Inspiring Teaching: Preparing Teachers to Succeed in Mission-Driven Schools

Sharon Feiman-Nemser is the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Professor of Jewish Education at Brandeis University with a joint appointment in the Education Studies Program and the Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies. She began her career as a high school English teacher. At Brandeis she has founded the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish Education and started the master of arts in teaching (MAT) program, which prepares teachers for public schools and Jewish day schools. Feiman-Nemser has written extensively on teacher education, learning to teach, mentoring, and new teacher induction. Her most recent book, Teachers as Learners, was published by Harvard Education Press in 2012.

Eran Tamir is a senior research associate at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish Education and a lecturer in education at Brandeis University. A sociologist and an educational policy scholar, he focuses his research on the social context of educational policy, teacher education policy, and the politics of education at the federal, state, and school levels. Tamir studied New Jersey's first alternate route to teaching in the United States, has led the Choosing to Teach project since 2006, and founded the Longitudinal Survey of Day School Teachers. He is currently working on multiple research projects focusing on school leadership and culture, teacher careers, politics of education, and teacher preparation for financial literacy.

Karen Hammerness is an associate professor and the director of program research in the Master of Arts in Teaching Program at Bard College. Her research focuses on the design and pedagogy of teacher education in the United States and internationally with particular interest in the role of vision in teaching and teacher education and features of strong teacher education programs. Hammerness is doing comparative research on teacher education in five countries and studying context-specific teacher preparation for New York City. Her book, Seeing Through Teachers' Eyes: Professional Ideals and Classroom Practices, was published in 2006 by Teachers College Press.