If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet deprec... more If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet depreciate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground. They want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters. This struggle may be a moral one; or it may be a physical one; or it may be both moral and physical; but it must be a struggle.-Frederick Douglass, 1857 speechAs I sat down to prepare my lessons for introducing Melba Beals's Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High, I kept returning to Douglass's quote from his 1857 speech on West India emancipation and the idea that progress only comes with struggle. How could I teach this to my students? How could I get them ready to read Beals's memoir when what they knew about the Civil Rights Movement was limited to Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., and the words "I have a dream"? My eleventh-grade American Literature class was mostly white, suburban teenagers who had relatively few struggles in their own lives. How could I get them to understand the story of the nine teenagers who risked their lives when they decided to challenge the segregated and unequal educational system that existed in 1957?As a teacher, I believe that I have a moral responsibility to prepare my students to think for themselves, to make judgments based on evidence, and to develop their minds. To be a democratic teacher who prepares her students for life in a democratic society, I must make a commitment to "helping [my] students discover and nurture their self-expression, develop consciousness, claim a new and ever-evolving awareness, as well as act on it" (Placha 124). William Ayers, in "Teaching in and for Democracy," argues, "We want them to learn to ask essential questions that are . . . always in motion, dynamic, and never twice the same: Who in the world am I? How did I get here and where am I going? What in the world are my choices and chances? . . . What is my responsibility to others?" (5). In answering these questions, students begin to realize that they have views and that their views matter. At the same time, as educators, we need to prepare students to discuss controversial issues in civil and productive ways. Students need to learn they do not have to fear, disregard, or avoid these issues. Instead, our classrooms need to become places where students can have "experiences respectfully discussing authentic questions about public problems and the kinds of policies that can address those problems" (Hess 69) so that students can learn how to be tolerant of views different from their own.What I choose to teach in my classroom serves as a signal to my beliefs about our society. I want my students to learn that change happens in a democratic society because of people who are willing to challenge the injustices and fight for change. Using Linda Christensen's Teaching for Joy and Justice: Re-imagining the Language Arts Classroom as my guide, I wanted a unit that "intentionally scrutinizes literature and history to help students see through the way race and class have worked to privilege some and marginalize others" and to focus on literature "that highlights the resistance of the oppressed, rather than their defeat" (165). Based on these ideas, I developed four essential questions that I wanted the class to focus on as we went through the Warriors Don't Cry unit:1. How do we use resistance as a method of change in a democratic society?2. What can we do alone and with others to confront injustices?3. How can we, as individuals and citizens, make a positive difference in our school, community, and country?4. Why do some people choose to resist injustices? Why do others choose to be perpetrators? What does it mean to be a resistor? A perpetrator? Or a bystander? What are the consequences of each?Using these questions as my foundation, I looked for texts that would connect students to historical and fictional characters who used resistance to bring about change when confronting injustices in American society. …
This study examined the development of effective teaching skills in teacher candidates in the con... more This study examined the development of effective teaching skills in teacher candidates in the context of early fi eld experiences directly tied to a pedagogical course. Evidence from faculty instructors, mentor teachers, and teacher candidates suggests secondary education candidates were able to develop effective teaching skills related to instructional strategies, classroom management, and curriculum design during an early fi eld experience. Teacher candidates developed these skills as they shifted their identities from candidates-as-students to candidates-as-teachers.
This research examined an early field experience model supported by instructional coaching that w... more This research examined an early field experience model supported by instructional coaching that was implemented within an undergraduate educator preparation program for secondary language arts and social sciences candidates. A mixed methods design examined candidates’ stages of concern based on the Fuller (1969) stages of concern theory in relationship to Marzano’s (2003) teacher-level factors of effective schools. While teacher candidates were able to demonstrate each component of effective classroom pedagogy, their level of success varied. At the beginning of the experience, self-concerns were high and characterized by candidates’ identities as students and ego-driven considerations. As the experience progressed, candidates focused more on task concerns and the compliant engagement of students. Evidence of impact concerns was limited. Sustained time and university faculty supervision were key elements in a successful early field experience. About the authors: Dr. Kelly Welsh is an...
For teacher candidates and the programs that prepare them, student teaching is a visible experien... more For teacher candidates and the programs that prepare them, student teaching is a visible experience. For candidates, it culminates their investment of time and money and represents the completion of a significant, albeit early, career goal: becoming a certified, licensed teacher. For the university, the performance of their student teachers reflects program quality. When all goes as planned, both the candidates and program relish their successes. When all does not go as planned, where does the responsibility lie? Is it always an issue of individual candidate performance? At what point should the program assume some level of ownership? This article outlines one secondary education program's on-going journey to resolve these questions. After examination of the issue, the program identified the need to improve its pre-student teaching field experiences. Using the framework of instructional coaching, the program is redesigning its field experience addressing critical issues of supervision, duration, and connections to course content.
