Authentic Inquiry With Undergraduate Preservice Teachers in Synchronous Interactive Video Conferencing Courses

This chapter reports how two teacher educators at a land-grant public university in the Intermountain West region of the United States used video conferencing and project-based learning to engage preservice teachers taking classes over interactive video conferencing. The preservice teachers in these courses had to choose a topic related to teaching writing they wanted to learn more about, research this topic, and then create a website with pieces written in multiple genres that shared what they learned from their research. Preservice teachers then shared their websites with their classmates. Data analysis suggests that preservice teachers found opportunities to engage with others on video conferencing in both whole class and small group settings to be beneficial. The authors share ways that instructors in all disciplines can incorporate project-based learning and video conferencing in their courses.