In an attempt to be more culturally responsive to the needs of its students, universities across the country are leveraging technologies to make their campuses more readily available to a broader student audience. Yet, with the proliferation of online teacher preparation programs, difficulties arise in providing preservice teachers with quality field experiences. This case study examines how telepresence robotic technology was used to facilitate a field experience that would otherwise have been prohibitive in a master of arts in teaching program. While a substantial body of literature examines the use of virtual environments and technologies in educating hard-to-reach populations, little research has been done in how telepresence technologies may effectively bridge the access gap for preservice teachers who are place-bound geographically. The findings from this study suggest that, when coupled with the implementation of effective co-teaching practices, telepresence technology can facilitate meaningful field experiences in real time, for place-bound preservice teachers without local K-12 institutions to host their field experiences.

This chapter describes the use of telepresence robots in early field experiences for the placement of teacher candidates in rural schools that would be inaccessible because of location. After a small, pilot program illustrated the utility of the telepresence robots, the program was scaled up to place over 60 teacher candidates across 14 rural school districts. As an emerging technology, the college has learned numerous lessons about how to prepare and support teacher candidates, host teachers, and school districts to use telepresence robots as a part of an educator preparation program to provide diverse experiences in classrooms.

This issue of Educational Considerations, "Intersectionality and the History of Education," urges educators to consider the complexities that have marked our past, influence our present, and have the potential to inform change for a better future. We had the privilege to discuss these issues in an interview with Dr. Vanessa Siddle Walker, a renowned historical researcher in the field of education. Walker is a leading voice in the history of school desegregation in the United States, positioning black educators as significant agents of change in the collective narrative of schools, and highlighting how their organized action and strategic advocacy has led to social justice and equity for black students. Her research informs how our schools have worked in the past, and how lessons from our past can serve to mobilize resources for the equitable education of all children today.

The lore of La Llorona, the woman who wails, is a pervasive archetype in Latin American cultures. While stories vary by country and region, the most common telling is associated with Mexican folklore, in which an anguished woman cries for her drowned children—in some retellings, their death results from her murderous rage at being betrayed by her lover; in others their deaths result from an accident. These stories have traditionally served as cautionary tales, often positioning Latinas as tragic forces within their communities (Morales, 2010); however, Chicana scholars have reconceptualized La Llorona to symbolize a feminist power. This autoethnographic study reflects on the lore of La Llorona as a metaphor for a Latina’s “resistance in society” (Anzaldúa, 1987, p.33) or as Morales (2010, p.3) states, “the voice who cries out against injustice”. Specifically, through the application of Chicana/Latina feminist and critical epistemologies, the authors explore the works of Gloria Anzaldúa, Nela Martinez Espinosa, Dolores Huerta, and Nisia Floresta— Latina feminist authors and politicians, who have used their voices to fight injustices within their communities. Furthermore, the authors reflect upon how these heroines have influenced their own identities as “women who wail”—as feminist Latina educators who work toward a pedagogy for social justice.

This chapter will use autoethnography to provide a comprehensive look at culturally responsive teaching by exploring three different perspectives at different stages in education: (1) the white female high school English teacher working with teens, (2) the Puerto Rican female undergraduate instructor working with pre-service teachers, and (3) the white female graduate professor working with in-service teachers. Collectively, the three perspectives will share experiences through storytelling about culturally responsive teaching as necessary practice in preparation for classroom teaching, emphasizing the need for more intentional instruction on race, culture, and ethnicity in teacher preparation programs. Ultimately, this chapter will demonstrate that culturally responsive teaching evolves over a teacher's lifetime, and to be truly transformative, culturally responsive teachers must adapt to the culture and contexts of their students.