Sharing our journey as teacher educators: The challenges and joys of teaching with cases

Two teacher educators reflect on their 20 years of using dilemma cases in their teacher education courses on inclusive education. In so doing, they plumb their critical friendship and work to answer three questions that drove their study: (1) What have we learned about ourselves and each other as teachers? Why does this matter? (2) What have we learned about teaching with cases and about the importance of sharing these experiences with a colleague who is on the same path? (3) What have we learned that can help to meet the challenges of a major program re-design just as one collaborator retires? Qualitative data analysis yielded four emergent themes: self-doubt, uncertainty, identity as a teacher educator, and why we teach with cases. Teaching with dilemma cases proved invigorating but also unsettling, as vulnerabilities were exposed to enable teacher candidates to adopt a critical stance and to recognize that inclusive teaching is a vulnerable undertaking.