Pose, Wobble, Flow

Pose, Wobble, Flow presents an exciting, liberatory framework for disrupting the pervasive myth that there is one set of surefire, culturally neutral best practices. In this new edition, the authors update and expand their pedagogical model to support lifelong success for teachers of all subject areas and grade levels. Providing six different teaching stances or “poses” that teachers can use to meet the needs of all students, this popular resource offers guidance for teaching and learning in today’s challenging sociopolitical climate. The authors describe how teachers can expect to “wobble” as they adapt instruction to the needs of their students, while also incorporating new insights about their own positionality and preconceptions of teaching. Readers are encouraged to recognize this flexibility as a positive process or “flow” that can be used to address challenges and adopt ambitious teaching strategies like those depicted in this book. Each chapter highlights a particular pose, describes how to work through common wobbles, incorporates teacher voices, and provides discussion activities for collective teacher inquiry.

Book Features:

• A structure for career-long growth for K–12 teachers of all subject areas, including ways to adapt pedagogy from one year to the next.
• A process of growing as an educator that questions existing inequities in schooling and society and frames teaching around a commitment to changing them.
• Six poses that are standards-aligned, critical, and expand the possibilities of what takes place in school.
• Guidelines for creating original poses beyond the scope of the book, discussion questions for courses, and resources for classroom teachers.

Antero Garcia is an associate professor in the Graduate School of Education at Stanford University and coeditor of Speculative Pedagogies: Designing Equitable Educational Futures. Cindy O’Donnell-Allen is a full professor in the English Department at Colorado State University, where she directs the CSU Writing Project and the Colorado State Sustainable Teaching and Learning Collaborative.

PRAISE FOR THE FIRST EDITION—

"In Pose, Wobble, Flow, Garcia and O'Donnell-Allen remind all of us that teaching is not about following directions: it’s about listening to our students and paying attention to the social forces that shape their lives; about learning how to navigate department, school, district, and federal rules to benefit our students so we can keep a job while we continue to honor our core beliefs about education."

—Linda Christensen, director, Oregon Writing Project, Lewis & Clark College

"Antero Garcia and Cindy O’Donnell-Allen have written a book about teaching that I’ve been hoping someone would write. They deftly provide a clear and insightful framework from which any thoughtful teacher can build a vital practice, while also inserting a wealth of examples to ground the framework in working classrooms. It’s a must-have for preservice and inservice teachers who care about their teaching."

—Bob Fecho, professor and department head, University of Georgia

"It may be a funny name for a book on literacy, but Pose, Wobble, Flow is serious when it comes to supporting teachers to become more aware, culturally proactive, and powerful in their practice. As someone who struggles with yoga—wobbling in the midst of poses, finding flow when I’m really lucky—I love the metaphor, as well as the wise advice, solid theory, and grounded practical examples from their own and others’ classrooms described by authors Antero Garcia and Cindy O’Donnell-Allen. This beautiful book will educate, challenge, and inspire educators determined to improve their teaching."

—Sonia Nieto, professor emerita, Language, Literacy, and Culture, College of Education, University of Massachusetts, Amherst