International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
Volume 2, Number 1, January 2008
Return to current issues pageResearch Article
Abstract
The Conversation of Critical Practice: Pre-service Teachers As Educators for Social Justice
In this paper we examine aspects of the construction of authentic membership, competence, and sense of shared purpose within a professional community of
educators accomplished by a class of pre-service teachers during a spontaneous
electronic conversation. Implications for teacher education are considered.
Key words: teacher education, community of practice, critical pedagogy, social justice
View Full ArticleBios
Patricia Calderwood
Fairfield University
Fairfield, Connecticut, USA
pcalderwood@mail.fairfield.edu
I am an associate professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction in the Graduate School of Education and Allied Professions at Fairfield University. I teach our aspiring teachers about the cultural foundations of education, and facilitate their development as literacy educators and designers of integrated curriculum. More to the point, I work with my students to develop their commitment to advocate as social justice educators. My teaching and research are bridged by a personal and scholarly interest in the social construction of community. I am the author of Learning Community: Finding Common Ground in Difference and of several articles that explore how students and faculty construct community. Most recently, I have been writing and thinking about my own practice as a teacher.
Morgan Aboud Mazza
mormazz@aol.com
I graduated from Fairfield University with a Master of Arts degree in elementary education. My undergraduate degree was a Bachelor of Fine Arts in theater arts from Adelphi University. Currently, I am a fourth grade teacher at Marvin Elementary School in the Norwalk Public School District (Connecticut). In particular I enjoy creating, planning, and implementing a creative and differentiated reading curriculum in my reading workshop classroom.
Abiah Clarke Ruel
abiahclarke@yahoo.com
I obtained my Bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado in Boulder, Colorado with a major in English and a minor in History. My Master’s degree in Elementary Education was received from Fairfield University in Connecticut. At present I work in the West Hartford, Connecticut public schools. I work in the ESOL program at Conard High School during the day and then lead the after school program at Duffy Elementary School. I am most interested in finding ways to integrate students from other countries into our school systems as painlessly as possible. Currently, I am working with students to raise their reading scores through a free voluntary reading program (FVR) based on the research of Stephen Krashen.
Amy Favano
afavano@optonline.net
I am currently a student at Fairfield University pursuing my Master's degree in Elementary Education. I expect to complete my studies in the spring of
2008. I received my undergraduate degree from Boston College with a B.A. in
Marketing. I have enjoyed many fruitful teaching experiences while substitute teaching for a school in Norwalk, Connecticut over the past 2 years. I am also very active in my children's school, and in the Southwestern Connecticut Council of the Girl Scouts of America. The greatest areas of interest to me in the teaching arena are the obstacles faced by English language learners in the classroom, and the need for more varied types of educational assessment.
Vonick Jean-Guilluame
teachervon@yahoo.com
I am a second grade teacher at Ridgefield Academy (Connecticut). I have a B.A. in English from the University of Connecticut and a M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction from Fairfield University. I have always had a passion for multicultural education and am always looking for avenues to expand my knowledge through personal and institutional research. My classroom curriculum is structured with multiculturalism as I believe it is a vital aspect for children of all levels to be exposed to. Currently I am working on a panel to build an equity program for private schools and have been a member of the Commission on Diversity in Independent Schools for two years.
Daniel McNeill
mcneilldm@yahoo.com
I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing and a Master’s degree in Elementary Education, both from Fairfield University. After working for several years as an elementary special education paraprofessional in Norwalk, Connecticut, I now teach 2nd grade at Hurlbutt Elementary School in Weston, Connecticut. I have studied the Responsive Classroom model of education and emphasize developing community in the classroom as I strive to integrate the social and academic curricula. I am constantly looking for ways to strengthen the home-school connection for the benefit of my students. I am an avid writer and am currently developing a book detailing the journey taken during my first year of teaching as examined through the lens of electronic newsletters to parents.
Carolyn Stenerson
vsp123@sbcglobal.net
Presently, I teach fourth grade at Pear Tree Point School in Darien, Connecticut. This current vocation is a late career change after varied academic pursuits. I received a master’s degree in Elementary Education from Fairfield University in 2006. I was recognized as “Passing with Distinction” the Comprehensive Examination requirement for that degree. Previous to this I had received a master’s degree in American Civilization from Brown University and a Bachelor’s Degree in the same field from Middlebury College. In between my two master’s degrees, I acquired a substantial number of credits in science from the University of New Mexico. Because of the intrinsic hands-on, experiential nature of teaching science, that is the area that currently interests me most. I am developing science curricula for my students now, in the areas of electricity, states of matter, energy, and rocks and minerals.