A critical resource for pre-service and practicing teachers, this book addresses what happens when new teachers try to enact inquiry-based and dialogical pedagogy within standardized schools. Exploring the narratives from beginning ELA and humanities teachers when they encounter challenges and obstructions, this book explores moments of wobble—key events that called attention to practice in the context of inflexible schooling systems—that the teachers shared with their peers via an oral inquiry process (OIP) to help them unpack and understand their experiences. This book advocates for the continued use and enhancement of mentoring and induction initiatives, particularly those that recognize the expressed concerns of novice teachers, no matter what their pedagogical stance might be. By sharing novice teachers’ "wobble stories" and their outcomes, this book provides a pathway for teachers’ continued self-reflection and growth for the duration of their careers. The authors offer a reflective, adaptable, and easy-to-use process that places teachers in control of their own professional learning. The beliefs and structures examined in this text support the intentions of all teachers who work from a learning-centered perspective and wish to take some ownership of their professional development.

This volume of the Perspectives on Mentoring Series explores the role of mentoring in promoting wellbeing of both mentees or proteges and mentors in K-12 school settings. At its core, mentoring is about helping, advising, supporting, and guiding mentees and proteges to gain a wide variety of skills, abilities, and/or attributes. Another outcome of mentoring, less often discussed, is the positive impact it can have on the mental health and wellbeing of both the mentor and mentee. Of particular interest for this edited volume is how mentoring can promote mental health, build resilience, and develop capacity to maintain and sustain emotional, psychological, and social wellbeing for all in the K-12 school settings. The notion of wellbeing, in general, includes both hedonic aspects of feeling good (positive emotions) and eudemonic (conducive to happiness) aspects of living well that entail experiences of positive relationships, meaningfulness in life and work, senses of mastery and personal growth, autonomy, and achievement. This edited volume expands and adds to the existing literature on mentoring in schools, by offering a collection of works that examine the connection between mentorship and wellbeing. This volume includes chapters that describe effective mentoring for wellbeing, detail positive approaches to mentoring youth, offer recommendations for growing the wellbeing of pre-service teachers, early career teachers, and mid-late career teachers, illustrate approaches to growing a community of educators through mentoring and developing teacher leaders as agents of change and facilitators of wellbeing, and discuss studies and models for nurturing and promoting wellbeing among and through school leaders in national and international settings. Through these chapters, authors advocate for greater attention to how to support and nurture wellbeing as central to mentorship efforts in K-12 school settings. ENDORSEMENTS: "Mentoring for Wellbeing in Schools shines light on wellbeing in studies of mentoring in K–12 education. This collection provides researchers, practitioners, and policymakers alike with a rich array of wellbeing in mentoring relationships—not as an add-on feature of mentorship but rather an essential aspect of mentors’ support and role. As demonstrated from various perspectives, a culture of wellbeing in schools has multiple benefits for people and organizational cultures, including teacher and leader preparation. Readers, especially those concerned with the flourishing of schools in a pandemic world, will walk away better prepared to make mentoring work." — Carol A. Mullen, Virginia Tech "Effectively marshalled by Kutsyuruba and Kochan, respected international authorities on mentoring, the authors provide a wealth of examples and guidance on much-needed means of promoting wellbeing and human flourishing in schools. Given the vast number of threats and impediments to the wellbeing of students, trainee teachers, established teachers, and principals worldwide, this work is extremely timely. Arguably, it should be compulsory reading for school principals, mentors, teacher educators, mentor trainers, education researchers in these spaces, and – perhaps more importantly – anyone who holds public office and makes or has the capacity to influence decisions which impact the work of school teachers and principals." — Andrew J. Hobson, University of Brighton, UK

This volume offers a novel approach to exploring how literary response groups can be used as part of teacher education programs to help preservice teachers navigate "wobble" moments. Focusing uniquely on the potential of young adult literature (YAL), the text draws on the first-hand experiences of teacher candidates and uses a range of well-known books to demonstrate how narrative-based inquiry and analysis of fictional depictions of teaching and learning can support reflection on a range of common challenges. The volume presents how YAL literary response groups are shown to enhance participants’ ability to reflect on practice, build resilience, and develop deeper understanding of pedagogical principles by offering a shared dialogical space. These insights ultimately contribute to teacher education program improvement by enhancing teacher candidates’ understanding of pedagogy. This text will benefit researchers, doctoral students, and academics in the fields of teaching, teacher mentoring, and teacher education more specifically. Those interested in literature studies and young adult literature (YAL) more broadly will also benefit from this volume.

