Abstract

NYAMUPANGEDENGU, Eunice  and  MANDIKONZA, Caleb. Using students' experiences of lectures as a lens for learning about teaching pre-service teachers: A methodological approach to transformative practice through self-study. Educ. res. soc. change [online]. 2018, vol.7, n.2, pp.117-131. ISSN 2221-4070.  http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/2221-4070/2018/v7i2a8.

Few higher education institutions have training or induction programmes that prepare academics to teach pre-service teachers. How can academics develop and ascertain teaching practices that are appropriate and effective for teaching pre-service teachers? In this self-study, I used Brookfield's four lenses to inform my teaching. Together with a critical friend, I used the community of practice theory and the metaphors of boundary crossing and boundary objects to interrogate my teaching and students' learning using students' experiences as the stimulus for reflection. Findings from this study revealed that pre-service teachers take on multiple identities of teacher, learner, and university student during teaching and learning activities that influence what they learn. The study showed that the pedagogical choices teacher educators make can hinder meaningful learning if they are not aligned to students' identities. The study also showed that investigating and critically reflecting on students' experiences of lectures can be an effective methodological approach for identifying and understanding effective practices for teaching and preparing pre-service teachers. The article concludes by arguing and advocating for teacher educators, as experts in a community of practice, to decolonise their classrooms by making them safe spaces for critical dialogue that allows students' voices and experiences to be heard. Such a practice has the potential to create a community of practice that is characterised by shared knowledge, values, and standards.

Keywords : autobiography; boundary crossing; pre-service teacher identities; self-study; student experiences.

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