2016-2017 Narrative Overview
Documentation: Research
PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS
*Target journals included in citations
- Dennis, D. V., Gelfuso, A., & Sweeney, S. (2017). Trying and reflecting: two novice teacher educators’ first attempts at guiding pre-service teachers’ reflection on literacy field experiences, Education 3-13, DOI: 10.1080/03004279.2017.1359646
- Papke, A., Sweeney, S., Dennis, D. V., Jones, M., Branson, S. (2017). Preparing teachers to prepare children: Building PST global competencies in a study abroad context. Childhood Education: Innovations.
- Find the manuscript submission confirmation here
*Target journals included in citations
- Sweeney, S., Flores, B. (in progress). Why I can’t teach the “low-babies”: Exploring issues of equity in preservice teachers’ language use. Urban Education.
- Sweeney, S. (in progress). “Why is this so hard?” Re-thinking preservice teacher lesson planning support. Action in Teacher Education.
- Sweeney, S. (In progress). Perspective-taking in response to children’s literature: A literature review. Elementary School Journal.
- Branson, S., Papke, A., Dennis, D. V., Flores, B., Sweeney, S. (in progress). Visualizing literacy events: Using Instagram to document thinking and learning in a study abroad context. Literacy Research and Instruction.
Documentation: Teaching Philosophy
Core Beliefs and Values
I identify with both constructivist as well as humanistic learning theory in that I believe a teacher should serve as a knowledgeable other in the learning process (Vygotsky, 1978) rather than a giver of knowledge who pours into passive learners. The latter, known by Freire (1973) as the “banking” concept of education, limits “the scope of action allowed to…students…only as far as receiving, filing, and storing the deposits” (p. 72). In contrast, I believe the interests, needs, and experiences of the learners in the classroom should be regarded as central to the learning process (Dewey, 1933; Freire, 1973) and should drive everything that goes on in the classroom, both academically and relationally. I agree with Vygotsky’s (1978) assertion that prior experiences influence the meaning that is made by each individual learner, and I believe learners benefit when they are exposed to multiple perspectives and ways of knowing and seeing the world they live in.
The teacher’s job, then, is to acknowledge and leverage the meaning that individual learners make of their experiences, and weave their ideas and passions together into a multidimensional learning experience that presents knowledge as fluid and open to interpretation. No knowledge is above being challenged or refined, and learners should be taught to engage in the challenging process, instead of being protected from uncertainties or presented with unidimensional views of information.
Relationally, I borrow from Noddings’ (2013) concepts of caring, and the critical role empathy plays in education. Like Noddings, I believe the natures, ways of life, needs, and desires of individuals must be taken into consideration in every interaction between teacher and learner. I also firmly believe in the power of language to construct the social and educational worlds (Johnston, 2012) children operate out of, and to serve as a tool for building classroom culture and safe, trusting relationships between teachers and learners. Like Bakhtin (1986), I believe that no speech is neutral, so teachers must choose their words carefully and with a great sense of purpose.
Hooks’ (1994) concept of engaged pedagogy also represents another core belief I espouse as an educator: Classrooms should be places where teachers, like learners, seek personal growth and find empowerment in the process. I do not believe that fearful, unsatisfied teachers will be able to produce students who are risk-takers, driven by a personal cause to engage in the world around them. In this way, teachers serve in dual capacities as both the educator, or knowledgeable other, in the classroom, as well as one of the learners.
A Word About Pre-Service Teacher Education
Likewise, I believe that novice pre-service teachers must be taught to take risks and seek growth as one of the learners in the classroom. They must also be taught to explore the world from multiple perspectives and embrace education as a practice of freedom (Hooks, 1994) so they will design instruction in ways that make it possible for everyone to learn, instead of privileging only the social, academic, and cultural capital of the dominant group (Sensoy & DiAngelo, 2012).
If pre-service teachers are not taught to think inclusively, and to advocate for causes they believe in, I believe they are vulnerable to conform to Freire’s (1973) banking concept of education. For this reason, I seek to follow traditions of critical pedagogy when I educate pre-service teachers, with an emphasis on how they, too, can use critical pedagogy in their classrooms when they teach children one day.
I identify with both constructivist as well as humanistic learning theory in that I believe a teacher should serve as a knowledgeable other in the learning process (Vygotsky, 1978) rather than a giver of knowledge who pours into passive learners. The latter, known by Freire (1973) as the “banking” concept of education, limits “the scope of action allowed to…students…only as far as receiving, filing, and storing the deposits” (p. 72). In contrast, I believe the interests, needs, and experiences of the learners in the classroom should be regarded as central to the learning process (Dewey, 1933; Freire, 1973) and should drive everything that goes on in the classroom, both academically and relationally. I agree with Vygotsky’s (1978) assertion that prior experiences influence the meaning that is made by each individual learner, and I believe learners benefit when they are exposed to multiple perspectives and ways of knowing and seeing the world they live in.
The teacher’s job, then, is to acknowledge and leverage the meaning that individual learners make of their experiences, and weave their ideas and passions together into a multidimensional learning experience that presents knowledge as fluid and open to interpretation. No knowledge is above being challenged or refined, and learners should be taught to engage in the challenging process, instead of being protected from uncertainties or presented with unidimensional views of information.
Relationally, I borrow from Noddings’ (2013) concepts of caring, and the critical role empathy plays in education. Like Noddings, I believe the natures, ways of life, needs, and desires of individuals must be taken into consideration in every interaction between teacher and learner. I also firmly believe in the power of language to construct the social and educational worlds (Johnston, 2012) children operate out of, and to serve as a tool for building classroom culture and safe, trusting relationships between teachers and learners. Like Bakhtin (1986), I believe that no speech is neutral, so teachers must choose their words carefully and with a great sense of purpose.
