A (Class)Room with a View: How Fiction Can Help New Teachers

Abstract

In teacher education programs there is much vocal support surrounding the idea of using creative materials to encourage innovative ways of seeing and learning. Yet these programs sometimes struggle to teach through arts-based texts that facilitate both wider and deeper knowledge of the self and others. The reason for this may be twofold: first, there may be a lack of understanding or appreciation of narrative inquiry, and second, examples of targeted pedagogical literature are scarce. In this article, I would like to explore the value of teaching through literature and creative writing, and in particular, focus on how stories written by and for new teachers can be significant in shaping positive identities for their new profession.