This chapter presents three Chinese teachers' narrative accounts about how they live in dilemmatic spaces due to excessive entitlement. Still, the teachers move forward with transformative agency. The thick description of the three teacher participants has been reported elsewhere as the narratives of Lee -- a math teacher, Ping -- a Chinese…

As a Methods Professor in a Research I institution in the Midwest and the largest education program in its respective state, I faced a crisis after ten years in higher education. The concern I faced was whether or not the repertoire I taught my students was appropriate and meaningful in their training. While staying abreast of current research and…

If you have ever found yourself asking, "Why don't students see the relevance in what I am teaching them?", you are not alone. I recently discovered that I had become out-of-touch with what college students find relevant. My purpose in writing this commentary is twofold: (1) to reflect on and improve my own practice, and (2) to encourage…

Providing effective leadership and mentorship to students often requires an understanding of power systems and a focus on amplifying marginalized voices. The author, who identifies as a queer white woman, in her years as a graduate student, has found that attention to voice is essential, but also messy. As Donna M. Lanclos reminds,…

I wasn't always the Fresh Professor. At one point I was just another starving actor trying to make a living. But stories change over time, as do professional desires. This is "Part Two" of my story. Enjoy the ride. [For "Part One," see EJ1114154.]

When he entered the building, the buzz of speculations quickly traveled throughout the halls. Where did he come from? What is wrong with him? What grade is he in? Who is has the lowest number? As everyone secretly hopes the new student deemed a "challenge" won't be placed in their classroom, the tall, thin shadow shuffles past your room…

In 1998 I had been teaching science for 13 years. I was a good teacher: I had the plaques and certificates to prove it. But often I felt like an impostor (which I have since learned is not unusual--70% of all people feel like a fake at one time or another). While my students could solve problems and ace tests, every June when I sat down to look at…

FORUM invited Melissa Benn and Jane Martin to interview Clyde Chitty, a brilliant and effective classroom and university teacher, one of the most well-known advocates of comprehensive education, a long-standing member of FORUM's editorial board, and for two decades co-editor of the publication. It was Michael Armstrong who called him 'the patron…

This article contains six essays on transformative learning (TL) that were written to celebrate the 40th anniversary of TL. These authors belong to a ''wave'' of scholars who joined the field of TL between the mid-1970s and mid-1990s. Their stories describe the chronicle behind their engagement with the TL theory and its community. This is evident…

Lynne Anderson-Loy teaches science to sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-graders in the Contemporary School and the Regional Safe School at Woodruff Career and Technical Center in the Peoria (Illinois) Public Schools District. In this article, she describes her experience of learning how to manage student behavior in various schools throughout her…

Faculty eager to transform their teaching often have a difficult time understanding the learning literature and then integrating it into their teaching, in part because neuroeducation concepts such as constructivism, transfer, misconceptions, and metacognition are not part of their existing knowledge. Examples of these concepts in the literature…

English teacher Cris Tovani knows from her experiences teaching elementary school that students are naturally curious. But, too often, students are so trained to be question answerers that by the time they reach high school, they no longer form questions of their own and instead focus on trying to figure out what answer the teacher wants. Tovani…

Kate Queeney, a professor of chemistry at Smith College, turned to a former student to receive one-on-one instruction in swimming. The student, who had been unsure and scared in chemistry class, seemed like an entirely different person when teaching the teacher. This article describes how the author learned that there is something undeniably…

This essay describes a transformation in my experience as an adjunct teaching underprepared students from one of shame toward a desire to assert the value of this work. Insights from my feminist theological training helped me to affirm the importance of encouraging transformative learning in teaching the academically marginalized and prompted my…

Preparing competent multicultural educators involves a dynamic process requiring constant self-reflection and assisting pre-service teachers to sharpen their cultural vision as they learn to be responsive educators. Reflections on lessons learned as a teacher educator are shared through personal experiences that are identified as keys to prepare…