The reflective inquiry approach to teacher preparation is based on analysis of teaching "cases" and is particularly relevant for teachers in Alaska's rural multicultural schools. Students learn to ask ethical as well as pedagogical questions and to reflect upon larger issues imbedded in the details of school life. (Author/SV)

This ERIC digest discusses the theoretical basis of case teaching and examines its strengths and limitations as a tool for teacher education. Case teaching presents authentic, concrete teaching problems for students to analyze. The study of a classroom fight, for example, might draw discussion of racial, ethical, political, and other community…

The virtues of case study in preparing teachers for problems that may be encountered in minority schools are discussed. A specific case of sexual harassment of White female teachers in remote Alaskan villages is presented, emphasizing the importance of studying such cases to prevent similar problems in the future. (SM)

This paper examines what student teachers learn from writing a case about their student teaching experience. An analytic framework was developed to understand what students learn from writing such narratives. It contained six elements: (1) an intention, which formed the springboard for the dramatic action; (2) an initial conceptual map which…

To examine the effectiveness of the case method in teacher education, 54 students enrolled in an introductory foundations course were taught together in a weekly lecture and randomly assigned to weekly section meetings taught either by the case method or by discussion of readings. As measured by responses to a problematic situation on the mid-term…

The project described in this report was designed to develop curriculum materials on gender equity issues for prospective teachers in education programs both at the University of Alaska and nationwide. Practicing teachers, together with university researchers, developed 10 teaching cases which present real-world classroom difficulties centering on…

Teacher educators have come to appreciate that the teaching of difficult subjects combines knowledge of content and knowledge of generic teaching methods. A study was conducted, therefore, to explore the potential of cases to carry pedagogical content knowledge. A case was developed describing how an expert teacher goes about teaching…