Dawan Coombs

Jon Ostenson

This volume offers a novel approach to exploring how literary response groups can be used as part of teacher education programs to help preservice teachers navigate "wobble" moments. Focusing uniquely on the potential of young adult literature (YAL), the text draws on the first-hand experiences of teacher candidates and uses a range of well-known books to demonstrate how narrative-based inquiry and analysis of fictional depictions of teaching and learning can support reflection on a range of common challenges. The volume presents how YAL literary response groups are shown to enhance participants’ ability to reflect on practice, build resilience, and develop deeper understanding of pedagogical principles by offering a shared dialogical space. These insights ultimately contribute to teacher education program improvement by enhancing teacher candidates’ understanding of pedagogy. This text will benefit researchers, doctoral students, and academics in the fields of teaching, teacher mentoring, and teacher education more specifically. Those interested in literature studies and young adult literature (YAL) more broadly will also benefit from this volume.

Literary Response Groups to Enhance Reflection and Understanding

Using Young Adult Literature to Work through Wobble Moments in Teacher Education

Bob Fecho

Trevor Thomas Stewart

Todd S. Hawley

A critical resource for pre-service and practicing teachers, this book addresses what happens when new teachers try to enact inquiry-based and dialogical pedagogy within standardized schools. Exploring the narratives from beginning ELA and humanities teachers when they encounter challenges and obstructions, this book explores moments of wobble—key events that called attention to practice in the context of inflexible schooling systems—that the teachers shared with their peers via an oral inquiry process (OIP) to help them unpack and understand their experiences. This book advocates for the continued use and enhancement of mentoring and induction initiatives, particularly those that recognize the expressed concerns of novice teachers, no matter what their pedagogical stance might be. By sharing novice teachers’ "wobble stories" and their outcomes, this book provides a pathway for teachers’ continued self-reflection and growth for the duration of their careers. The authors offer a reflective, adaptable, and easy-to-use process that places teachers in control of their own professional learning. The beliefs and structures examined in this text support the intentions of all teachers who work from a learning-centered perspective and wish to take some ownership of their professional development.

Dawan Coombs

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