Critical imagination : A pedagogy for engaging pre-service teachers in the university classroom

In this paper we consider the aspect of teacher education which takes place, not in the school, but in the university classroom. Teaching about teaching, it is argued, must be grounded in students' understanding of the present, but must foster both hope and critique. Beginning from Maxine Greene's (2000) concept of imagination, this paper develops a notion of critical imagination as a way of conceptualizing a critical pedagogy in the university classroom. Two pedagogical strategies based on critical imagination are outlined and analyzed. Writing is prioritized as a pedagogical tool. Excerpts from our professional teaching journals, together with samples of students' writing in response to these strategies, clothe the strategies in the reality of teaching practice. We argue that the use of teaching strategies based on critical imagination as a means of 'jarring' students to think differently seems to move our students to think a little more humanely and a little more critically. But this is neither a simple nor unproblematic task