Becoming humanizing educators during inhumane times: Valuing compassion and care above productivity and performance

This qualitative inquiry presents a duoethnographic reflection by a pre-service teacher and teacher educator on their individual and collective experiences navigating teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Emails of gratitude exchanged between both authors serve as the beginning of their inquiry and analysis. Their narratives reveal the ways in which they experienced humanizing pedagogies, received compassion and care, and engaged in culturally sustaining pedagogies within their teacher preparation program. Implications for reimagining teacher preparation embedded in humanizing pedagogies are explored.

More than a babysitter: Looking back on an effective summer enrichment program

Each summer families across the globe send their children to summer camps and daycares for what amounts to babysitting. This study takes the discussion beyond babysitting and explores a unique summer enrichment program offered to rising second through fifth grade students in a modified enrichment camp model. During the four-week program, students were engaged in standards-based academic instruction in reading, mathematics, and science designed to provide enrichment activities to better prepare them for academic success in the upcoming year. Students were pre-tested over standards from the first quarter of the upcoming year. Then, they were taught the standards and post-tested. Analysis of the pretest and posttest data suggests that the program was successful in increasing students’ content knowledge in each of the subject areas taught. The findings imply that summer programs intentionally offering standards-based academics in an enrichment camp environment can be used to provide learning opportunities that diminish academic opportunity gaps.

Mindfulness in the professional lives of K-12 educators

This interpretive case study explored how K-12 educators conceptualized and applied mindfulness in their professional lives while taking the Stress Management and Relaxation Techniques (SMART) in Education professional development program. Participants believed mindfulness practice strengthened awareness and improved relational quality. Participants with regular mindfulness practice reported greater benefits and deeper insights about being present, compassion for self and others, and awareness of patterns of thought and behavior. This unique type of professional learning supported greater self-awareness. The study suggests mindfulness for educators presents opportunities for individual and school transformation, although the amount of school change participants reported was influenced by systemic support and privilege. Strengthening relational quality in schools, empowering teachers, and shifting school culture from places of cultural reproduction to those of transformation may more effectively address the social and civic issues that face society.

Students’ perceptions of team learning across teaching frameworks and settings

The benefits of team learning include increased achievement, increased motivation, and greater retention of concepts learned. While team learning has been implemented since the early 20th century, instructors in higher education settings may still experience challenges managing implementation, such as unmotivated students and a lack of accountability among group members. One team learning pedagogy is team-based learning (TBL), a structured course design that combines individual preparation with collaborative problem-solving. Given the benefits of TBL in face-to-face settings, including student learning and improved attitudes, educators have also adapted TBL to online settings. This embedded mixed-method study examined students’ perceptions of TBL in face-to-face and online teacher education courses. We found that students in TBL courses, regardless of delivery method, reported positive perceptions of TBL, and commonly identified the course structure and teams as the most effective aspects of the course.

Institutional responses to the COVID-19 pandemic: Faculty and administrator experiences

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic required shifts in operations for institutions of higher education everywhere. Faculty and administrators were asked to adapt to meet the needs of students. We conducted a qualitative content analysis to understand institutional responses and examine the experiences of faculty and administrators during the COVID-19 pandemic through the lens of chaos theory. Institutional responses to the pandemic varied. Participants identified supports and resources deemed helpful, as well as those found to be inadequate or unwanted. We also found that the pandemic resulted in some positive outcomes for faculty and administrators, which led to growth in teaching and self-care. Implications for strategic planning and future directions for research are explored.

Supporting teacher learning during the professional development experience: The case of national board certification

Amidst increasing globalized pressures to raise student achievement, nations are heavily investing in various forms of teacher professional development. In the United States, teachers are increasingly electing to pursue National Board Certification, yet few studies have analyzed the experience within the greater complex system of teaching and learning. Viewed from this approach, findings from this study suggest that numerous dynamic forces—relationships, partnerships, structures, and policies—interact in various patterns that can potentially support effective teacher professional development. Implications suggest a need for broader conceptualization, greater cohesion, and more strategic integration of teacher learning in education policy.