Chapter 13: Pedagogical Toolbox Analysis

For the Pedagogical Toolbox Analysis assignment, teacher candidates highlight effective pedagogical strategies they observe, reflect on obstacles to implementation, identify ways to differentiate the strategy, and explain how they might integrate the strategy in their lessons.

Teacher candidates consistently ask for concrete strategies they can take with them into their classrooms, though they want to see them in action and try them out. Therefore, we designed the Pedagogical Toolbox Analysis assignment to help candidates: 1) learn a range of tried and tested teaching strategies they can use in their future classrooms, 2) reflect on their practices and adapt their strategies, and 3) open up conversations between candidates and their cooperating teachers so that candidates do not pass judgment on a strategy without understanding their cooperating teacher’s pedagogical decision-making.