This chapter employs a dialogic, sociocultural perspective to describe ways teacher educators can support teacher candidates as they develop the critical thinking skills needed to make the transition from student to teacher in contemporary classrooms in the United States. Data from a longitudinal qualitative study are used to examine the utility of problem-posing seminars and subsequent reflection as tools that can help English teacher candidates embrace the tension they encounter as competing ideologies both complicate and nurture their efforts to enact a student-centered framework for teaching. Specifically, participants' reflections on their efforts to employ dialogic approaches to teaching are explored in the context of standardized curricula and classroom settings. Data suggest that making dialogue and reflection key facets of teacher education programs creates conditions for critical thinking and creativity to flourish.
TopIntroduction
Rapidly evolving demands related to participation in a democratic society are transforming all aspects of the personal, civic, and economic lives of students in the 21st century. Economic rationales for education reforms are changing the landscape of teaching and learning (Boggs, Stewart, & Jansky, 2018) as classrooms become increasingly standardized (Cuban, 2009; Dierking & Fox, 2012; Ravitch, 2013; Stewart & Boggs, 2016). Changes in the workplace make the capacity for critical thought and creative thinking a fundamental attribute for success (Resnick, 2017). Paying careful attention to these changes and thinking about what they mean for students and teachers in classrooms is, as Leu and Kinzer (2000) argued, a vital element of preparing children for their futures. In his discussion of the importance of developing students’ abilities to engage in creative thinking, Resnick (2017) noted that “two-thirds of today’s grade-school students will end up doing work that hasn’t been invented yet” (p. 4). But, Resnick maintained, creative thinking is a crucial attribute for success in all areas of life—not just in the workplace. Students living in 21st century society will succeed in all aspects of life “to the extent that they are able to access the best information in the shortest time to identify and solve the most problems and communicate this information to others” (Leu & Kinzer, 2000, p. 113). All of these fundamental elements of success in contemporary life require the capacity for critical thought, and teachers play crucial roles in helping students learn to think critically.
Classrooms are unique social and cultural spaces (Gallimore and Tharp, 1990) where students are prepared for participation in society. Teachers must have the ability to engage in critical thought in order to work through the challenges they encounter as they prepare students for success in and beyond the classroom. Critical thinking, however, is a literate practice that must be developed and nurtured. Teacher educators, then, must have a means of supporting teacher candidates (TCs) as they develop the ability to think critically during the transition from student to teacher. This chapter draws upon the experiences of TCs who engaged in structured, collaborative problem-solving activities during student teaching to discuss a framework that teacher educators can adapt to suit their own contexts and implement to support the development of TCs’ critical thinking abilities.