Abstract
Although research has shifted in recent years to focus on the importance of writing instruction for K-6 students, many teacher preparation programs still lack a course focused specifically on writing methods. Further, recent research suggests teacher educators should engage teacher candidates in a pedagogical learning cycle that includes representation, rehearsal, enactment, and analysis of core practices; however, there is little guidance on how courses might engage teacher candidates in the core practices of teaching writing. To provide such guidance, this chapter will discuss current research related to preparing effective K-6 teachers of writing and explore possibilities for intentional partnering with K-6 schools and community organizations to support teacher candidates' development as writing teachers. The aim of this chapter is to provide an overview of how teacher educators may design opportunities for teacher candidates to deepen their evolving pedagogical content knowledge of writing through application across a variety of contexts.
TopIntroduction
The teaching of writing is a complex task necessitating the ability for teacher candidates, hereafter identified as candidates, to write well, apply knowledge of the specific strategies skilled writers use, develop skills to teach writing strategies, and coach students to improve their individual writing. Thus, it is not enough for writing teachers to be good writers or good teachers of writing; they must effectively embody both skill sets (Graves, 1983) to implement pedagogical content knowledge of writing (PCKW) (Kennedy, 1998). Pedagogical content knowledge encompasses teachers’ understanding of content and how to teach that content to students effectively (Shulman, 1987). Yet, the vast majority of teacher preparation programs include no course specifically devoted to training candidates to be effective writing teachers (Brenner & McQuirk, 2019; Collier et al., 2015), and many teacher educators of writing methods courses did not receive training to teach writing (Myers et al., 2016). To ensure equitable access to effective writing instruction, every elementary student needs to be taught by a teacher who is well prepared to teach writing. Such preparation begins in candidates’ initial teacher certification programs.
Research shows that in order for candidates to transfer what they have learned in their coursework to their future practice as inservice teachers, they must learn from teacher educators who provide effective models of writing and writing instruction (Hodges et al., 2021) and have opportunities to enact their evolving PCKW with actual students (Bomer et al., 2019). Unfortunately, many literacy methods courses lack a connected field component that facilitates candidates’ interaction with students. Even courses that do include fieldwork may prohibit a focus on writing due to an emphasis on reading at the host site or within the course itself (DeFauw & Higgs-Coulthard, 2022; Graham & Harris, 2015; Myers et al., 2019).
The purpose of this chapter is to provide guidance for teacher educators of writing regarding how they may design opportunities for candidates to apply PCKW. Specific focus is given to opportunities teacher educators may structure to foster rehearsal and application in college classes that evolve into application and enactment within community and K-6 partnerships for candidates to teach and reflect upon their teaching with actual students (McDonald et al., 2013).
This chapter aims to support teacher educators of writing methods courses in supporting candidates’ PCKW development by addressing the following objectives:
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Identify when rehearsal, application, enactment, analysis, or reflection would enhance candidates’ development of PCKW.
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Explore opportunities to engage candidates in rehearsal and application within the college classroom.
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Provide resources and strategies for creating effective partnerships with community and K-6 institutions.
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Analyze the use of partnerships as opportunities for candidates to rehearse, apply, enact, analyze, and reflect upon their PCKW in two teacher educators’ courses.
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Examine common pitfalls in partnership development and address solutions.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Enactment: Candidates implement core practices with students to ensure candidates have an opportunity to impact student learning while reflecting upon their developing pedagogy.
Situated Pedagogy: Teaching practices that purposefully consider and address the context’s factors related to the specific setting, purposes, and students.
Learning Cycle: A process for teacher educators to use with candidates to scaffold their core-practice implementation from observing, to practicing, to implementing, to reflecting upon their own and student learning.
Authenticity: Situated contexts or opportunities that align fully or as close as possible to real-world classroom experiences.
Pedagogical Content Knowledge of Writing: A writing teacher’s understanding of what to teach and how to teach to support students’ writing development.
Core Practices: Teaching strategies used to impact student learning that are identified, un-packed, frequently used, and research based.
Rehearsal: Practicing core practices void of students to ensure candidates experience thorough preparation before impacting student learning.