Marilyn Cochran-Smith, a national expert on teaching and educational research, shared wisdom gleaned from three decades in the field with students, faculty and staff in Elon's School of Education March 10-12.
Cochran-Smith, the Cawthorne Professor of Teacher Education for Urban Schools at Boston College, began her visit with a public lecture on March 10 in Whitley Auditorium. Her address, “Teaching for Social Justice,” featured selected readings from a teacher’s journal entries accompanied by moving photographs of children with dedicated teachers. Her remarks focused on the effects of poverty on learning juxtaposed with photos of rich learning environments, placing the current debate on teacher quality in the context of social justice.
Over the following two days, Cochran-Smith, who also directs Boston College’s doctoral program in curriculum and instruction, met with Elon’s School of Education faculty to discuss the university’s teaching preparation programs. In her meetings with students, she shared her widely published views on educators’ roles in promoting social justice for children affected by poverty and other disadvantages. Cochran-Smith also met with President Leo M. Lambert, faculty in Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences, and senior leadership in the School of Education to discuss public school reform, assessment and improvement of teaching and university-school partnership opportunities.
Cochran-Smith’s visit was co-sponsored by the Elon Teaching Fellows, Phi Beta Kappa, Kappa Delta Pi, the School of Education and Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences.