Developing Preservice Problem-Solving Skills through Case Studies

With the current emphasis on assessment and data-driven instruction, pre-service teachers rarely get a chance to consider how they will deal with the dilemmas that may surface in their future classrooms. The case studies in this book 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 book includes information for developing questions and facilitating the case discussions. In this book, Debra Eckerman Pitton provides a bridge from the theoretical to the practical, using case studies to engage pre-service teachers in the analysis of situations and the problem-solving they will need to do in the classroom.

Debra Eckerman Pitton is department chair and professor of education at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota and specializes in instructional methodology. She began her career teaching high school and middle level communication arts and has served as an assistant superintendent for a local school district as well as on her community school board.