The purpose of this study is to understand mildly marginalized students better and their educatio... more The purpose of this study is to understand mildly marginalized students better and their educational histories as the student see them in order to effectuate policies and practices that can support their academic success. Specifically, this study looks at school from the perspective of two students to discover how they resist learning. Data on the two seniors, one male and one female, were collected during the 2011–2012 school year at a Midwest suburban high school and included observations, field notes, and in-depth interviews. In this ethnographic case study, four prevalent concepts (parent expectations, social expectations, drug use, and academic expectations) that contributed to the students\u27 motivation and academic performance. However, each student has his or her own reasons for resisting learning and must be seen as individuals by their teachers. Suggestions for how teachers can better work with these students and directions for further research are also discussed
How is the pursuit of tenure a unique experience if one is a woman and over 50? The stories of tw... more How is the pursuit of tenure a unique experience if one is a woman and over 50? The stories of two women candidly address this question. Framed within concepts outlined by Sheryl Sandberg in her book Lean In (2013), their journeys outline the risks, fears, and frustrations of being experienced novices. Frustrated with the general advice typically offered to new tenure-track faculty members, the two set out to create their own path. Through a series of personal and professional nudges, seemingly small interventions that yielded significant return, the women recalibrated their perspectives and behaviors. The implications of their stories are that regardless of the challenges, people can free themselves from the paralyzing effects of fear, reframe rejection and failure, and lead themselves and others to the goals they have set.From the outside, the work of a college professor looks easy. One teaches three or four classes each semester, and the rest of the time is the individuals. The r...
This study examined the development of effective teaching skills in teacher candidates in the con... more This study examined the development of effective teaching skills in teacher candidates in the context of early fi eld experiences directly tied to a pedagogical course. Evidence from faculty instructors, mentor teachers, and teacher candidates suggests secondary education candidates were able to develop effective teaching skills related to instructional strategies, classroom management, and curriculum design during an early fi eld experience. Teacher candidates developed these skills as they shifted their identities from candidates-as-students to candidates-as-teachers.
If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet deprec... more If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet depreciate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground. They want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters. This struggle may be a moral one; or it may be a physical one; or it may be both moral and physical; but it must be a struggle.-Frederick Douglass, 1857 speechAs I sat down to prepare my lessons for introducing Melba Beals's Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High, I kept returning to Douglass's quote from his 1857 speech on West India emancipation and the idea that progress only comes with struggle. How could I teach this to my students? How could I get them ready to read Beals's memoir when what they knew about the Civil Rights Movement was limited to Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., and the words "I have a dream"? My eleventh-grade American Literature class was mostly white, suburban teenagers who had relatively few struggles in their own lives. How could I get them to understand the story of the nine teenagers who risked their lives when they decided to challenge the segregated and unequal educational system that existed in 1957?As a teacher, I believe that I have a moral responsibility to prepare my students to think for themselves, to make judgments based on evidence, and to develop their minds. To be a democratic teacher who prepares her students for life in a democratic society, I must make a commitment to "helping [my] students discover and nurture their self-expression, develop consciousness, claim a new and ever-evolving awareness, as well as act on it" (Placha 124). William Ayers, in "Teaching in and for Democracy," argues, "We want them to learn to ask essential questions that are . . . always in motion, dynamic, and never twice the same: Who in the world am I? How did I get here and where am I going? What in the world are my choices and chances? . . . What is my responsibility to others?" (5). In answering these questions, students begin to realize that they have views and that their views matter. At the same time, as educators, we need to prepare students to discuss controversial issues in civil and productive ways. Students need to learn they do not have to fear, disregard, or avoid these issues. Instead, our classrooms need to become places where students can have "experiences respectfully discussing authentic questions about public problems and the kinds of policies that can address those problems" (Hess 69) so that students can learn how to be tolerant of views different from their own.What I choose to teach in my classroom serves as a signal to my beliefs about our society. I want my students to learn that change happens in a democratic society because of people who are willing to challenge the injustices and fight for change. Using Linda Christensen's Teaching for Joy and Justice: Re-imagining the Language Arts Classroom as my guide, I wanted a unit that "intentionally scrutinizes literature and history to help students see through the way race and class have worked to privilege some and marginalize others" and to focus on literature "that highlights the resistance of the oppressed, rather than their defeat" (165). Based on these ideas, I developed four essential questions that I wanted the class to focus on as we went through the Warriors Don't Cry unit:1. How do we use resistance as a method of change in a democratic society?2. What can we do alone and with others to confront injustices?3. How can we, as individuals and citizens, make a positive difference in our school, community, and country?4. Why do some people choose to resist injustices? Why do others choose to be perpetrators? What does it mean to be a resistor? A perpetrator? Or a bystander? What are the consequences of each?Using these questions as my foundation, I looked for texts that would connect students to historical and fictional characters who used resistance to bring about change when confronting injustices in American society. …
This study examined the development of effective teaching skills in teacher candidates in the con... more This study examined the development of effective teaching skills in teacher candidates in the context of early fi eld experiences directly tied to a pedagogical course. Evidence from faculty instructors, mentor teachers, and teacher candidates suggests secondary education candidates were able to develop effective teaching skills related to instructional strategies, classroom management, and curriculum design during an early fi eld experience. Teacher candidates developed these skills as they shifted their identities from candidates-as-students to candidates-as-teachers.
