Developing Preservice Problem-Solving Skills through Case Studies

"Developing Preservice Problem-Solving Skills through Case Studies provides preservice teachers a much needed glimpse into the student teaching experience. Debra Eckerman Pitton artfully crafts the cases in such a way as to clearly delineate the challenges and complexities of each scenario: she presents true dilemmas, representing multiple perspectives and considerations and encouraging the reader to reflect on how to best handle the situation. The reality-based stories prompt preservice teachers to translate theory into practice, and the focus and discussion questions require students to think critically about the art and science of teaching. This book has been instrumental in preparing my methods students for their student teaching semester and beyond!"-Amy Vizenor, visiting professor, Gustavus Adolphus College

"Developing Preservice Problem-Solving Skills through Case Studies learning experiences for preservice teachers that cause them to reflect, consider, and apply what they have learned in their coursework. Debra Eckerman Pitton places our students in classrooms. She provides necessary formats and templates to guide students in effectively facilitating case study discussions in their courses. In addition, Pitton provides education faculty with course topics that may be linked to each chapter's case study. This book brings today's teaching challenges into education courses and provides opportunities for preservice teachers to build both confidence and competence through authentic, thought-provoking case studies."-Dian Heacox, associate professor of education, University of St. Catherine; author of Differentiating Instruction in the Regular Classroom

With the current emphasis on assessment and data-driven instruction, preservice teachers rarely get a chance to consider how they will deal with the dilemmas that may surface in their future classrooms. This text presents case studies that enable novice educators to consider the possibilities for dealing with issues, but it also provides a process for them to hone their instructional skills, as the text includes information for developing questions and facilitating the case discussion. In this book, Debra Eckerman Pitton provides a bridge from the theoretical to the practical. Using case studies to engage preservice teachers in the analysis of situations and the problem solving they will need to do in the classroom.