In this descriptive study, Joseph Braun and coauthor Thomas Crumpler examine the nature and quality of pre-service teachers' initial attempts writing memoirs in a social studies methods course.
Reflective practices have been shown to facilitate the development of self-efficacy in teachers who consider multiple perspectives while weighing the long-term social and moral consequences of their decisions. The use of autobiography has long been cited as a way to encourage pre-service teachers to reflect upon their own lives and experiences as a source of knowledge about what they may expect to encounter in their own classrooms and the lives of children. The authors examine the social memoirs of pre-service students enrolled in social studies methods classes to uncover common relevant themes.
From the fall of 1998 through the spring of 2001, 287 students in six sections of a social studies methods course were asked to write three social memoir assignments about significant experiences in their lives from the perspective of one of the six social sciences. The students were also asked to reflect on the assignments after sharing them with peers. A constant comparative methodology was employed to identify basic social processes and relationships, as well as changes in student writing during the course. Themes such as belonging, alienation, community, adventure, boredom, loneliness, grief, affiliation, and empowerment emerged from the social science perspective analysis. An analysis of voice or perspective revealed the themes of problem resolution (e.g., moving to a new neighborhood), exploration of difficult experiences (e.g., adjusting to the divorce of one's parents), and restorying (e.g., describing the first time you met friends that you consider life-long and how you view that experience in the present). Students were able to more appropriately label experiences with identifying social science labels as they progressed through the three assignments (e.g., playing in a school orchestra as a means of socialization). Reflection on the memoir assignments revealed a growth in self-concept and the writing process. Increased empathy between the students and the instructor was also noted. This result was facilitated by the instructor's ability to use concrete examples from students' lives in the teaching process. /p>
This study describes how reflective writing can be used to enhance overall reflective skills in pre-service teachers, as well as to build individual self-esteem and student-teacher rapport. Inclusion of more reflective writing opportunities, particularly autobiographical writing, could develop pre-service teachers' reflective skills at an early stage, thereby increasing the rate at which students adjust to classroom life as they make the transition from student to teacher.
Braun, J. A., and Crumpler, T. (April 2002). The social memoir: An analysis of developing reflective ability in a pre-service methods course. Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association conference, New Orleans, LA.
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