Engaging with socioconstructivist pedagogy: four social studies preservice teachers' understandings and experiences in contemporary classrooms
Year: 2007
Type: dissertation
Abstract: This dissertation, a qualitative case study conducted from an interpretive \nepistemological stance, focuses on the understanding and implementation of \nsocioconstructivist pedagogy by two middle school and two high school social studies \npreservice teachers during their apprentice (student) teaching semester. The means by \nwhich the participants facilitate socioconstructivist instructional design, and within it, \nhistorical thinking, is of primary interest in this study in which the intricate circumstances \nof diverse classrooms and beginning teachers provide a rich context. The resulting \nsuccesses and negotiations derived by data analysis include four themes. The first entails \nthe classroom context and resulting logistics of student teaching during the preservice \nteachers’ apprentice teaching semester; the second explores the participants’ thinking as \nthey adopt these new pedagogical approaches; the third involves the selection of course \nmaterials, navigation of the standardized curriculum as well as efforts with lesson \nplanning; the fourth and final theme investigates the actual classroom praxis of \nsocioconstructivist pedagogy and historical thinking by the study participants. Findings \nfocus on three areas of interest. First, that epistemological stance plays a significant role \nin the preservice teachers’ adoption and development of socioconstructivist pedagogy; \nsecond, the classroom community is essential to the creation of a student-centered \nlearning environment; and finally, that the preservice teachers’ partial appropriation of \nboth socioconstructivist pedagogy and historical thinking is an area needing improvement \nto achieve ultimate success with these pedagogical approaches. Implications indicate that \nfirst, preservice teacher education programs should be built upon the examination of \nfoundational epistemology. The second implication has direct impact on the university \nand practice teaching classroom in that preservice teachers need more opportunities to \nparticipate and observe socioconstructivist lessons as exemplary models. The third and \nfinal implication demands structural consideration of the comprehensive implementation \nof socioconstructivist pedagogy.
Author: Caroline C. Sullivan
Language: English
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2306344144