I am looking at the way actors rely on character creation as a way of clarifying what they 'do' on stage. I was wondering if people had suggested readings for the way that teachers may adopt a persona in a similar (or contrasting!) way. Thank you.
I already said I'd send you this. It might add something to this topic.
Jessica:
I can speak for myself in imitating some of my mentor's utterances and gestures such as "Is that OK?" I have attached a link to related studies in this regard that I hope would be helpful to you.
Best regards,
Debra
https://www.researchgate.net/search.Search.html?type=publication&query=teacher%20taking%20on%20personality%20of%20mentor&previous=publication
I will speak from observation not research. All teacher's adopt a persona but not many are aware of it. I personally adopted a persona of quirky kind uncle science guy many years ago because it allowed me to respond to students in a way that was always positive (and they to me) The persona is a way to mediate your emotions while at school. It is like an emotional repertoire to access. Mine allows me to choose from pleasure, joy excitement, wonder (in learning) helpfulness, generosity, kindness (in student teacher relations) and provides a bulwark against negative interactions.
Interesting question, Id be keen to hear your findings. Are you meaning intentionally adopting a persona? Untentionally? or perhaps a mix of both? I would imagine an actor begins by intentionally developing their persona, although (and Im guessing here) there would be some level of unconscious realisation, especially by experienced or intuitive actors. Perhaps more so on stage than on camera but again, Im speculating on that. Literature pertaining to enculturation (Bourdieu, Reay) I believe you could relate to this question however it depends on the perspective you are wanting to take in terms of intentionality.
If you want to look at deep motivation and how we work out our values as teachers, you can't do better than Parker J. Palmer's "The Courage to Teach" in my opinion. He makes a very effective and powerful argument for the proposition, "We teach who we are". It's not on personas directly, but certainly gets teachers thinking about who we are as we teach. Hope you enjoy it!
Dear Jessica, it seems as if this field lends itself to personal interpretation. On a lighter note, I include information about the 'types' of teacher. On a more serious note, I embed a link to a brief search on Google Scholar.
http://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/a-humorous-look-at-the-20-types-of-teacher/
https://scholar.google.co.za/scholar?start=0&q=persona+and+teaching&hl=en&as_sdt=0,5&as_ylo=2012
Who do we think we are (& who do we want you to think we are)?
Probably a very familiar book to someone of your background, but I read lots of people using Goffman's theories of dramaturgy & identity to explain why people adopt personas to aid self-identity, justify actions, establish authority etc. There are lots of follow-on works, but most draw from these principles.
Goffman, E. (1959). The presentation of self in everyday life.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Presentation-Self-Everyday-Penguin-Psychology/dp/0140135715
You might be interested in another angle on this. Search for early articles (1970s) on the Dr. Fox Effect... Most of you may not be old enough to recall these studies on teacher charisma and its effect on student ratings, but I am! Look especially for the original article if this interests you: Naftulin, Ware and Donelly, followed by extensive work by Williams and Ware and others.
This book discusses the issue of persona. Also it is mentioned in the attached article from "The Teaching Professor Blog" by Maryellen Weimer.
Parini, J. (2005). The Art of Teaching. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. [For information on purchasing this book, see www.oup.com/us/.]
There are research papers about teachers' and students' identity. Here is a listing of some articles (that I got off the web):
I. SENSES OF SELF: Theoretical perspectives on identity formation
Guiding Questions:
• How have theorists conceptualized identity and its development?
• How does discursive positioning in classroom interactions influence students’ developing
identities?
IA: Theoretical perspectives on identity and/or self-concepts
1. Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. New York:
Cambridge University Press. Part II: Identity, pp. 143 – 221.
2. Holland, D., Lachicotte, W., Skinner, D., & Cain, C. (2001). Identity and agency in cultural
worlds. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
3. Wortham, S. (2004). From good student to outcast: the emergence of a classroom identity. Ethos,
32(2), pp. 164-187.
4. Dweck, C.S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. First Edition. New York, NY:
Random House.
IB. Identity through discourse in learning settings
5. Nasir, N.S. & Cooks, J. (2009) Becoming a hurdler: How learning settings afford identities.
Anthropology & Education Quarterly.
6. Wagner, D. and Herbel-Eisenmann, B. (2009). Re-mythologizing mathematics through attention
to classroom positioning. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 71, pp. 1 – 15.
