Reclaiming Professional Identity: Faculty Development Through Storytelling

• In Event: AERA Poster Session 2
  In Poster Session: Considerations in Faculty Development

Abstract

Teacher education, with threats from alternative routes to certification, is experiencing a professional identity crisis. How can teacher educators create a shift from being defined by external factors to authoring their own professional identity? Although the power of stories has been well documented, there is very little literature specifically on the use of stories in faculty development.The purpose of this paper is to address this gap in the literature and describe a faculty development project where eight teacher educators explored autobiographical storytelling as a means to clarify, construct, and articulate a professional identity. Findings indicate that storytelling has the potential to help novice faculty cross the borders into academia, build professional identities, and develop a community of practice.

Authors

• Mary Antony Bair, Grand Valley State University

• David E. Bair, Grand Valley State University

• Rui Niu-Cooper, Grand Valley State University, Grand Rapids

• Kelly Margot, Grand Valley State University

• Nagnon Diarrassouba, Grand Valley State University

• Beomkyu Choi, Grand Valley State University