Doing Things Differently: Social Studies Preservice Teachers’ Conceptions of and Experiences With Creativity in Teaching and Learning

This study’s purpose was to investigate preservice teachers’ conceptions and experiences with creativity in secondary social studies classrooms to illuminate the role of creativity in the practices of teaching and learning. Four preservice secondary social studies teachers were interviewed in the final month of, or immediately following, their final semester of student teaching. We identified three themes based on the interview data: Alignment between preservice teachers’ visions for their practices and conceptions of creativity, differences between the visions of preservice teachers and the pedagogical practices of past teachers and veteran teachers, and barriers to creativity and exploration of teacher identities.