This exploratory study examines the use of the micro-blogging service "Twitter" in multiple sections of a pre-service teacher education program in a diverse, urban university. The use of Twitter aimed to encourage student-student and student-teacher interactions, thus enhancing social presence and diminishing the sense of isolation in…

The quality of student-teacher interactions is shaped by both the capacity of the teacher to cultivate trusting relationships with students and his or her ability to establish a safe, supportive classroom environment. This proves especially important for individuals teaching in multicultural and urban education settings. In recent literature,…

For educational philosopher and activist Paulo Freire, cultural circles are a way to generate critical conversations among "teacher-students" and "student-teachers" and can provide the motivation for critical consciousness and political action (1970). Both teachers and students learn from one another as their democratic dialogue provides a means…

Going to where students and their families live, play, and socialize is one way of creating personalized relationships. In the author's years of teaching he has always found it is the little things that make a huge impact on all the lives of people involved. By incorporating a real life cultural application piece, teacher education programs can…

In this article, the author provides an intimate glimpse into the writing work that Joe Cytrynbaum did with students from Manley Career Academy High School in Chicago. The author's discussion of Joe's "tactics of hope" is layered and brought to life by Joe's poetry and the poetry of his students. The author presents Joe's poems and the insights of…

This qualitative study examines alternative arts-based education in two urban educational settings for underrepresented or marginalized youth. In particular, the authors use postcolonial and feminist theories to create borderland spaces where marginalized youth can develop strong identities, establish a community mindset, and cultivate leadership…

In this article, the author argues that, wherever possible, English teachers should not consider English or English education curriculum as an end in itself but rather a "means" to an end--the building of a critical and compassionate community both within and beyond the classroom. Building such a community involves a re-imagining of the teaching…

In this article, the author explores her teaching experiences in order to better understand the nature of the professional knowledge needed to make use of conflict and to manage a particular teaching dilemma. The author's intention is to show that such a personal inquiry can reveal ways in which her story is a telling case that may enable others…

This essay provides interrelated principles for teaching and learning in times of heightened awareness of wars, disasters and human suffering. Purposeful teaching in times of crisis should occur both with children directly impacted by catastrophic events as well as with those less directly impacted. As a direct reflection of the author's most…