ERIC Number: ED352181
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1992-Nov
Reference Count: N/A
Translating Whole Language Child-Centered Teaching Theory into Practice for Preservice and First-Year Teachers or "But...What Does It Look Like in the Classroom?!"
Christensen, Lois M.; Dennis, Mary Beth
The theory and practice of whole language teaching should be integral and simultaneous components of preservice teacher education. A number of instructional strategies and class activities can be used to provide preservice teachers with experiences similar to experiences they will provide to elementary school children. Examples of class activities include: (1) writing workshops during language arts and reading methods courses; (2) weekly workshops for collaborative work on assignments, thematic units, and projects; (3) shared reading of literature focusing on techniques of reading aloud and questioning, and exposure to current children's literature; (4) dialogue journals and learning logs in which students summarize the day's learning activities and ideas; (5) learning centers focusing on different topics, activities, and skills, which underscore the advantages of students moving at their own pace; and (6) shared field placements, in which students observe and participate each week in the literacy activities of a primary, multi-age, whole language classroom. Specific assignments in language arts and classroom management courses which can help education students understand the whole language philosophy include studies of children's authors and illustrators, the design and implementation of learning centers, the creation of child-centered bulletin boards, and the development of a unit using literature as the text. (AC)
Publication Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Teachers; Practitioners
Authoring Institution: N/A
Note: Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (New Orleans, LA, November 12-15, 1992).