A Self-study in Teacher Education: Learning to Teach in Higher Education After Teaching the Arts to Young Children

Abstract

The arts are a key developmental area in early childhood education. Subsequently, it is important that generalist teachers know how to teach suitable arts knowledge and skills. As a teacher educator, the responsibility of this falls within the author's teaching. It is her job to teach future teachers suitable arts knowledge and skills. This self-study explores the author's pedagogical approach to teaching the arts, as the author moved from teaching in an early childhood context to teaching arts in higher education. As a beginning teacher, the author explores the “ups” and “downs” she encountered during her first year as a beginning teacher education. As a beginning teacher educator, she realized that she was working in isolation and given little guidance on suitable practice in higher education. Subsequently, this study acts as a form of professional learning to help me (the author) reflects and improves on my own pedagogical practices. Through the use of narrative, the author is able to transform her own teaching to provide better models for student learning in my future courses.