I am looking at another journal this week, the Journal of Teacher Education.
Fairbanks, C.M., Duffy, G.G., Faircloth, B.S., He, Y., Levin, B., Rohr, J., and Stein, C. (2010). Beyond knowledge: Exploring why some teachers are more thoughtfully adaptive than others. Journal of Teacher Education, 61, 161-171.
When discussing how to prepare new teachers to teach, the authors of this article pose the question, “What is necessary beyond knowledge?” This is a good question indeed. Content knowledge is acquired and mastered by teaching candidates, but the methods of teaching, the pedagogy, are not always taught or learned. Teachers need to learn how to be adaptable, flexible, and well-prepared. Four facets of teacher characteristics are described: teacher beliefs, teacher vision, sense of belonging, and teacher identity. Teacher beliefs will change over time and with experience but should be identified and remembered. Teacher vision is a “personal commitment to seek outcomes beyond the usual curriculum”. Teachers need to have a sense of belonging in the school or teaching environment and do not thrive if their teaching beliefs and vision do not match those of the school. Identity is about how one views oneself as a teacher. This identity changes over time and can be different in various situations, such as teacher, parent educator, advocate, authority, and learner. The conclusion is that teachers need to have multiple perspectives to sustain them in their teaching, and that they need to be adaptable and resourceful. The dilemma appears to be how to teach teachers to develop these skills.
Ginny, as I read this, the old questions about nature and nurture came to mind. Are teachers born or created? I wonder what your thoughts are on this?
Bass
Bass, I think that some folks teach better than others and do have a gift for connecting with students. Does this mean that those of us with the gift of gab [definitely me] can talk long enough to get a message across; or do those who have a gift for technical knowledge transmit this through logic and diagrams; or does the creative soul demonstrate art, dance, or music so beautifully that others follow along in awe? None of these attributes are enough, and none of them can be effective alone. I think that effective teachers have a combination of natural gifts and acquired techniques that work together.
Short answer: nature AND nurture!!
I think I would like simply to take the following quotation and hang it everywhere in the university: “Teacher vision is a “personal commitment to seek outcomes beyond the usual curriculum”. ” And maybe we could develop a learner vision, too, along similar lines? “Learner vision is a personal commitment to seek outcomes beyond the usual curriculum.”? OK, I’m inspired…