ERIC Number: EJ1281652
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020
Pages: 10
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1536-3031
EISSN: N/A
Creating Community from a Physical Distance: Insights and Reflections from a Bilingual Teacher Educator
Soto-Peña, Michelle
Issues in Teacher Education, v29 n1-2 p65-74 Fall 2020
Education is an act of love. One may argue however, that because it is such a personal act, it is difficult and nearly impossible to achieve it in an authentic manner beyond the face-to-face interaction of teacher and student. Yet, we now live in a time in which education has been transmitted to a virtual platform. This paper highlights how I navigated the virtual world as a bilingual teacher educator to create community and connection among bilingual teacher candidates (BTCs) as Covid-19 changed the course of life and instruction. I begin by discussing the challenges faced when reimagining how virtual education can serve as a tool to authentically foster critical inquiry, praxis, and transformative education processes for multilingual learners. I then discuss how I utilized Freirean pedagogy as my moral and pedagogical compass to implement a four-phase approach to foster a transformative virtual environment: cultivating online social equality; promoting self-care to protect mental health; engaging in inward connections for learning; and writing the personal as political. Through this process, BTCs cultivated a transformative community built on self-reflection, trust, and shared vulnerabilities.
Descriptors: Bilingual Teachers, Teacher Educators, Preservice Teachers, Electronic Learning, COVID-19, Pandemics, Educational Change, Transformative Learning, Self Management, Communities of Practice, Reflection, Trust (Psychology), Distance Education, Sense of Community, Empathy
Caddo Gap Press. 3145 Geary Boulevard PMB 275, San Francisco, CA 94118. Tel: 415-666-3012; Fax: 415-666-3552; e-mail: caddogap@aol.com; Web site: http://www.caddogap.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: California
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A