Webinar on “Narrative and Teacher Education” was held in Farhangian University in cyberspace with participation of Prof. Cheryl J. Craig

 

 

On 13^th of January 2015 (Tuesday 5.30 up to 8.30 pm.) a webinar meeting with respect to the application of narrative as reflective writing in teacher education and specifically under the rubric of “Narrative and Teacher Education” was held in Farhangian University. The initial idea of the event was essentially proposed by the Acting President of the University – Prof. Mahmoud Mehrmohammadi, and the keynote speaker invited in cyberspace was Prof. Dr. Cheryl J. Craig from college of education, University of Houston (USA) - who accepted the invitation for the above mentioned webinar.

 

Cheryl Craig has been named the recipient of the Michael Huberman Award to recognize her scholarly contributions to the understanding of the lives of teachers. Craig’s research uncovers and illuminates the complexities of teaching while capturing teacher voices and bringing teacher knowledge and perspective to the forefront. Her voluminous record of high quality research, publications, and international presentations exemplify the high quality and far-reaching impact of her scholarship around the globe.

(Source: http://www.coe.uh.edu/features/research/craig-huberman/)

 

Prof. Mahmoud Mehrmohammadi, , Dr. Farhad Ghorbandordinejad , Dr. Mohammad Reza Gerami, Dr. Fereshteh Al Hosseini , Dr. Moshfegharani , Mr. Ali Zand,  Ms. Soghra Maleki, and Ms. Ameneh Ahmadi,  were the participants of the meeting while Dr. Khalil Gholami from Kordestan University , and Prof. Dr. Cheryl J. Craig. From College of Education, University of Houston (USA) were the other participants in Cyberspace.

At the beginning of the event, Prof. Mahmoud Mehrmohammadi gave a precise background with respect to teacher education in Iran and paved the way for discussion on the issue of narrative as a way to inform others about professional experiences. He stated that as a style of expository writing, the narrative approach, more than any other, suggests writers an opportunity to conceive in the mind and write about themselves. He also clarified the role of narrative essay and its significance in disclosing individuals’ practical findings and elaborated narrative types and the consequences of its application in the realm of teacher education based on the conclusions emerged from several evidence-based projects such as the one recently carried out  in Ontario College of Teachers. He mentioned that, “the new teacher development using narrative-based professional learning in Ontario has proved essential success which might be applicable in Iran”. He also proposed that based on our experiences in teacher education there are several concerns about the application of narrative in the curriculum which must initially be probed and resolved. Grounded on such assumptions and introduction, Prof. Mehrmohammadi raised the following eight questions each of which was responded by Prof. Cheryl Craig and discussed adequately by participants both in the meeting and cyberspace. The questions and themes discussed in the meeting are as follows:

 

1.      What theoretical explanations make reflective writing the most effective strategy in preparing teachers who are reflective practitioners /teacher researchers/ user based curriculum developers? Are there alternative strategies that might have a similar bearing on such ends and could compete with this strategy? How about complementary strategies?

2.      How does your concept of "inquiry into inquiry" come into play in this pursuit?

3.      How exactly you have incorporated the narrative in the TE program which espouses practical approach in the institution you work for?

4.      How would you compare this firsthand experience of yours with similar plans pursued in other teacher education programs you are aware of?

5.      What are the characteristics of an acceptable piece of narrative? Also, do you insist on a difference between narrative and story as Connelly does and consider stories as building blocks of narratives and narratives as the creative synthesis of stories?

6.      May be we could go through some real examples to gain practical sense of a good teacher narrative.

7.      How would you assess the idea of spreading narrative throughout the program? That is requiring critical journal writing in every course to be accompanied with narrative study at the culmination of the program as a graduation requirement?

8.      Other scholars of this paradigm whom you might suggest we add to this consultative process? Cochran - Smith? Connelly

 

 

At the end of the webinar, the following conclusions and ideas were emerged:

 

 

All participants found the meeting useful and a way to find remedial solutions, at least at axiomatic level. Some of the participants stated that “imposing others to write about something they are not culturally prepared for or educationally equipped with, might force them to create an imaginary story which essentially does not convey a real experience”. Moreover, as they stated, dictating individuals a frame to write might be against the creativity principle. Some of the participants asked for oral stories as a replacement and alternative approach. As they proposed, this might be greatly in congruence with the individuals’ sociocultural frame of reference. Generally, participants looked at the issue of application of narrative essay - in teacher education of Iran - with great uncertainty and grounded their skepticism on their own stated rationales and justifications. They ultimately concluded that we don't need to rush into a decision which has not been carefully probed. In a nut shell, Participants suggested that “application of narrative in teacher education curriculum of Iran strongly requires a nation-wide investigation”. They also concluded that such serious program must be employed procedurally and perhaps it must be initiated from elementary schools to disseminate the culture of narrative essay from early childhood and the whole project might take a longer time than simply expected. Finally all participants thanked Professor Cheryl Craig for her fruitful participation and insightful contribution.

 

 Following description has been found useful for readers as it provides general information with respect to narrative writing .

 

 

Narrative Vs. Descriptive Writing

By Kristie Sweet, Demand Media

 

 

The most common types of writing assignments students encounter in composition classes are exposition, argument, narration and description. While all these modes allow a writer to explain an idea or event, they differ in the specific intent. A narrative tells a story about an event, while description creates a picture of a person, place, thing or event for the reader.

Narration

A narrative often reflects your personal experience, explaining what happened during some sort of experience. Stories are narrative, and narrative essays have a similar purpose of telling the events to a reader. Narrative essay topics include recounting an experience where you learned something significant, your first day at school, your first job interview, a frightening encounter, an experience that changed your life and two differing versions of the same event. Narration is not always a personal experience, though; a book report is narrative since it typically spells out the plot of the book or story.

 

Description

 

Description uses sensory detail (sights, sounds, tactile sensations, tastes and smells) to describe a scene, person or feeling to a reader. As you describe, you create a three-dimensional picture so your reader can experience the item, place, person or emotion along with the reading. Descriptive essay topics include your favorite place, your bedroom, your best friend, the most unusual object you own, an art exhibit, the best or worst teacher you ever had, your ideal job or dream home.

Similarities

Both narrative and descriptive essays should follow essay format with an introductory paragraph, body paragraphs and a concluding paragraph. At the end of the introduction, place a thesis, a sentence that explains the overall purpose of your paper. You should give a reason for your narration or description in that thesis, explaining why this event, person, place or thing is important enough for you to write about. The thesis might express that you are telling a story because you learned something significant or that you are describing a place that creates a sense of calm in your life. In both narration and description, include specific details in the body paragraphs to support the idea set forth in your thesis.

 

Differences

 

Source : http://classroom.synonym.com/narrative-vs-descriptive-writing-1043.html