7. O’Connor, M. C. & Michaels, S. (1993). Aligning academic task and participation status through
revoicing: analysis of a classroom discourse strategy. Anthropology and Education Quarterly, 24,
pp. 318 – 335.
II. MATHEMATICAL IDENTITY
Guiding Questions:
• How have theorists and researchers conceptualized mathematical identity and its
development?
• What are the implications of identity for engagement and access to rich mathematics?
• How do classroom practices contribute to the development of students’ mathematical
identities?
• How have researchers studied mathematical identity development and positioning in
classrooms?
IIA. Conceptualization and development of mathematical identities
8. Martin, D. (2000). Mathematics success and failure among African American youth: The roles of
sociohistorical context, community forces, school influence, and individual agency. Mahwah, NJ:
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Chapter 1: Mathematics learning, achievement, and persistence
among African-Americans: Toward a context-based perspective, pp. 8 – 34.
9. Langer-Osuna, J. (2007). Toward a framework for the co-construction of learning and identity in
the mathematics classroom. In Proceedings of the Second Annual Socio-cultural Theory in
Educational Research and Practice Conference: Theory, Identity, and Learning, Manchester,
UK.
10. Cobb, P., Gresalfi, M., & Hodge, L. (2009). An interpretive scheme for analyzing the identities
that students develop in mathematics classrooms. Journal for Research in Mathematics
Education, 40(1), pp. 40 – 68.
11. Gresalfi, M.S., & Cobb, P. (2006). Cultivating students’ discipline-specific dispositions as a
critical goal for pedagogy and equity. Pedagogies: An International Journal, 1, pp. 49-58.
IIB. Empirical work on mathematical identity
12. Horn, I. S. (2006, April). Turnaround students in high school mathematics: Constructing
identities of competence through mathematical worlds. Paper presented at the annual meeting of
the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco.
13. Boaler, J., & Greeno, J. G. (2000). Identity, agency, and knowing in mathematics worlds.
Multiple perspectives on mathematics teaching and learning, pp. 171-200.
14. Gresalfi, M. (2009). Taking up opportunities to learn: Constructing disposition in mathematics
classrooms. The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 18, pp. 327-369
With due regards to the above question that has to with teacher persona, you can apply Thorndike theory of knowledge transfer, shaping students to a predetermined mold theory; exploratory theory; and developmental theory. These theories are related to student attitudes about learning and are offered as a means of resolving misunderstandings among teachers and between teachers and students.
http://ktclearinghouse.ca/knowledgebase/modelsandtheories
A class using suggestopedic process begins with students choosing an interesting positive persona from a list of professions such as pilot, baker, professor, manager, architect, etc. In order to avoid embarrassment, this persona is the one answering or making errors, not the student personally. See books on Suggestopedia and Accelerated Learning published by Gordon and Breach, Ltd. A teacher or trainer, in similar fashion can become a famous coach, trainer, teacher or professor such as Leopold Mozart who taught his son, Wolfgang,;or Frank Lloyd Wright the famous American architect who taught many others. You can become Aristotle, Plato, Galileo, Galen, Marconi, Fermi, Montessori, Einstein, or whatever hero you choose. You will explain who you are and why you present ideas in a certain way because of practice or knowledge at the time of the character. One of my favorites is the "Man from Mars," who looks objectively at the behavior and practices of humans and societies (now called the "view from 10 thousand feet/meters"). Assuming an identity requires knowing the character and history. A teacher can be the character/persona throughout the course, or just step into the role periodically.
There's a great deal out there on teacher identity.
You might also find this interesting: http://ojs.uwindsor.ca/ojs/leddy/index.php/JTL/article/view/3052/pdf
And the book quoted is fascinating: Moore, A. (2004). The good teacher: Dominant discourses in teacher education. New York, NY: RoutledgeFalmer - only because I think what constitutes "teacherly" (as you say) is a particular discursive frame.
I think also you might look at identity and performance/performativity, since they are related concepts, though performativity "on stage" might not be consistent with identity - for example: (best title: Teacher's soul & terrors of performativity!) http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0268093022000043065#.VwAMuuIrLIU
Thank you all SO MUCH! Some great links here. Some tried and tested - some very new to me. I will keep you abreast of the article when it is finished.
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