Using the Case Story Method in a Teacher Education Practicum: Affordances and Constraints

Abstract

This case study explored the implementation of the case story method in practicum from the perspective of pre-service English language teachers. Twenty-one senior pre-service teachers were engaged in writing case stories based on their practicum observations and reflecting on those case stories collaboratively. The data obtained from the post-course reflection papers and a focus group interview were analyzed through a thematic analysis. The findings showed that pre-service teachers reported several personal and social affordances of using the case story method in practicum. Compared to the perceived affordances, pre-service teachers emphasized a smaller body of perceived constraints for the implementation of the method with respect to resources and management. In this study, the findings are discussed thoroughly regarding their potential implications for pre-service teacher education.

Case Pedagogy in Initial Teacher Education: An Analysis of its Contribution to the Development of Professional Competences for Autonomy

“…Case pedagogy is a TE strategy that speaks to "the potential that humans possess for shaping not only the world, but themselves" (Eisner, 2004, p. 10). Some of the advantages of the use of the case method are: cases help (student) teachers discover what they know and believe about teaching and learning (Jiménez Raya & Vieira, 2015;Parker & Tiezzi, 1992); cases present an alternative to learning in the field (Vieira, 2021); cases help prevent learning pitfalls in the context of practice (Feiman-Nemser & Buchmann, 1985); cases act as a bridge between the abstract nature of principles and of teaching standards and classroom practice (Shulman, 1996;Shulman et al, 2002;Vieira, 2020); cases give (student) teachers "a stock of educational strategies for use in analogous problem situations" (Kleinfeld, 1992, p. 35); cases also illustrate approaches and encourage problem-solving (Carter & Anders, 1996;Serdar Tülüce, 2016).…”