Something else occurred to me...

A final thought in this series of posts on my work with teachers in professional development activities over the past two weeks. In reflecting on the second post, I find myself coming back to Grenier (2006) and the conceptualization of the development of expertise as one that is cyclical in nature. Grenier (2006) describes the development of expertise in museum docents and points out instances when expert docents go back to the novice stage in terms of subject matter expertise and/or certain skills when they take on new projects or new exhibits. I couldn't help comparing this to some of the struggles the high school teachers are having as they grappled with how to teach this new curriculum they are developing. Certainly, the teachers haven't lost any of their teaching expertise; however, they seem to be regressing in terms of confidence in using that expertise in a new area of content. This seems to parallel Grenier's docents' movements in and out of expertise as they worked to master new walking routes, new exhibits, and new knowledge.

Some more thoughts...

Following the post I made on the 24th, I had another opportunity to work with experienced teachers, this time high school teachers. Actually, I have been working with many of these teachers over the past 8 years on a series of projects. This time we were discussing a new curriculum that is being built and implemented at the school where they teach. It is quite different than a standard EFL curriculum, which is usually focused on language acquisition. This new curriculum is more humanities based and the emphasis is on personal growth in students as much as it is on English language skills and their acquisition.

One thought that occurred to me in the midst of one of our normal brain-storming sessions- two or three hours without any breaks because everyone is so into our discussions that no one notices how much time has passed- was something that much of the literature on teaching expertise, e.g., Bell, 1997; Varrella, 2000; Schempp et al., 2002; Tsui, 2009, points out: Expert teachers challenge themselves by taking on tasks that stretch and push their limits, and these challenges often lead to new areas of expertise.

The new curriculum being discussed has been proposed by the teachers at the school and all are rising to meet that new challenge. Though they are still experiencing a bit of uncertainty as to how it will turn out, they are all focused on its potential and what they can do to make it successful.

As usual, there were no breaks in our meeting, and when we finished, I and another colleague who works at the same university I do (both of us are consultants for the project) commented to each other that we wished all of the meetings we have to attend could be as stimulating as these. Both of us agreed it would be a better world if time at all meetings passed by as quickly as it seems to do at these! 

Some thoughts from the past week

   Over the past week, I had the opportunity and pleasure of working with three different groups of teachers in professional development activities. Though all of the groups were comprised of teachers of EFL, the teaching contexts of the groups varied. e.g., elementary school, junior high school, high school. One of the groups consisted of educators working in multiple contexts, and the other two of educators working in a single context and, actually, at the same schools. One thing that impressed me about each of these groups, despite their differences, was a feeling of excitement about teacher development in general, and their own development, in particular.
   The literature points out the importance of teacher motivation in the development of expertise (Schempp et al., 2002; Varella, 2000), and in my work with teachers, I get the impression that those who are committed to becoming better teachers usually do. I also have the feeling that development, like successful learning experiences, tends to gain and maintain its own momentum: Once you have had a taste of success in the classroom, which was the result of some sort of teacher development activity, you want to try a little more, and so on. Work on motivation in adult learners seems to support this type of thinking, e.g., Wlodkowski (2008). I am wondering if others have experienced similar feelings or thoughts when it comes to your own professional development as teachers. I look forward to your comments.

Pedagogic Content Knowledge

This presentation, by Ian Robertson, deals with expertise in the Vocational Education and Training sector. Robertson bases his presentation on the work of Shulman (1987) and Turner-Bisset (2001), and introduces the idea of an overarching, amalgam-like base of knowledge, which Shulman calls Pedagogic Content Knowledge, that enables expert teachers to meet both routine and non-routine situations in their teaching contexts. Much of what Robertson presents is consistent with literature found in the short list of resources I have posted about expertise in general and expertise in teaching. This short video is well worth a quick or even more careful look.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKOgi0EadQY

Good teaching is good teaching!

Here is an interesting clip on learning styles, or more accurately on learning styles that don't exist. I hemmed and hawed with myself about whether to post this link or not, but one of the lines in the last section, "Good teaching is good teaching," sealed the deal for me. What do you think?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIv9rz2NTUk

P.S. Thanks to my EPS 510 colleague who recommended it.

Not gifted?

"I am not really a gifted teacher, I just work hard at it," says UC Davies 2010 teacher of the year Rick Grosberg. Upon receipt of the prize, he thanks his students and tells them that teaching is "a two way street. That's why it's so exciting for me." Enthusiasm for one's subject, hard work, a playful attitude, intellectual honesty, highly motivated, creative, innovative, these are all qualities that Professor Grosberg seems to possess. The video is a little longer than most, but take some time to watch it. You will be glad you did.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGbREjNi1aI&feature=channel