Abstract
ABSTRACT: This reflective essay uses Taylor Swift's Eras Tour as a conceptual framework for examining thirteen years of teaching a writing methods course for preservice teachers. Drawing on longitudinal reflection, I identify four distinct pedagogical eras in my practice, each representing shifts in how I conceptualize what preservice teachers need to learn about teaching writing and how clinical experiences shape that learning. Through this extended reflection, I argue that meaningful pedagogical change becomes visible only across time, not semester-to-semester. Key insights include the sustained centrality of writing practice in methods courses and the influence of institutional changes on course design. This essay contributes to conversations about how teacher educators navigate the tension between traditional methods course structures and the context-dependent realities of teaching writing.
Recommended Citation
Benko, Susanna
(2026)
"A Pedagogical “Eras” Tour: Thirteen Years of Evolving as a Writing Methods Instructor [Special Issue],"
Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education: Vol. 14:
Iss.
1, Article 17.
Available at:
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/wte/vol14/iss1/17
Included in
Educational Methods Commons, English Language and Literature Commons, Junior High, Intermediate, Middle School Education and Teaching Commons, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Commons, Secondary Education Commons, Secondary Education and Teaching Commons