The purpose of this study was to investigate and analyze how college level Elementary Education majors made meaning, or came to know about elementary teaching and learning, while engaged in the use of the case study method. This research was an attempt to understand how prospective teachers make sense of the problematic situations described in the cases. The research questions included: How do prospective teachers make meaning, or come to know about elementary teaching and learning, while engaged in the case study approach? What meaning emerges from the prospective teachers' dialogue both with peers and the instructor? Is critical thinking exhibited in their reflections on the cases? / The methods employed in this interpretive study involved the collection of qualitative data through participant observation, interviewing, document analysis, and personal journals. A constructivist epistemology was embodied into collection and interpretation of data. / The immersion approach to teaching critical thinking was employed in that specific critical thinking processes were not made explicit but an in-depth understanding and analysis of the content of the cases was promoted. Kurfiss' model was used to assess the prospective teachers' thinking while engaged in the case study approach. / Assertions constituting grounded theory (Strauss, 1989) were generated from this study and subsumed in three emergent themes. (1) Constructing multiple perspectives: the prospective teachers constructed complex ways of viewing their own and others' schools and new ways of viewing problems that occur in teaching. (2) Considering contextual factors in decision-making: the prospective teachers identified and applied contextual information to frame problems and make decisions. (3) Acknowledging and examining beliefs about teaching and learning: the prospective teachers conveyed awareness and reflected on how their beliefs affected the way they taught. / The results of this study suggest that the case study approach used in an environment with small cooperative learning groups, large group discussions, contextually rich cases, and a skilled instructor facilitates prospective teachers' critical thinking and social construction of knowledge about teaching and learning. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 53-09, Section: A, page: 3176. / Major Professor: Kathryn Scott. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1992.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_76722 |
| Contributors | Floyd, Deborah Martin., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 120 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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