This research examined an early field experience model supported by instructional coaching that w... more This research examined an early field experience model supported by instructional coaching that was implemented within an undergraduate educator preparation program for secondary language arts and social sciences candidates. A mixed methods design examined candidates’ stages of concern based on the Fuller (1969) stages of concern theory in relationship to Marzano’s (2003) teacher-level factors of effective schools. While teacher candidates were able to demonstrate each component of effective classroom pedagogy, their level of success varied. At the beginning of the experience, self-concerns were high and characterized by candidates’ identities as students and ego-driven considerations. As the experience progressed, candidates focused more on task concerns and the compliant engagement of students. Evidence of impact concerns was limited. Sustained time and university faculty supervision were key elements in a successful early field experience. About the authors: Dr. Kelly Welsh is an...
For teacher candidates and the programs that prepare them, student teaching is a visible experien... more For teacher candidates and the programs that prepare them, student teaching is a visible experience. For candidates, it culminates their investment of time and money and represents the completion of a significant, albeit early, career goal: becoming a certified, licensed teacher. For the university, the performance of their student teachers reflects program quality. When all goes as planned, both the candidates and program relish their successes. When all does not go as planned, where does the responsibility lie? Is it always an issue of individual candidate performance? At what point should the program assume some level of ownership? This article outlines one secondary education program's on-going journey to resolve these questions. After examination of the issue, the program identified the need to improve its pre-student teaching field experiences. Using the framework of instructional coaching, the program is redesigning its field experience addressing critical issues of supervision, duration, and connections to course content.
The purpose of this study is to understand mildly marginalized students better and their educatio... more The purpose of this study is to understand mildly marginalized students better and their educational histories as the student see them in order to effectuate policies and practices that can support their academic success. Specifically, this study looks at school from the perspective of two students to discover how they resist learning. Data on the two seniors, one male and one female, were collected during the 2011–2012 school year at a Midwest suburban high school and included observations, field notes, and in-depth interviews. In this ethnographic case study, four prevalent concepts (parent expectations, social expectations, drug use, and academic expectations) that contributed to the students\u27 motivation and academic performance. However, each student has his or her own reasons for resisting learning and must be seen as individuals by their teachers. Suggestions for how teachers can better work with these students and directions for further research are also discussed
How is the pursuit of tenure a unique experience if one is a woman and over 50? The stories of tw... more How is the pursuit of tenure a unique experience if one is a woman and over 50? The stories of two women candidly address this question. Framed within concepts outlined by Sheryl Sandberg in her book Lean In (2013), their journeys outline the risks, fears, and frustrations of being experienced novices. Frustrated with the general advice typically offered to new tenure-track faculty members, the two set out to create their own path. Through a series of personal and professional nudges, seemingly small interventions that yielded significant return, the women recalibrated their perspectives and behaviors. The implications of their stories are that regardless of the challenges, people can free themselves from the paralyzing effects of fear, reframe rejection and failure, and lead themselves and others to the goals they have set.From the outside, the work of a college professor looks easy. One teaches three or four classes each semester, and the rest of the time is the individuals. The r...
This study examined the development of effective teaching skills in teacher candidates in the con... more This study examined the development of effective teaching skills in teacher candidates in the context of early fi eld experiences directly tied to a pedagogical course. Evidence from faculty instructors, mentor teachers, and teacher candidates suggests secondary education candidates were able to develop effective teaching skills related to instructional strategies, classroom management, and curriculum design during an early fi eld experience. Teacher candidates developed these skills as they shifted their identities from candidates-as-students to candidates-as-teachers.
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