Featured Faculty
April 2007
Rosemarie Stallworth-Clark
|
 |
Dr. Stallworth-Clark & student at Lake Ruby |
Greetings! I am delighted to introduce myself to you. I earned my B.S. degree in Teacher Education in 1965 from Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama, my M.Ed. degree in Reading Education in 1981 from Georgia Southern University, and my Ph.D. in Educational Psychology--with emphasis in Applied Cognition and Development, in 1996, from the University of Georgia. I have taught at Georgia Southern University since 1981, where I teach courses in Educational Psychology and Human Learning Theory in the College of Education. Since beginning my teaching career at Georgia Southern, I have taught extensively in two colleges. First, in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences,I taught College Reading in the Department of Learning Support (1981-2001). Since 2001, I have taught in the College of Education in the Department of Curriculum, Foundations, & Reading.
I am Past-President of the Georgia Educational Research Association (GERA), a state affiliate of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), and the current president of the Peace Education Special Interest Group. My work with AERA has provided me with many opportunities for advancing the causes of peace throughout the world. In August, 2007, I present a workshop in New York titled, “Women in Leadership” during the 25th Anniversary of the International Institute on Peace Education.
 |
Dr. Stallworth-Clark in her office. |
Teaching and Learning Narrative
As a teacher-educator in the Georgia Southern University College of Education, the major understanding that I seek to instill in my pre-and in-service teachers is that the teacher-student relationship is the key to student learning and success in any/all classrooms, no matter what the level or content. Consequently, I work hard to assist my students to conceptualize teacher-student relationships that foster the maximum development of their students.
I have implemented and examined this critical teacher/student relationship in multiple ways, e.g., what are the effects of caring, the effects of valuing, the effects of respecting, the effects of tolerating…one’s students. Interestingly, the implications of my research with pre-service students have all led to the key ingredient to successful teaching- the concept of loving what you do and loving the students you teach...Findings are conclusive...
Students learn best…
when their professors love teaching!..
My approach to teaching is unequivocally student-centered and problem-based. My goals for student learning in my classes include the preparation of my students for teaching in contemporary classrooms where the rich and diverse research and experiences of Educational Psychology inform and assist them to be skillful communicators who are prepared to think clearly, to make informed decisions in their classrooms, and to approach the problems of classroom teaching and/or administrating with a zest and optimism for transforming problems to solutions.
Transformative teacher preparation is based on the premise that before teachers can teach selflessly, responsively, and compassionately, they must first commit to providing equal access to quality learning for all students and to the broad goals of social justice and equity in democratic praxis (Transformative Teacher Preparation). The need for transformative teacher preparation that fosters teacher-dispositions of selfless, culturally responsive compassion for human diversity in schools has never been greater. Surely, if we can teach our students to value differences, we are far along the way to assuring a safe and positive learning environment for all students—everywhere.
Furthermore, I view my role as a teacher-educator to include active resistance to the destructive habits and actions that intolerance of differences breeds in the classroom, to work for the prevention of violence in the schools, and to advocate for the peaceful co-existence of all humanity. Unfortunately, any examination of the history of American schooling shows that historically and contemporaneously, USA governmental goals of education have not ever, and do not now, include the fostering of worldviews for a type of social transformation that would promote peaceable coexistence with all people. Teacher education programs in the USA have not demonstrated for pre-service teachers how to implement empowering pedagogies in their classrooms that foster the learning and personal growth of students who will maximize their potential for peaceful coexistence with all others. Thus, I actively promote the implementation of Peace Education in USA schools—as an humanistic approach to teaching and learning that is grounded in the valuing of differences and the love that binds all humanity to the common goals of peace (Speech--Boston University). Clearly, the education of our children in the principles and practice of peace is the most urgent item on the agenda of humanity, as stated at the Education for Peace website…
One especially successful assignment that I have developed for my educational psychology for secondary education students is a final exam project that demands the application and integration of educational psychology and concepts supportive of a culture of peace taught in my undergraduate, campus course titled Educational Psychology for Secondary Education (Educational Psychology Final Exam Project). This problem-based assignment requires the student (a pre-service teacher) to identify a problem related to student success in their field-based practicum classroom that the student is willing to work to solve. I give students a problem-solving algorithm to use to assist them to identify and research the concepts and principles they need to know to work through their identified problems. Students complete the final exam, problem-based project during the last 5 weeks of the semester. As they work to identify, define, explore strategies for solution, anticipate outcomes, and take action, they are required to think critically to analyze and to solve complex, real-classroom problems. The final exam project demands a high level of effective communication skills, both verbal and written, use of relevant content knowledge, and intellectual skills necessary for successful classroom teaching. Pragmatically, students learn concepts in an inquiry-based context in which they will use the concepts; thus, they are more likely to retain this knowledge and to apply it appropriately in their future classrooms.
In sum, I am a teacher, student-centered teacher… committed to the maximization of my students’ academic and personal potential for excellence as teachers in schools and for the fostering of peace—in the classroom, in the school, community, state, nation, and in the world.
Rosemarie Stallworth-Clark, rosemari@georgiasouthern.edu