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Prospective Teachers’ Problem Solving in Online Peer-Led Dialogues

University of Utah

Janice R. Fauske

University of South Florida

Audrey Thompson

University of Utah

In this self-study of a secondary teacher education course, the authors investigated whether there was evidence of critically reflective problem solving on the part of prospective teachers who participated in a peer-led online discussion of a teaching case about English-language learners. They also examined what approaches to multicultural education the peer-led dialogues suggested. Using the tools of discourse analysis to analyze the dialogue, they found some evidence of reflective problem solving. However, few students engaged in critical reflection, which entails examining the sociopolitical consequences of solutions and promoting social change through community action projects. Furthermore, many responses reflected deficit theories, stereotypical thinking, and technical-rational problem solving. Interwoven with the analysis of the students’ discussion is a self-study dialogue reflecting on the instructor’s curriculum and pedagogy. The self-study addresses what the authors have learned about how teacher educators foster critically reflective problem solving regarding issues of language, culture, and race.

Key Words: teacher education • multicultural education • computer-mediated dialogue • self-study

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