Learning to Teach with a Focus on Disciplinary Reading and Texts in History: A Study of History and Social Science Preservice Teachers.

Abstract

In this study I explore one cohort of secondary history and social science preservice teachers’ conceptions of disciplinary literacy in history and the extent to which these ideas influenced the reading instructional approaches they used with their middle and high school students. I investigate how these preservice teachers’ conceptions developed over the course of their teacher education program, considering the influence of several factors, including their disciplinary and education coursework, their field-based experiences, and their orientation toward students. Although my analysis includes sixteen preservice teachers, I highlight the conceptions and instructional approaches of those preservice teachers who worked in schools that primarily served students who were low-income, minority, and/or English language learners. The main data sources include a series of interviews and assessments that occurred over the duration of the preservice teachers’ training.

My investigation reveals that all sixteen preservice teachers enhanced their understandings of disciplinary reading and texts in history by the end of their teacher education program. The preservice teachers who were most likely to use discipline specific reading instructional approaches with their students were those with history specific conceptions of reading and texts. However, for some preservice teachers, their orientation toward students, particularly their perception of their students’ literacy abilities, mediated to what extent their conceptions influenced their reading instructional approaches. With limited longitudinal research on preservice teachers’ understandings of disciplinary reading and texts in history – and on the extent to which these conceptions influence their instructional decisions – this study extends the knowledge base on teacher learning.