Exploring Prospective Teachers' Critical Thinking: Case-based Pedagogy and The Standards of Professional Practice
Source: Teaching and Teacher Education, Volume 25, Issue 2, February 2009. P. 228-234
This is a qualitative constructivist research study which employed a unique professional case-based pedagogy. It examines how concurrent Education undergraduate students made sense of the complex dilemmas inherent in the cases and in particular, the factors that influenced their critical thinking processes. The article identifies three core categories that emerged in participants' critical reflections. Further, it discusses the process of participant engagement as they reflected upon the complexities of each case to arrive at new levels of awareness regarding their professional conduct, responsibilities, and behavior in view of the Standards of Professional Practice. Last, it elaborates upon the progression of participants' thinking processes via this multi-modal approach.