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Preparing Teachers for Complexity: Critical Reflection as a Catalyst for School Change
Thursday October 22, 2026 4:00pm - 4:50pm EDT
Coesa Room
This session highlights the practices in a yearlong, field‑embedded practicum in an alternative certification program that invites novice special education teachers to view their schools not just as workplaces, but as sites of inquiry. Rather than separating coursework from practice, the course is designed around learning while doing, using ethnographic observation and action research as pedagogical approaches. Through a series of scaffolded assignments, special education teachers examine policies, practices, and student learning and engagement to understand how learners are impacted by power and structural inequities. As they analyze their school setting, teachers ask questions about their assumptions and experiences to uncover implicit biases, building critical consciousness through ongoing reflection. As part of the session, a former student, now an instructor and PhD candidate, will share her experiences in this course and how the inquiry practices developed continue to shape her current research. The ethnography project in semester one asks teachers to identify a problem of practice and consider a change they can realistically implement in semester two to ensure greater equity and inclusion for their learners. Course materials, used as data sources, include teacher reflections, ethnographic notes, student ethnography assignments, and action research plans, which will be analyzed and shared for deeper discussion. Grounded in critical reflection and Freire’s problem-posing education, this course supports candidates in moving from observer to change agent, preparing them to recognize inequities, examine practices, and design interventions within their own school communities. This session will discuss the implications of this approach to teacher training, with participants engaging in discussions about how new teachers can feel empowered to create change in their classrooms and schools.
Speakers
KH

Kristen Hodnett

Hunter College
MB

Maya Berrol Young

Hunter College
avatar for Kassandra Minor

Kassandra Minor

Co-Director, School Community Organizer, Hunter College
Kass Minor is an inclusive educator who is deeply involved in local, inquiry-based teacher research and school community development. Alongside partnerships with the Teachers College Inclusive Classrooms Project and the New York City Department of Education, she has worked as a teacher... Read More →
Thursday October 22, 2026 4:00pm - 4:50pm EDT
Coesa Room
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