Preparing Teacher Candidates to Teach in Secondary Schools Through Socratic Case-Based Approaches

Abstract

Socratic instructional approaches for teacher preparation have been endorsed by teacher education programs across the globe for several decades. This chapter describes Socratic case-based teacher preparation in an undergraduate educational psychology course in the United States. Collaborative dialogues, inductive questions, and reasoning are key Socratic strategies used as instructional approaches for promoting teacher candidates' critical thinking and reflective teaching through case-based analysis. Two forms of case-based learning, face-to-face (synchronous) textual case analysis, and computer-mediated (asynchronous) video cases analysis is illustrated and supported with evidence-based theoretical frameworks and research findings. Effectiveness of Socratic case-based teacher preparation is determined via quantitative and qualitative evaluation of teacher candidates' collaborative oral case analysis reports and individual written case analysis reports. Recommendations for strengthening Socratic case-based teacher preparation and future research initiatives are discussed.