A Dialogal Investigation of "Who Am I As a Teacher?"

Women health professionals who join academe reformulate their identities as they become professors and teachers. Teacher inquiry is a systematic intentional study of one's own professional teaching practice that framed the question "Who am I as a teacher?" Using a process of dialogal research, we explored our biases and assumptions about teaching, which served as the source for our data. We discovered that our teaching included being a "judge," "lifelong learner," "bridge to learning," and "researcher," and that our teaching was "affected by temporality" and "the environment." As teachers, we are "someone who works through challenges." We suggest that teacher inquiry can empower allied health educators, change educational practice, and provide meaningful opportunities for the professional development of faculty.