Writing Our Way Into the Public Sphere

Session Type: Invited Speaker Session

Abstract

No field is more central to the social good than education, yet typically educational researchers have limited influence on policy and public deliberations about education. How can we write our way more effectively into the public sphere? In this presentation, Public Scholar Mike Rose will provide insights on writing the opinion or commentary piece, as well as long form writing and select new media forms. He will discuss the meaning and urgent need of writing for diverse audiences, and the personal and professional benefits of doing such writing. He will then describe courses he has developed to teach public writing, and conclude with thoughts about public writing, our faculty reward system, and the ways our profession defines itself. University of Colorado School of Education Dean Lorrie Shepard will reflect on the implications of the presentation for universities and public scholarship overall.

Sub Unit

• AERA Presidential Session

Chair

• Anthony A Berryman, University of California - Los Angeles

Participant

• Mike Rose, University of California - Los Angeles

Discussant

• Lorrie A. Shepard, University of Colorado - Boulder