"Step Outside": A Portrait of an Exemplary Rural K–8 Science Educator

• In Event: Context Is Key: Space and Place in Teaching and Learning

Abstract

Approximately 20% of US K-12 students attend rural schools, yet the experiences of rural teachers are largely invisible in teacher education research. The current study uses portraiture methodology to share a narrative portrait of a nationally-recognized rural K-8 science teacher. We explore ways the teacher became an “exemplary” teacher as we collaboratively re-constructed the “critical events” that were central to her personal and professional journey. Analysis and synthesis revealed one central theme that was further divided into four lessons. Examining the ways the four lessons intersected across the career of this exceptional teacher offers valuable insight to the development of teacher identity and how it shapes practice, especially within marginalized contexts such as K-8 science education and rural settings.

Authors

• Rebekah Hammack, Purdue University

• Christine Rogers Stanton, Montana State University

• Judith C. Boyle, Montana State University