This is the first article in a two-part series exploring the idea of developing profiles of educators to help identify and train teachers in a holistic way, attending to the technical elements of teaching as well as the personal characteristics of the teacher. Profiles of a Graduate have become popular in districts across the world as tools for guiding student development in both academic skills and “non-academic” characteristics (see the appendix for examples of this). A Pro

As an elementary science teacher educator, I try to help my students (future teachers) develop science teaching practices that they can incorporate in their future classrooms regardless of the content they are teaching. One of the key practices I work on is how they can support productive discussions about scientific ideas with students of all ages. Carolyn Colley and Mark Windschitl (2016) identified conditions present in classroom discourse that supported rigorous discussi

By Dr. Daniel Conn & Dr. Joseph Zajdel Upon entering McCoy Elementary, visitors see an intersection of the building’s main hall crossing with a short hall from the front entrance that leads to the school’s cafeteria. A large presentation check, payable to McCoy, for $1,704.58 hangs directly above the cafeteria entrance. The large golden arches of McDonald’s adorn the left corner of the check from the local franchise. “McTeacher’s [sic] Night” is written in the check’s memo. A

Teachers are being asked to instruct students in ways that they were neither taught during pre-service training nor learned as students themselves. They struggle with pulling away from teaching procedures versus having students independently discover mathematical ideas precipitated by time restraints and the pressures of high-stakes testing. However, teachers need support to be successful in this shift in instructional practices. Even when districts purchase math curriculu

I teach research courses to preservice teachers and practicing teachers in our graduate program. This semester I added a new assignment that requires students to critically reflect on how they view themselves as researchers. Statements like, “I don’t know how to do research,” “I’ve never seen myself as a researcher,” or “Research sounds scary,” were some of the statements I read. I decided to take on the challenge of changing the fixed mindset of many of my students who belie