Narrative representations of practice: What and how can student teachers learn from them?

Representing practice as an object for joint scrutiny is critical for student teacher learning and the development of professional vision. This article examines narrative representations of practice in teaching methods workshops and their affordances and constraints for prospective teacher learning. Three workshops in an Israeli teacher education program were video-recorded and analyzed. Embedded narratives were the most prevalent form of representation, often serving to advance claims and counter-claims. An examination of 112 narrative episodes revealed three forms of mediation: non-exploration, explication and discussion. We conclude that designing for intentional mediation of embedded narratives might increase their utility for teacher education.