This book invites readers to explore the complexity of becoming a teacher through the stories of two novice ELA teachers, Emelio and Rachel, over the course of their first two years. The authors’ detailed, empathetic, and ethnographic approach allows space for the teachers to reveal little-seen and often overlooked "wobble moments." These moments illuminate the complexity and nuances that confront, confound, and compel teachers to remain in dialogue with practice. Documenting the journeys of two teachers with compassion and intellectual rigor, this book provides insights into and challenges preconceived notions of what it means to be a teacher. It is essential reading for preservice teachers, scholars, and researchers in English education, as well as individuals considering teaching as a profession.

Now in its fourth edition, this popular textbook introduces prospective and practicing English teachers to current methods of teaching literature in middle and high school classrooms. This new edition broadens its focus to cover important topics such as critical race theory; perspectives on teaching fiction, nonfiction, and drama; the integration of digital literacy; and teacher research for ongoing learning and professional development. It underscores the value of providing students with a range of different critical approaches and tools for interpreting texts. It also addresses the need to organize literature instruction around topics and issues of interest to today’s adolescents. By using authentic dilemmas and contemporary issues, the authors encourage preservice English teachers and their instructors to raise and explore inquiry-based questions that center on the teaching of a variety of literary texts, both classic and contemporary, traditional and digital. New to the Fourth Edition: Expanded attention to digital tools, multimodal learning, and teaching online New examples of teaching contemporary texts Expanded discussion and illustration of formative assessment Revised response activities for incorporating young adult literature into the literature curriculum Real-world examples of student work to illustrate how students respond to the suggested strategies Extended focus on infusing multicultural and diverse literature in the classroom Each chapter is organized around specific questions that preservice teachers consistently raise as they prepare to become English language arts teachers. The authors model critical inquiry throughout the text by offering authentic case narratives that raise important considerations of both theory and practice. A companion website, a favorite of English education instructors, http://teachingliterature.pbworks.com, provides resources and enrichment activities, inviting teachers to consider important issues in the context of their current or future classrooms.

This book approaches English instruction through the lens of “fi gured worlds,” which recognizes and spotlights how students are actively engaged in constructing their own school, peer group, extracurricular, and community worlds. Teachers’ ability not only to engage with students’ experiences and interests in and outside of school but also to build connections between students’ worlds and their teaching is essential for promoting student agency, engagement, and meaningful learning. Beach and Caraballo provide an accessible framework for working with students to use critical discourse, narratives, media, genres, and more to support their identity development through addressing topics that are meaningful for them— their families, social issues, virtual worlds, and more. Through extensive activities and examples of students writing about their participation in these worlds, this text allows educators to recognize how students’ experiences in the classroom aff ect and shape their identities and to connect such an understanding to successful classroom practice. With chapters featuring eff ective instructional activities, this book is necessary reading for ELA methods courses and for all English teachers.

Education is a field in which reflective practice is imperative for teacher and student success and for maintaining the desire to remain in the profession. During times of uncertainty, particularly as teachers faced the dual pandemics of social injustice and the COVID-19 pandemic over the past year, they have felt demoralized and powerless. As a result, burnout among educators is becoming increasingly prevalent. It is crucial for teachers to hear reflections of others’ experiences to remind them that they are not alone in their work, provide opportunities for them to find connections with fellow educators, and encourage them to engage in reflective practices of their own. Teacher Reflections on Transitioning From K-12 to Higher Education Classrooms provides a collection of reflections from educators on their varied experiences within education and how and why they have pursued a place in academia. This book speaks to the humanistic side of academia by acknowledging the multiple passions, professions, and pathways that led each of the authors to academia. It is unique in that it is laced with the lived realities of the human side of academia from a shared stories perspective. Covering topics such as lifelong learners and identity shifts, this major reference work is ideal for academicians, researchers, scholars, practitioners, principals, administrators, educators, and students.