Development of experiential knowledge and writing stories of experience in teacher education

Abstract

In this article we study the educational value of writing stories of experience when trying to promote experiential knowledge in teacher education. We have investigated for three years with a group of six primary teacher students when they were in their Practicum subjects. We have focused on writing stories about their lived experiences at school. The purpose of the research is to study how writing stories of experience: i) facilitates that students become more mindful about their pedagogical ideas; ii) promotes reflection on relevant pedagogical issues; iii) makes possible that students develop their own thinking about education. The methodological approach of the research is a self-study. We have recorded the process by observation, interviews and analysis of the stories made by students. In the results we identify three stages that make possible the development of experiential knowledge: a) narrate the experience of an event that seems relevant for them; b) reflection on the experience; c) pedagogical thought, taking into consideration the narrated stories. Finally, we focus on the teaching potentiality of writing stories of experiences, given that they can help to delve narratively into education, in a way that they allow the development of a thoughtful thinking with the capacity of observing relevant aspects of life at school.