Empowering Educators to Embrace Student Self-Directed Learning in Diverse Classrooms

Celinska, D. K. (Dorota)
Roosevelt University, Chicago

 

Submission type

Oral only

Scheduled

Room 116, 12-07-2019, 11:00 - 12:30

Keywords

teacher education, self-directed learning, diverse classrooms

Summary

Educators strive at developing lifelong learners who become competent problem solvers capable of applying their knowledge and skills to resolve novel and complex problems in the increasingly interconnected world. To achieve this goal educators must be proficient promoters of student self-directed learning and self-determination for all learners. This presentation discusses the methods and findings of an innovative training approach to prepare teacher candidates to promote student self-directed learning. The author, an experiences school psychologist and university faculty member, integrated the roles of an instructor, supervisor, and coach to apply various pedagogies that support teacher candidates in acquiring knowledge and skills critical for fostering self-directed learning. Examples of pedagogies utilized include guided discovery, deep questioning, exemplar analysis, implementation practices, process and product feedback, peer-mediated supports, focus groups, and self-analysis of recorded practice.  The findings of the three-year implementation of this training approach comprise the teacher candidates’ ratings on fifteen rubrics designed for an educator licensure exam that evaluates a wide scope of teaching practices based on their congruence with student self-directed learning. The implications pertain to the effectiveness of innovative training methodologies in teacher education that have support for cultivating future educators’ embracement of young learner’s self-directed and life long learning.

Auteurs