How can we best prepare pre-service teachers to succeed in the classroom--and to stay in teaching over time? The one-size-fits-all model of traditional teacher education programs has been widely criticized, yet the most popular alternative--fast-track programs--have at best a mixed record of success. An increasing number of districts and charter networks are trying to fill this void with a third option: "grow-your-own" teacher preparation programs tailored to specific school contexts and the needs of the populations they serve.

In Inspiring Teaching, leading teacher educator Sharon Feiman-Nemser and her colleagues investigate this "context-specific" approach to teacher education. They draw on the Choosing to Teach study, a detailed multiyear investigation of three selective, mission-driven teacher preparation programs--the Urban Teacher Education Program at the University of Chicago, the Alliance for Catholic Education at the University of Notre Dame, and the Day School Leadership through Teaching program at Brandeis University--that traces each program's impact on graduates during their first few years of teaching.

Feiman-Nemser and her colleagues show how teacher education programs like these can help teachers develop the understanding, commitment, tools, and strategies they need to teach in specific settings. By tracking the professional growth of teachers in these programs and documenting the challenges they encounter in their respective school sectors, the book explores and illustrates the ways in which these mission-driven programs select and prepare teachers for particular school environments.
About the Author: 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.