Cultivating Democratic Literacy Through the Arts

Guiding Preservice Teachers Towards Innovative Learning Spaces in ELA Classrooms

Edited by:
Pamela Hartman, Ball State University
Jeff Spanke, Ball State University

A volume in the series: Advances in Teacher Education. Editor(s): Diane Yendol-Hoppey, University of North Florida. David T. Hoppey, University of North Florida. Jennifer L. Snow, Boise State University. Jennifer Jacobs, University of South Florida.

Published 2024

This edited book includes chapters written by English Language Arts (ELA) teacher educators and practicing secondary teachers who examine their classroom experiences through an arts-based habit of mind. Rather than focusing exclusively on artistic approaches to ELA instruction, these chapters collectively frame the teaching of English Language Arts as an art in itself. As such, the arts-informed habits of mind discussed in this book refer more to sets of artistic dispositions than pedagogical methods.

In their unique ways, each of these chapters argue that aesthetically charged ways of thinking allow preservice and practicing teachers to develop critical and creative thinking skills and purposely communicate, to recognize that individual beliefs and values are influenced by personal and social factors, and to set goals for their own learning as well as the learning of their future students’ learning.

CONTENTS
Introduction: “Look Them in the Eye So That They Know You’re Human”. Act Like a Teacher: Shaping Future Educators Through Drama-Based Pre-Service Pedagogy, Jaydene Elvin and Andy Waldron. Building a Photographic Teaching Philosophy: ELA Preservice Teachers’ Journey to See the Unseen, Pamela Hartman and Dani Tinkel. Tapestries of Teaching: Flagging Philosophies of Education in Preservice Curriculum, Jeff Spanke. Using Visual Storytelling to Support Democratic Approaches to Literacy Instruction, Wendy R. Williams. Ideas Unscrapped: Repurposing Metal to Support Identity Building in Writing, S. Rebecca Leigh. Wood and Words: Woodworking as an Analogue for Teaching and Writing, Lee Douma. Using Book Study to Support Multigenre Ensembles in Teacher Preparation, Pauline Schmidt and Matthew Kruger-Ross. Finding a Light in the Night: An Opportunity for the Arts to Illuminate the Way, Timothy J. Duggan and Joshua Smith.