Teaching students how to think through complex tasks in a deliberate, reflective, and critical manner is an important goal of public schooling as well as literacy education. However, in classrooms, it is typically assumed that the meaning of thinking is established and the way it is taught and learned is straightforward and universally understood.…

The role of educators in mitigating the negative experiences faced by marginalised students has garnered increasing attention. This study highlights the key attributes of teachers who create a supportive environment for these learners, particularly in English Language Arts classrooms. Through an integration of Positioning Theory, Critical…

This dissertation explores innovative approaches to preserving and revitalizing the linguistic and cultural heritage of Mayan-speaking youth of Guatemalan descent in rural Nebraska. It delves into the intersection of technology, artistic expression, and cultural practices, emphasizing the revitalization of Mayan languages in Abya Yala (the…

How might teacher educators build a reflective and supportive community of practice with pre-service teachers? How might a visual (intermedia) journaling practice support critical and reflective thinking? How might an arts-based intermedia approach to analysis inform teacher educator pedagogical methods? These questions evolved and emerged…

This paper presents how a playful and embodied pedagogical approach (fun-ing) (Huxley, 2023) was applied to an international online poetry workshop for young people, and in doing so, foregrounds qualities of learning experiences, rather than neo-liberal skills-based outcomes alone. The methodology of fun-ing is grounded in a reflexive and emplaced…

This short essay uses James Thompson's aesthetics of care to examine 'Memory in Two Voices', a multi-vocal poetry performance about dementia by long-time lesbian partners Chris Morrissey and Bridget Coll. Noting how Chris and Bridget's years-long tenure in the Queer Imaging and Riting Kollective for Elders, an arts and performance group based in…

"Literary Imagination and Professional Knowledge: Using Literature in Teacher Education" establishes a foundation for expanding the use of literature in teacher education curricula. The contributors to this collection have a wide variety of education and experience, thus bringing a richness to the content of the volume. Literature can be…

Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) is a relatively novel approach to L2 learning. Designed under this approach, this paper proposes a set of three activities that seek to foster secondary level students' critical thinking, creativity, and intrapersonal skills. English language learning is integrated with the specific subjects of…

Starting at the school level, language education develops comprehension and expression skills. It is important to develop literacy skills as it is the basic way of acquiring information. Native language textbooks created with a text-based approach are an integral part of this process. Accurate, qualified, and purposefully selected texts help…

The purpose of this qualitative self-study was to investigate my own critical teaching practices in a freshman university classroom and to see what happened to my teacher identity when my curriculum and instruction focused on issues of social justice. Believing that "…the Eurocentric worldview is so thoroughly hegemonized in the United…

Based in anthropology (Cole & Knowles, 2001), life history inquiry into literature emphasizes deep understandings of literary characters that are expressed through dramatic performance. For teachers or teacher-educators, life histories offer a powerful teaching strategy. Life histories support locating readers in a particular pattern or…

Young people around the world are engaging in innovative literacy practices through their creation of, and engagement with, spoken word poetry. From community-based slams to school-based workshops to online videos, this genre has become increasingly popular with marginalized youth who have an opportunity to have their often-silenced voices heard…

Reading poetry through a metaphorical lens, we enquire into our lived experience of academic development. By reading poetry as a metaphor for practice it becomes possible to explore teaching identities within higher education, creating opportunities for learning and critical self-awareness. Comparing and contrasting our different interpretations…

This poem was written as a final project for the author's Critical Perspectives in Education course at George Mason University in Fall of 2021. In addition to having students read critical works, Dr. Dodman, the professor, encouraged creative reflections and non-traditional reading responses. The author also engaged in an Extended Communal…

As South African researchers facing HIV- and AIDS-related challenges in our professional lives, we continuously turn to self-study methodology to inform our learning and teaching in our teacher education practice. This article explores how we extended our professional knowledge in relation to HIV and AIDS, starting with our own self-study doctoral…