2009/09/01 by Fiona J. Hughes-McDonnell · 4 citations
Social Sciences · Agricultural and Biological Sciences · #Science Education and Pedagogy #Education and Critical Thinking Development #Diverse Educational Innovations Studies
paper · doi:10.1080/1547688x.2009.10399575
openalex publication_date 2009/09/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
A teacher educator and student of Duckworth's critical exploration approach to teaching shares three episodes taken from science methods courses she teaches for preservice teachers in graduate and undergraduate programs in elementary education. The episodes reveal the pedagogy of critical exploration to be particularly well suited to the preparation of teachers. Classroom episodes are reconstructed using data extracted from student journals and field notes made during and following teaching. Consistent with the pedagogy, the students explore a phenomenon the teacher presents to them: the development of a seed, the swinging of an object on a length of line, the path of the moon in the sky, etc. The teacher, in turn, explores what students respond to, notice, and question; curriculum grows from these mutually reciprocal explorations. The teacher's exploration of what students are seeing, feeling, and thinking, and the connections they are making, creates an environment that supports further development in what students notice, which enriches the teacher's understanding of the phenomenon. Students' exploratory experiences with the subject matters they will teach in the public setting provide a framework for assimilating the experiences and thinking of young children. Teaching, learning, and research go hand in hand. The liberatory and transformational aspects of critical exploration for learners and teacher alike emerge.