Document Type

Book Chapter

Publication Date

2016

DOI

10.4018/978-1-4666-9672-3.ch006

Publication Title

Advancing Teacher Education and Curriculum Development through Study Abroad Programs

Pages

91-111

Abstract

This chapter studies 21 preservice teachers' blog reflections about working in an Italian classroom and living with a host family during a four-week study abroad program in Northern Italy. During the program, preservice teachers were required to blog about their experiences living and studying abroad using personal blog sites. To encourage more candid reflection about the program, the blog posts could be related to any aspect of the program preservice teachers chose to reflect on. After setting the context of the study through description of the study abroad program and its requirements, the authors present qualitative findings regarding preservice teachers' (a) thoughts related to their observations of Italian classrooms, (b) thoughts related to becoming an Italian language learner, and (c) lessons learned from the study abroad experience. Findings discuss preservice teachers' reflections on making sense of educational and cultural differences, experiences as Italian language learners, and opportunities for professional and personal growth.

Comments

IGI GLOBAL AUTHORS, UNDER FAIR USE CAN:

Post the final typeset PDF (which includes the title page, table of contents and other front materials, and the copyright statement) of their chapter or article (NOT THE ENTIRE BOOK OR JOURNAL ISSUE), on the author or editor's secure personal website and/or their university repository site.

© 2016 Information Science Reference. All rights reserved. May not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except fair uses permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

Original Publication Citation

Colwell, J., Nielsen, D., Bradley, B., A. , & Spearman, M. (2016). Preservice teacher reflections about short-term summer study abroad experiences in Italy. In A. R. Joan & M. M. Tammy (Eds.), Advancing Teacher Education and Curriculum Development through Study Abroad Programs (pp. 91-111). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-4666-9672-3.ch006

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