Hooks’ (1994) concept of engaged pedagogy also represents another core belief I espouse as an educator: Classrooms should be places where teachers, like learners, seek personal growth and find empowerment in the process. I do not believe that fearful, unsatisfied teachers will be able to produce students who are risk-takers, driven by a personal cause to engage in the world around them. In this way, teachers serve in dual capacities as both the educator, or knowledgeable other, in the classroom, as well as one of the learners.
A Word About Pre-Service Teacher Education
Likewise, I believe that novice pre-service teachers must be taught to take risks and seek growth as one of the learners in the classroom. They must also be taught to explore the world from multiple perspectives and embrace education as a practice of freedom (Hooks, 1994) so they will design instruction in ways that make it possible for everyone to learn, instead of privileging only the social, academic, and cultural capital of the dominant group (Sensoy & DiAngelo, 2012).
If pre-service teachers are not taught to think inclusively, and to advocate for causes they believe in, I believe they are vulnerable to conform to Freire’s (1973) banking concept of education. For this reason, I seek to follow traditions of critical pedagogy when I educate pre-service teachers, with an emphasis on how they, too, can use critical pedagogy in their classrooms when they teach children one day.
Documentation: Teaching Syllabi
Click here to access my syllabus for LAE 4311: Teaching Writing: Composing Print and Multimodal Texts Across the Elementary Curriculum
Click here to access my syllabus for RED 4312: Emergent Literacies Strategies and Assessment
Click here to access my syllabus for RED 4724: Intermediate Literacies Strategies and Assessment
Click here to access my syllabus for RED 4312: Emergent Literacies Strategies and Assessment
Click here to access my syllabus for RED 4724: Intermediate Literacies Strategies and Assessment
Documentation: Student Evaluations
Click on the pdf links to the right to access my full student evaluations from last year.
*Note: My LAE 4311 student evaluations are not available to me online at this time. |
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RED 4724 sample student comments:
RED 4312 sample student comments:
- "I feel that this course made me more confident in regards to teaching literacy. I enjoyed the Literacy Portfolio as it has shown me a lot about who I am as a future educator."
- "I appreciate the Literacy Portfolio. Although it is a lot of work and time consuming, having a focus student was so helpful. I am now able to analyze data, create instructional strategies based on that data, etc. This is one of my favorite courses."
- "Sherridon is really a very sweet and caring professor. She takes into account our schedules and needs of her students - provides a flexible schedule and spends more time on lessons that are needed. She has a holistic view of teaching and provides lots of insight into why and how she teaches the class, modeling for us how we should be in the field. I really appreciate her encouragement and commitment to the betterment of our education."
- "I absolutely adore Sherridon Sweeney. Her love for literature and children gleams out of her every morning and she is admirable. Her instruction is student-focused and I can tell that she is very knowledgeable. She has sparked my passion for literature and literacy and I cannot say enough great things about Sherridon Sweeney."
- 'Sherridon is very helpful. She loves literacy, and this love rubs off on her students. She puts a lot of work into her teaching and it is much appreciated. She is awesome."
- "Even though we don't always see eye to eye, I think Sherridon is a great professor who really cares about preservice teachers! This semester she really took the time to help me whenever I needed it. She also is very fast at communicating! I loved learning literacy from her and I wouldn't have asked for anybody else to be my professor!"
- "Sherridon is such an incredible instructor. She makes the lessons applicable to field work, provides helpful, timely feedback, and is meaningful in her grading. She not only conveys her message to her students but INSPIRES them to believe in their work."
RED 4312 sample student comments:
- "Overall I can honestly not think of any other way I thought the course should of [sic] been done. While at first the assignments seemed to never end once the course ended it was rewarding to not have to worry about huge assignments. Breaking the critical task up with extensive feedback was extremely helpful and made the critical task a little better to handle."
- "I really appreciated how the course load was spread out and not accumulated until the end. I enjoyed the course work and felt it was applicable to my teaching career."
- "Sherridon is super sweet and although this is her first year teaching this class, I would have never guessed. She split up our literacy portfolio into components and it was super helpful. She always described the assessments we needed to give to our students in a helpful way. Her feedback is always insightful and articulate."
- "Sherridon Sweeney was the definition of the ultimate professor. Every assignment was outlined and discussed frequently for a full understanding. If any additional help was ever needed Sherridon would go out of her way to ensure every student understood what they needed to in order to function well in the course. The reading was extremely extensive but rewarding."
- "Sherridon Sweeney is HONESTLY the best instructor I have ever had. Her communication with us is fantastic. I always knew what was going on, her expectations and assignments were explicitly explained, she gave feedback quickly. Her assignments were graded quickly and always provided us with things to think about or reflect on. The way she set up the Literacy Portfolio was spread out throughout the semester made it stress free! I wish every professors class was set up the way Sherridon's class is. I could give a thousand compliments about Sherridon as a person and as an instructor."
- "Sherridon structured the course in a great way, and she had great time management during class. I appreciated her efforts to make an early Monday class fun and engaging! It would be great to do more classroom games and activities because it made the concepts really stick."
Documentation: Teaching Practices
Below are just a few examples of the teaching practices I implemented and worked to refine over the last year. These examples illustrate the approaches and methods I detailed in my narrative overview for 2016-2017.