The Ups (Upside) and Downs (Downside) of Teacher Educator Collaborative Groups

• In Event: Self-Study and the Exploration of Teacher Educator Identities, Practices, and Dispositions

Abstract

Aiming to make our continued group work rich and purposeful as teachers/teacher educators, this collaborative, historical self-study explores, identifies, and explicates the ups (upside) and downs (downside) that have shaped our collaborative group. During our examination/reexamination of past interactions and our work together; we uncovered new aspects of a long-told stories. Shared stories include in incident between two group members that ultimately led to a story of leaving (_____) and the emergence of long-held tensions that have floated beneath the surface of our working knowledge community. This paper illuminates why we stayed together, how the collaborative group helped us to grow and develop as teachers/teacher educators, and illustrates how our interaction fulfilled our need for a reflective community.

Authors

• Michaelann Kelley, Mount St. Joseph University

• Gayle A. Curtis, University of Houston

• Cheryl J. Craig, Texas A&M University - College Station

• Peter Timothy Martindell, University of Houston - Downtown