Sulentic Dowell and Meidl offer literacy teacher educators a handbook for considering, implementing, and assessing service learning preservice teacher preparation. By partnering with schools or alternative educational organizations, preservice teachers can hone their skills as culturally responsive literacy teachers, engaged in a partnership intentionally designed by their college/university and the schools. Engaging in service learning preparation provides preservice teachers with opportunities and reflections on their cultural backgrounds and those of the students whom they serve and will serve. -- Pamela A. Mason, Harvard Graduate School of Education
In their handbook, Expanding Elementary Teacher Education through Service-Learning, Margaret-Mary Dowell and Tynisha Meidl ask the right questions about engaged literacy practice and meaningful teacher preparation, and their handbook offers a clear narrative on how to advance the redesign that is necessary to ensure that community youth have engaged learning opportunities. Importantly, Margaret-Mary and Ty identify ways to enhance teacher preparation through community-based field practice opportunities for developing teachers. By focusing on literacy development, the authors have skirted the concerns about high-stakes testing to focus on meaningful learning outcomes. Their handbook expands our thinking and affirms the importance of community-engaged practice and advances justice. It is a must read for literacy scholars, teacher educators, and service-learning practitioners. -- Alan Tinkler Ph.D, and Barri Tinkler, Ph.D, Department of Education, University of Vermont
This handbook is accessibly written and provides current and future teachers with the critical skill sets necessary to be effective educators and reflective practitioners. The practical framework of this book will enable teachers to quickly and easily put theory into practice in a culturally nuanced way. Because the authors situate the act of teaching within the context of our complex democratic society, their knowledge and wisdom serves to inspire and inform all teacher educators. -- Marybeth Lima, Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Louisiana State University
Ty and Margaret-Mary adopt a critical lens, capturing the realities for teacher educators when implementing service-learning pedagogy in urban contexts. They propose a vision for the future that opens the door to rethinking, what they term as medial field placements, as sites where service-learning can occur. They underline the fact that pre-service need to engage in authentic urban teaching experiences as part of their preparation. -- Omobolade (Bola) Delano-Oriaran, St. Norbert College
Post-secondary educators have discussed for decades the value of Service-Learning in our nation's K- 12 classrooms, yet have failed to prepare pre-service teachers on the value or implementation of these experiences. Expanding Elementary Teacher Education through Service-Learning is a researched based, resource guide that supports university faculty as they embed Service-Learning experiences within the multi-leveled field experiences in teacher education programs. Focused on expanding the literacy learning of all students K-12 through Service-Learning; this handbook helps instructors identify and respond to the specific needs of the surrounding communities of our nation's under-resourced schools. Practical, ongoing opportunities and first-hand experiences for pre-service teachers will increase how future teachers value and implement Service-Learning in their classrooms. These experiences will help emerging teaching professionals transform their teaching and commitment to authentic literacy learning experiences for the students they work with in K-12 classrooms; developing and transforming the efficacy of Service-Learning. -- Bonnie L. Hoewing, Program Director, Literacy, Language and Literature, GateWay Community College (Phoenix, AZ)
In 1900, Dewey proposed that the school itself shall be made a genuine form ofactive community life, instead of a place set apart in which to learn lessons. Unfortunately, traditional teacher preparation programs can serve to rarify this disconnect between the school and community. In their dynamic and pragmatic book, Expanding Elementary Teacher Education through Service-Learning, Sulentic Dowell and Meidl offer a solution. By embedding pre-service elementary teachers in service-learning enhanced medial field experiences, the authors offer a pedagogical model which authentically engages students in serving urban communities while scaffolding instructional expertise and critical reflection of dispositions. This handbook serves as a practical guide for teacher educators and administrators as well as service-learning professionals to holistically develop, implement, and evaluate programs which produce culturally and linguistically responsive urban educators. -- Leah Katherine Saal, Associate Professor of Literacy, Loyola University Maryland, School of Education
