How Teachers’ Personal Histories Shape Their Professional Development

Teaching What They Learn, Learning What They Live: How Teachers’ Personal Histories Shape Their Professional Development

When it comes to professional growth, a teacher doesn’t just achieve this through a preparation program. A teacher’s understanding of his subject depends on a number of social, economic and political factors. These factors all work together to change the way a teacher approaches his career.

In Teaching What They Learn, Learning What They Live, author Brad Olsen shows how a teacher’s personal experiences contribute to his professional growth. All his individual experience combined work to build up a teacher’s knowledge and make his interpretations different.

About the Author

Brad Olsen is an Assistant Professor of Education at the University of California at Santa Cruz.  In the past, he taught high school English and helped educate other teachers.