Thursday, October 8, 2009

Dr. Susan Flemming, Chair - Goddard College of Education - Plainfield, VT


EdD Harvard University - Curriculum & Pedagogy
MA Santa Clara University - Counseling Psychology
MA San Jose State College - Educational Administration
BA Bucknell University - Mathematics

"My life's work and passion have been to create places of belonging in public schools where students can experience learning that invites intellectual engagement and a sense of community," explains Goddard Education Department Chair, Dr. Susan Flemming, " Whether as a teacher, guidance counselor, principal, superintendent, or a university instructor, I have been committed to progressive education and have always remained close to the heart of schools: its teachers, its students and the learning process." Flemming's journey has yielded important lessons, which direct her philosophy, vision and practice regarding teacher education. Flemming summarizes a lifetime of experience in education in a deceptively short list of educational principles. She believes:

-We learn by doing.
-The context of one’s experience affects intellectual, emotional and social dimensions of meaning making.
-Individuals interface with the world through different modalities.
-Making meaning happens in the interplay among experience, reflection and conceptual understanding.
-Education is a vehicle for social political change; there is no neutral place when it comes to anti-bias education.
-There is great significance in self-directed, personalized learning.
-A community of learners benefits greatly from relationships grounded in mutuality and respect.
-There is great power in focusing one’s learning around questions.

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