Hammond, L. (2005). Preparing teachers for a changing world: What teachers should learn and be able to do. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Chapters 1-3 Summary: The book begins by providing a brief history and overview of education and teacher preparation, and orients the reader to the chapters which follow. This text is written not only for teacher educators and teachers in training, but veteran teachers as well. It encompasses all manner of teaching training programs, both traditional and nontraditional, with a focus on commonalities which each can share in order to enhance their design. Like many writings, it calls for a revision among historically inconsistent program requirements in a disjointed system, with a move towards comprehensive and organized framework, which is currently found in other professional fields but is missing from education. It is suggested that this signature pedagogy is necessary in teacher preparation programs. The authors posit that teaching is situational, and can and should look different across different contexts and situations. What works well in one setting may not work in another. There is no “right answer” or formula. Instead there are guidelines which can be interpreted and applied based on the needs of the student. Highlights from the chapters include: Three ways teacher education needs to be reformed: working in professional learning communities, a strong sense of moral purpose to create school reform, and partnerships among stakeholders. “In this way, prospective teachers can be prepared for the schools they need in order to teach effectively, and they can learn firsthand how to work in and develop contents that will support the learning of all of their students.” (p.5). Common practices of highly effective teachers include: clear expectations for students, displayed student work, multiple small group activities, teachers who moved around, high levels of student discourse, and an organized classroom. Three general areas of knowledge, skills and disposition that are important for teachers include: knowledge of subject matter and curriculum goals, knowledge of learners and their development in social contexts, and knowledge of teaching. These provide a vision of professional practice. Four types of research evidence were used. These are: how people learn, how learning conditions affect learning, learning development and language acquisition, and how teachers learn successful practices. It’s essential to understand and utilize child development principles when planning and implementing instruction. There may be individual differences among learners, and the effective teacher can differentiate as needed. A student’s prior knowledge, development and experience directly affect their learning. Conversely, learning affects development. Each of these is related to cultural considerations, and tied to student success. Teachers need to learn strategies for acquiring developmental expertise. This includes knowledge of “splintered development”, where children have a great split in their strengths and areas where they struggle, and working in the “zone of proximal development”, as initially put forth by Vygotsky, as well as by scaffolding learning to support the child. Observing students, analyzing their level of development, and teaching to their strengths are ways teachers can best serve the needs of diverse learners. Another area stressed when describing effective teaching is the need to design classroom experiences that support diverse students who are learning challenging content. Examples are given in cases which increased success rates for women and Latinos. The authors stress the importance of “making the tacit explicit”, and taking into account the learner’s context, background and way in which they learn. Further discussion includes metacognition, expertise, connecting content to learners, memory ad information retrieval, assessment, and cognitive processes. Another central theme across chapters is the concept of reflecting on learning as a practice essential for effective teaching, and using this reflection to improve teaching practice. Reflection: In reflecting on these ideas, I find there are many that align with my own philosophy. For example, I agree that high levels of student discourse and multiple small group activities can be indicators of effective teaching and learning. Research shows that both of these interactive activities, which can go hand in hand, are aligned with increased levels of learning when compared with a lecture style of instructional delivery. Friere, in his book Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1970), stresses the importance of dialogical learning, not only for knowledge retention purposes, but as a way to encourage all voices to be heard, both literally and figuratively. This is important if we want our classrooms to be places which value an demonstrate equity. Another idea I found valuable from this reading is that teachers need a balance of academic core knowledge as well as sound pedagogical skills in order to be effective. One without the other is an imbalance. Students deserve a teacher who has content knowledge, as well as effective strategies to convey this knowledge, or to let students discover the knowledge. This includes a need for observing your students and using this information to differentiate as needed. This was always a tricky concept for me, having been trained in a university before differentiation was taught. Many years later, I understand its value and the many ways it can be used in effective student based instruction. The one point that left me wondering was the idea that effective teachers all display student work. In my own classrooms I do this to show students I value their contributions, to allow them to take pride in their work, and to visually reinforce academic concepts. However, I never considered it an essential component. I've been a student in many classrooms where student work was not shown, and from a personal standpoint, did not feel it affected learning outcomes in any negative fashion. This is something I'd like to learn more about, to determine if it's a cause and effect relationship or simply a byproduct.
2 Comments
1/16/2016 07:59:07 pm
How might we include learning theories in the elementary program?
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2/15/2016 07:57:04 am
So how do you create a dialogic classroom with your PSTs?
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