ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the influence of visual modes in shaping identities and calls for multimodal forms of reflection to be used with teachers in undergraduate and professional development programs to provide insights into teachers’ thinking and to expand imagery and metaphors associated with teaching and teacher identity. As interconnected threads, understanding how teachers come to preference certain images and ideas over others as they progress through their careers provides useful insight into changing concept of roles and shifting realities of practice. With emphasis on teasing out myth from reality, participating teachers were encouraged to reflect on personal images of teacher and teaching experiences over a 14-week period. Leaving space between interviews for teachers to reflect upon ideas or change forms of expression meant that representations were an honest reflection of their evolving teacher selves. Sharmaine works as an early childhood teacher in a well-established 90-place community-based long-day-care centre in the grounds of a University in the Northern suburbs of Sydney.
