Faye Brownlie

Faye became a teacher because she loves kids of all ages and their enthusiasm for learning. "They keep me young and involved and push my thinking and learning about how to meet the needs of each and every one of them," she explains.

She's been an elementary and secondary classroom teacher and resource teacher, a lecturer at universities, and a curriculum coordinator for gifted and enriched education. She is currently teaching one day a week in an elementary school and is working on ongoing staff development with schools, school districts, and ministries of education. Faye is also the head of a design team and consortium for a multidistrict, performance-based reading assessment for grades 3 through 9.

Faye thinks that professional development "must build on the participants' expertise, must connect theory to practice, must be ongoing, must require engagement and participation from the teachers and administrators, and must be classroom based."

When working on a book, she lets ideas run through her head for some time. She then constructs the book "from the key questions that are posed to me again and again as educators work together to make the best sense of teaching and learning that they can. The writing itself flows easily. I imagine I am working with a group of educators and write as if I were speaking with them. I find that writing is a great way to polish my thinking."

Faye lives in Vancouver with her husband and daughter, and enjoys traveling, skiing, biking, and reading.