Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/teacher-education-with-pedagogical-leadership-an-interview-with-shaquam-urquhart-edwards/5024288/
I have been thinking about the experience of teacher educators these days. My own years as adjunct faculty in community college settings are far behind me now, and I wonder how I would manage if I were still teaching today. Expanded degree requirements for teachers means that ECE community college classes are filled with those already supporting a family by working in the field, often holding down a second job to make a living. Many students are second language learners or otherwise struggle with math or writing proficiency. Like some children they work with, ECE students may live with the emotional challenges of surviving trauma. Increasingly it seems that the dilemmas college instructors face parallel what children’s teachers encounter: a wide range of experience, skills, and know-how; inadequate financial and emotional support; required curriculum, and continual assessments to measure outcomes. Where does the time come from? How does one teach, or learn, under these conditions?
Over this past year I have been working with a new co-author, my longtime friend and colleague, Ann Pelo, as we finish a manuscript on pedagogical leadership. From Teaching to Thinking is a somewhat heady book, raising big questions about the purpose of education ...