The Importance of Writing Academically: Classroom Interesting Experiences

Narrating Educational Experiences

The following summary is about an informative and descriptive article which reflects upon the usefulness of narratives in the education field. The article Narratives In Teacher Education by Dolk and den Hertog (2008) argues that there exists a gap between theory and practice in the students teachers environment. To be able to bridge that gap, the authors of the text focus on one specific case study from a particular educational environment located in The Netherlands. This environment is basically a virtual platform which presents different examples through videos for students to delve into the investigation and teaching world. The case presents a group of students who are asked to analyze one segment of a classroom situation, build a story from it and become part of an investigation in which they have to consider implications for the educational field the story may bring through constructing narratives collectively.

The virtual environment selected known as the MILE is a multimedia interactive learning environment that presents tools for student-teachers to be able to analyze theory and practice regarding primary education through the use of digital tools like videos and search engines. In this environment, students are asked to investigate under the narrative approach by which they will be able to gather new insights together with their own experiences so that to gain deeper understanding on the educational theory and practices. The methodology followed refers to design research that involves a cycle process through thought and educational experiments; meaning that reflection on a specific situation comes first followed by putting into practice the same situation considering the reaction of its participants and contrasting them to the previous thoughts. Finally, the article presents the framework of the study divided into six parts in which the main objective is the description of how to construct educational meaning through narratives.

As we can observe, this is an article that argues that prospective teachers and even teachers in praxis should consider both, experience and theory in the educational field through reflection of these aspects under the narrative approach. The main product of that process could generate new and useful knowledge that may or may not be enlarged, changed or even improved through practice, starting a new cycle of knowledge development.