Rethinking Teacher Education - A Conversation with Sarah Fine and Tori Theisen-Homer

Sarah Fine and Victoria (Tori) Theisen-Homer both got their doctorates from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Tori is the Founding Director of the Arizona Teacher Residency, and Sarah ran the San Diego Teacher Residency program before becoming an assistant professor at the University of California San Diego. Tori is the author of Learning to Connect: Relationships, Race and Teacher Education, and Sarah, in addition to co-authoring In Search of Deeper Learning with Jal, has recently published a powerful piece offering a critique of the relationship between project-based learning (PBL) and capitalism. Highlights from their conversation include: how PBL can sometimes unintentionally reinforce capitalist structures; suggestions for alternative, more human-centered ways of implementing PBL in the classroom; the importance of teachers building meaningful relationships with their students; how residency and mentorship programs can help prepare teachers to navigate complex school environments; comparing teacher preparation to other industries like medical residency; and a lightning round that sparks quite the culinary debate! Additional Resources:“But Money Makes It Real!”: Problematizing Capitalist Logic in Project-Based Learning by Sarah FineLearning to Connect Relationships, Race, and Teacher Education by Victoria Theisen-HomerIn Search of Deeper Learning by Sarah Fine and Jal MehtaQuestions? Thoughts? Feedback? Email us at  [email protected] or Tweet us at @jal_mehta and @Rodroad219