Nice to Tweet You: Supporting Rural Preservice Teachers through Twitter Chats

The challenges new rural teachers face often lead to stress and attrition. In response to a growing need to better prepare teachers to work in rural schools, teacher educators may consider incorporating Twitter chats into their coursework. Previous findings demonstrate Twitter chats enable preservice teachers to access new resources, direct their own professional development, and connect with other educators for support. One chat in particular, #RuralEdChat, can connect prospective rural teachers with inservice rural educators and supporters. This paper provides a theoretical basis, highlights previous research, and includes recommendations for using Twitter chats with rural preservice teachers.