ABSTRACT
Context: TE Elementary, TE Secondary NCSS Standards: IV (Individual Development and Identity) INTASC Standards: 4 (Instructional Strategy), 9 (Refl ection and Professional Development) Topics: teacher beliefs, critical thinking, teacher refl ection, pedagogic creed, cultural context,
collaboration, student-centered, students’ lives and experiences, teaching philosophy
As a teacher educator, I focus on students’ beliefs about teaching and learning. We begin, follow, and end with this focus because it frames most of the curricular and instructional choosing that they will make as teachers. My aim in teacher education courses, then, is to bring into full light students’ beliefs, and through the course of our discussions, activities, and fi eld experiences, cast new light on those beliefs. When students complete the course I hope that they have refi ned their beliefs such that they are warranted based on the social milieu of our class and the context of schools.
