What makes a great teacher? If anyone has a stake in that question, it’s a professor whose duty it is to educate the teachers of tomorrow. Far beyond cramming would-be teachers’ heads with the latest theory and practical applications, an education professor needs to impart the skills and values that will lead future teachers to succeed in the classroom and make an impact on their students.

Using specific courses and personal reflections as springboards for discussion, 25 professors from the Faculty of Education at Nipissing University share what they consider paramount in the education of future teachers. They also speak with candour of the experiences that have shaped their own philosophies and practice.

Each one of these narratives addresses a question important to both pre-service and practicing teachers alike: How do life experiences shape a teacher?

Warnie Richardson is an associate professor of Special Education and Educational Psychology at Nipissing University in North Bay, Ontario. For 16 years prior to that, Dr. Richardson was a special education teacher and educational assessor in Canada and the Caribbean.

Warnie Richardson's profile page

Carole Richardson is an assistant professor of Curriculum Studies in Music Education in the Faculty of Education at Nipissing University. Dr. Richardson has also taught general classroom music and has conducted choirs in both primary and middle schools in Canada and the Cayman Islands.

Carole Richardson's profile page