Becoming Literacy Educators

Teachers with generative theories about teaching view themselves as capable and agential. They routinely engage in self-introspection as a means to dismantle problematic beliefs and biases. Generative teacher education is best developed in classrooms through embedded work with children. To explore generative teacher education, this chapter describes how one program sets the stage for the development of cultural competence through an initial course focused on culturally sustaining pedagogy. The authors then describe the significance of helping literacy teachers to notice and name children's emerging literacy abilities. The chapter ends with scenarios that illustrate the synergy that occurs when cultural competence is combined with embedded field experiences in literacy classrooms. The authors discuss both pedagogical possibilities and the importance of developing noticing practices and agential responses that are culturally and linguistically responsive.