Phone: 828-227-3350
Email: perlmutter@email.wcu.edu  
Office Address: 246 Killian

Education

• B.A. Psychology - University of Georgia
• M.A.Ed. Early Childhood Education - Savannah State/Armstrong
• Ed.D. Early Childhood Education - University of Georgia

Courses Taught

• EDEL 311 - Kindergarten and Primary Curriculum
• EDEL 614 - Issues and Trends in Elementary Education
• BK 260 - Foundations of Child Study
• BK 312 - Kindergarten Curriculum
• BK 313 - Literacy and Numeracy

Research Interests

• Children's learning in developmentally appropriate kindergartens
• The development of excellent teachers
• Teacher growth and change

Publications

• Recent Publications: Perlmutter, J & Burrell, L. (2001). The first weeks of school: Laying a quality foundation. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann

Recent Presentations

• Perlmutter, J, Holt, K, & Caldwell, C. ( March 20, 2003 ). Developing Early Literacy Skills in Young Children. North Carolina Association of Compensatory Educators, Spring Conference, Durham, NC.
• Perlmutter, J., Holt, K. & Caldwell, S. ( February 9, 2004 ). Hey that's in my name: Literacy in pre-kindergarten. National Title One Conference, New Orleans, LA.

A Personal Statement

I believe that teachers have the most significant and challenging jobs in the world. Nobody else can shape and nurture children like an excellent teacher. Nobody else has the opportunity to mentor children so that they may become resilient. Teachers can create a better world for all of us.

To achieve this goal, teachers must feel capable and empowered. The complex job of teaching children requires passion and caring as well as knowledge of content, organization, and teaching strategies, thus my job as a teacher of teachers is complex and exciting. I am lucky, I teach. I teach about teaching and my research has been in collaboration with several excellent public school teachers. Teaching is my passion.

My teaching style and philosophy have been evolving and maturing over almost 35 years. I launched my teaching career in the Peace Corps in the Philippines by teaching "modern math" to primary teachers. In the years that followed, I taught young children, from two to seven years old. From reading and studying educational theory and descriptions of good practice, I developed a vision of the education I wanted to provide for children. Young children are active, curious, excited learners who must act on their worlds in order to learn. My challenge was to create an environment where all children could explore, acquire knowledge, and grow as learners.

My doctoral studies included teaching undergraduate and graduate college students. For my first class, I agonized, prepared in detail and then stood up to lecture. In teaching young children, my greatest joy had been in watching children learn, in interacting with them and in finding ways to connect with them as their understanding blossomed. The lectures with which I began my college teaching did not help me connect with my students and did not seem to create the kind of learning I had seen in active, inquiring small children.

My vision of education for adults has grown since those first lectures to include some of the elements that worked with children. Adults, like children, need to feel a sense of control over their own learning. They need choices as well as challenges. Now, my vision for adult learners is of an active learning environment where adults are engaged in hands on and minds on learning. Learning is social for adults as well as for children. Adult learners create meaning for themselves as they make connections to their lives and experiences. Now I still lecture occasionally but try to use visuals created with Power Point to illustrate the points I make.

I incorporate a variety of techniques to actively engage my students. We discuss, role-play, and engage in many diverse cooperative learning activities. I try to vary the strategies I use to help students acquire content knowledge, build teaching strategies and develop the necessary passion for teaching. I try to model for future teachers the teaching strategies and the educational environment that I want them to provide for children.

The heart of an excellent classroom is relationships and community. I am happiest with my classes when I feel that community has developed and that students are learning together. Community builds most easily in face-to-face classes like the graduate Issues and Trends class that I have been able to teach this year. These small classes have both developed a sense of belonging and, I believe, that they have served as sources of teacher support for all of us.

I believe that each learner must construct his or her understanding of course materials. Learning involves the creation of meaning from inside the learner rather than just the acquisition of information from an outside source. Learning is a creative process rather than merely a receptive one. Therefore, my role as a teacher is not only to provide students with a core of information but also to capitalize on their past experiences and provide new experiences so that students can create their own meaning from course content. I believe that learners need to be nurtured as well as challenged. In learning to write unit and lesson plans and in doing graduate action research projects, my students submit drafts and I give extensive feedback before they turn in their final drafts. I encourage students to come and see me to discuss changes they need to make.

I want my classes to be invigorating to my students. I find that I grow from teaching. My students keep me vital and energized in my teaching. Often if I find myself heading to class tired or with a headache, the energy in the classroom and in my students cures me. Only when the class is over do I remember my fatigue. Getting to know students outside of class gives me the connections that I need.

Working with practicing teachers, first Louise and now Karen, challenges my thinking and helps me grow as a teacher. We have collaborated on writing and presenting at conferences. Co-teaching with clinical faculty has taught me and enriched my teaching. I am still in the process of becoming the teacher I hope some day to be. This is a challenging journey with no end in sight.