Developing Teachers as Critical Curators: Investigating Elementary Preservice Teachers’ Inspirations for Lesson Planning

• Published in: Journal of teacher education 2020-11, Vol.71 (5), p.518-536
• Main Authors: Sawyer, Amanda G., Dredger, Katie, Myers, Joy, Barnes, Susan, Wilson, Reece, Sullivan, Jesse, Sawyer, Daniel
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Analysis; Company legal issue; Cooperating Teachers; Educational Technology; Elementary education; Elementary School Teachers; Equipment and supplies; Family Influence; Instructional materials; Internet; Internet resources; Investigations; Lesson Plans; Literacy; Methods; Peer Influence; Planning; Preservice Teacher Education; Preservice Teachers; Primary Education; Resources; Skill Development; Student Teacher Attitudes; Study and teaching; Teacher education; Teacher Educators; Teacher Influence; Teacher Role; Teachers; Teaching; Technology Uses in Education
• ISSN: 0022-4871; 1552-7816
• DOI: 10.1177/0022487119879894

Internet resources abound for preservice teacher (PST) use today, but we do not know how they choose and describe their implementation of them. This study investigates 158 elementary PSTs’ lesson plans across eight courses to describe plan inspiration and justification. PSTs reported being inspired by cooperating teachers (CTs), friends and family members, university courses, and Internet resources. In some cases, these PSTs simply followed lesson plans given to them. In other cases, they collected, curated, synthesized, and applied ideas based on inspirations, showing dispositions of New Literacies Theory. This study provides evidence that teacher educators need to engage PSTs in intentionally developing the skills of curation by acknowledging and modeling the depth and breadth of resources, including those that are not necessarily sanctioned. Implications include ways that teacher educators can frame PSTs’ understandings as they critically consume online resources through Critical Curation Theory.