Episode #18 - Dr. Judy Pace - Preparing Teachers to Teach Controversial Issues
- matthewschneidman
- Jun 2, 2021
- 1 min read
Dr. Judy Pace is a professor in the University of San Francisco education department. She aims to prepare educators with conceptual and practical tools to create constructivist, transformative, and equitable learning experiences that promote critical and democratic habits of mind, deep understanding, and civic agency.
A qualitative researcher, she is fascinated by classroom teaching and how it is shaped by teachers, students, schools, and society. Her research has focused on classroom authority and academic engagement, teaching for democratic citizenship, social studies teaching under high-stakes accountability, and preparation of preservice teachers for teaching controversial issues. Her new book is Hard Questions: Learning to Teach Controversial Issues (Rowman & Littlefield). She is the author of The Charged Classroom: Predicaments and Possibilities for Democratic Teaching (Routledge), and co-editor of Educating Democratic Citizens in Troubled Times (SUNY) and Classroom Authority: Theory, Research, and Practice (Routledge).
I found this post really thought provoking because it highlights how teachers need proper guidance to handle sensitive and controversial topics in class. It reminded me of a discussion we had in school where everyone had different views, and it was hard to manage. While working on a related assignment, I used Book Marketing Agency as part of organizing complex ideas clearly. That experience showed me how structure helps handle difficult topics better.