Pre-service Teachers’ Blog Reflections: Illuminating Their Growth and Development

Date

2015-07

Authors

Smith, Shaunna
Garza, Ruben

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Cogent

Abstract

Blogging, a mode of electronic journaling, has been identified as an effective means to help pre-service teachers to construct meaning about their experiences. The purpose of this study was to examine pre-service teachers’ reflections about their praxis through blogging and to describe the nature of their growth and development. The use of reflective writing through blogging helped to identify three themes that emerged from the data: (1) validation, (2) prescriptive, and (3) self-assessment. Our findings suggest that blogging facilitated a community of learners that provided support and encouragement. Pre-service teachers’ reflections revealed a focus on the mechanistic aspects of teaching without critically examining the nature of what was observed. However, our findings also suggest that structuring reflective thinking through blogging has the potential to foster a nascent understanding about teaching and learning.

Description

Keywords

teacher training, teaching and learning, teacher reflection, blogging, pre-service teacher education, secondary education

Citation

Rubén G., & Smith, S. F. (2015). Pre-service teachers’ blog reflections: Illuminating their growth and development. Cogent Education, (2).

Rights

Rights Holder

© 2015 The Author(s).

Rights License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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