implementation that considers research in both critical pedagogy and reading comprehension.
TopCentering The Conceptual Framework: Defining Our Terms
In an effort to ensure the concepts grounding this chapter are clear and the scholarship we are drawing upon allows for (re)imagining pre-service teacher education, we find it important to define and connect the concepts being used. We use each of these concepts to further our ontology as well as consider the ways in which these concepts intersect.
The first set of concepts used throughout the chapter are literary vs. literacy. These terms, while often used interchangeably, have varied meanings. For the purposes of this chapter, we describe literacy as being fluid in nature, both individual and collective, concrete and abstract, and spanning beyond the field of education. The term literary, on the other hand, refers to literature and the means by which an author uses specific devices to convey meaning (Lee & Sprately, 2010).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Critical Consciousness: This term as used in this chapter comes from the work of Paulo Friere and is understood as the process of recognizing, analyzing, and disrupting systems of inequity.
Disciplinary Literacy: Disciplinary literacy refers to the expert-like habits and practices used within a discipline (e.g., math, science, etc.).
Praxis: Praxis is derived from the field of critical pedagogy and is described as the blend of theory, reflection, and action.
Counterstorytelling: This practice, which comes out of the work of critical race theory, involves telling stories from non-dominant perspectives, stories that are not often told within mainstream.