Teacher Identity in the Writing Classroom
Spring 2026: Mondays March 16, 23, 30, and April 6, 3:30-4:45 on Zoom.
How do we understand ourselves as teachers, and how does that understanding align or clash with how students, colleagues, and the university see us? Drawing on research, this seminar invites faculty and graduate teaching fellows to reflect on how teaching identities are shaped by classroom practice, student feedback, institutional evaluation, and introspection. We will also explore the emotional, social, and structural aspects of teaching today, including questions of visibility, recognition, and professional judgment.
Session 1, Defining the Self as Teacher
Session theme: How do we understand and present ourselves as educators?
Readings:
- Beauchamp & Thomas (2009) “Understanding teacher identity: An overview of issues in the literature”
- Pennington & Richards (2016) “Teacher identity in language teaching: Integrating personal, contextual, and professional dimensions”
- Varghese et al. (2005) “Theorizing language teacher identity: Three perspectives and beyond”
- De Costa 2017 “Introduction: Identity, Transdisciplinarity, and the Good Language Teacher”
Session 2: Feedback, Perception, and Evaluation
Session theme: How are we seen—and how do we want to be seen?
Readings:
- Park (2012) “I am never afraid of being recognized as an NNES”
- Sexton (2008) “Student Teachers Negotiating Identity, Role, and Agency”
- Nhat & Nguyen (2025) “Language Teachers Actualising Their Vision: An Identity- Focused Approach to Teachers’ Continuing Professional Development”
Session 3: Emotion, Vulnerability, and Agency
Session theme: What do we carry with us into the classroom and how do we assert agency?
Readings:
- Zembylas (2003) “Emotions and teacher identity: A poststructural perspective”
- Song (2016) “Emotions and Language Teacher Identity: Conflicts, Vulnerability, and Transformation”
Session 4: Digital Presence, Institutional Context, and Future Selves
Session theme: How are identities evolving in digital and institutional landscapes?
Readings:
- Bahari (2022) “Teacher identity in technology-assisted language learning: Challenges and affordances”
- Dang Truong, Cong-Lem, Li (2025) “The Interplay of Language Teachers’ Identity, Cognition, Emotion, and Agency”
