Examining Educative Experiences: Critically Reading Teacher Education Practices in a Public Homeplace

• In Event: Poster Session 15
  In Poster Session: The Lives of Teachers: Poster Session

Abstract

A group of female K12 teachers and teacher educators conducted a self-study of their professional pedagogy in a “public homeplace” with the guiding question of: “Why do I make the decisions and choices that I make in my teaching?” Through discourse and acting as “critical friends,” the individuals analyzed their experiences as texts to be interpreted and understood in new ways. Findings demonstrate: 1) professional tensions and decisions were rooted in personal experiences; 2) individual stories about decisions became engaging texts open to multiple interpretations; 3) periods of personal uncertainty or “wobble” pushed each person to search for answers and to see difficult or challenging incidents as “critical events” producing the deepest growth.

Authors

• Christi Edge, Northern Michigan University

• Bethney Bergh, Northern Michigan University

• Abby Cameron-Standerford, Northern Michigan University