Pedagogy 2025
Abstract
This presentation highlights a case study of EDU 110: Teaching Diverse Learners, a foundational course in teacher preparation at Stonehill College in Easton, Massachusetts. Reframing the traditional entry point into teacher preparation, the course provides an example of how outward-facing pedagogy can be embedded from the very beginning of an undergraduate program through integrating emerging best practices such as early community partnerships, equity-centered identity work, and digital storytelling into a single, foundational course. From the outset, students engage in community-based experiential learning through early school-based fieldwork, while also participating in scaffolded identity reflection with their peers which prepares them to examine how their own backgrounds may shape their perspectives as future educators. This case study focuses on the course’s culminating assignment, a collaborative digital storytelling project that captures shared reflection. While individual reflection is common in teacher preparation, group reflection requires students to negotiate differing perspectives, identify shared themes, and reflect on the perspectives shared by their peers. Through podcasting, students practice collective meaning-making in a medium that mirrors storytelling in the contemporary culture. In turn, students discover that outward engagement is not limited to school placements and community partners but also emerges within their own cohort through shared dialogue and reflection. This presentation argues that the benefits of outward-facing, group-based reflection are not to be limited to teacher preparation but truly adaptable across disciplines. By reimagining reflection as a collaborative and shareable process from the start, there exists a replicable model for cultivating stronger learning communities in varied contexts.
Becca Corso, Ed.D., is an Assistant Professor of Education at Stonehill College, where she teaches foundations courses and prepares undergraduates for careers in secondary education. With nearly a decade of experience in both classroom teaching and teacher preparation, her work focuses on culturally responsive pedagogy, curriculum design, and anti-racist approaches to teaching and learning. She earned her B.A. from Gettysburg College, an M.A. in Education from Fairfield University, and an Ed.D. in Curriculum and Teaching from Northeastern University.