Stephanie Wessels

The Role of Preservice Teachers' Meaning Perspectives and Schemes in a Study Abroad Experience.

This microethnographic case study focuses on patterns of interpretation and decision making of undergraduate preservice teachers as they participated in observations, co-teaching, and teaching in elementary schools in northern Mexico. At the core, this study explores the deeply embedded assumptions preservice teachers may bring to new cross-cultural interactions. Drawing from participant documents, surveys, and interviews, the study seeks to investigate the meaning perspectives and schemes (Mezirow, 1991) that study abroad participants used to make sense of their experiences. Also explored are ways the study abroad experience may have helped to alter or solidify meaning perspectives. Finally, recommendations based on lessons learned are provided for designing study abroad experiences that prompt preservice teachers to view and use cultural differences as assets in classroom practice.

“The Soccer Field, It Has Dirt”: A Critical Analysis of Teacher Learners in Contact With Emergent Multilingual Students

ABSTRACT In today’s globalized world, superdiversity and global migration have led to an increased focus on emergent multilingual students and how schools can best serve them. The authors explore how teacher learners in an undergraduate course on emergent multilinguals in a mid-sized university in the Midwest critically reflect on their learning in a practicum experience. Utilizing tools and perspectives from critical discourse studies (CDS), the researchers/teacher educators examine ideologies that surface in teacher learner reflections on their practicum experiences to find out how they renegotiate (or withhold) their beliefs while connecting to critical readings, coursework, and their experiences working with emergent multilingual students. Findings reveal ethnocentrism, gaps in understanding of language practices, continued misconceptions about language learning, and ideologies that view languages other than English as a privilege. However, findings also show some areas of growth resulting from their participation in the teacher education program. The authors then provide suggestions for further improvement of teacher education courses focused on emergent multilinguals.