Chapter 2: Instruction in a Social Kaleidoscope

Becoming a Lifelong Learner

You may be surprised to see a topic about your future being introduced so early in the book. Yes, we gave that great thought and concluded that if you are made aware of future educational options, then you might have a broader vision of your own higher education experiences. Many of the technical aspects of teaching simply take time to achieve. Time and experience add the dimension of relevance. Actually, teaching brings relevance to your technical competence.

Professional and Personal Growth

As stated earlier, education is a helping profession. You have specific reasons for becoming a teacher: you may want to impart knowledge and skills to young people; or you may want to help create a better-educated society; or you may want to have a satisfying, rewarding, and challenging career. In any case, teaching is an enormous job, and no teacher education program can thoroughly prepare you for it. It is safe to assume that you will need continuing education in order to become a master teacher.

What is a master teacher? Generally, a master teacher is skilled in the technical aspects of teaching and is one from whom other teachers seek professional advice. The title is earned through reputation. Master teachers are outstanding in their classrooms and in their field. They have the esteem of their colleagues. Students remark that "you’re the best teacher I ever had." School patrons and parents speak of master teachers in glowing terms. Throughout this book we emphasize the dual nature of teaching as both a science and an art. Master teachers know the science of instruction and apply the art of teaching.

How much formal education do you need to be an effective classroom teacher? The answers to this question vary. Teaching expertise in all areas requires a combination of experience and continuing (formal) professional development. In some domains, such as the arts and business, ongoing learning is primarily carried out in practice, often with mentors or experienced practitioners. In other domains, such as special education, ongoing learning requires continuing formal education. But to become master teachers, all teachers must continue their education.

However, teachers become master teachers through experience, not just through education. They demonstrate basic academic proficiencies, plus they learn from rich experiences in their schools and communities. Thus, you need to develop a vision that guides you toward that honored status of becoming a master.

After you assimilate the content of this book, you will have a head start on most practicing teachers. You will develop a firm foundation on which to build additional professional knowledge and to practice in an artful and thoughtful manner.

There is no question about the knowledge explosion in education. It would be impossible for you to read all of the books published this year alone about teaching, teachers, or the schools. Add to that paper stack the virtual university—the Internet—and you could spend all of your waking hours studying and never read all there is to know about the field of education. But don’t feel overloaded and helpless. There is a way to expand your knowledge base in a systematic manner.

Begin by asking yourself, "Where do I want to be six months from now? Three years from now? Ten years from now?" Write down those goals. Then ask yourself, "What do I have to do to achieve my immediate goal? My longer-term goals?" Perhaps your first goal is to gain work experience and to be mentored by a master teacher. Your long-term goal may be to attain an advanced degree and additional subject-matter expertise and to become a master teacher yourself. Eventually, you may want to achieve more expertise in carrying out research and to publish your work in the professional literature.

As you gain teaching experience, you will begin to accumulate a reserve of valuable practice skills and teaching insight. There is a high probability that you will become more self-directed and will initiate continuing education for yourself, which will give you more background knowledge and a wider repertoire of instructional techniques. You will find yourself enjoying problem-centered learning. You will appreciate hands-on learning. You will seek job-related skills. In short, you will be demonstrating the behaviors of teachers who have matured to the adult model of learning.

Building Supportive Partnerships

Up until now we have implied that continuing education is something you do on your own. However, networks and supportive partnerships are great ways to aim toward mastery. Possible helpers range from an assigned mentor to an international professional association. Once you begin work in a school, you’ll be offered some assistance by almost every employee. Let us begin with the bigger picture and work down.

Formal Organizations  One of the first organizations that you will voluntarily join or be required to join is the local bargaining unit. It will be affiliated with the National Education Association (NEA) or the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). These groups, commonly known as teachers’ unions, offer several professional development programs for new teachers. These are staffed by master teachers who have proven their effectiveness. Seminars or short courses are designed with you in mind. Select the ones that meet your most immediate needs.

Beginning-Teacher Assistance Programs  Then there are the beginning-teacher assistance programs (B-TAPs). California was an early innovator in establishing a state-funded program with the goal of helping new or beginning teachers make the transition from student to teacher. This program has been widely copied, and about one-half of the states now have some formal induction program. You will be assigned to an experienced teacher, or mentor, who is recognized for instructional excellence. Your mentor will help you identify and resolve problems. Your mentor will observe you as you teach and provide a few tips. With your mentor "in your corner," troublesome problems can be identified and quickly resolved. A mentor can help make your first year of teaching a positive experience.

Professional Associations  There are scores of professional associations directly involved in teacher-related activities. All these groups sponsor workshops, seminars, clinics, short courses, and institutes on a wide spectrum of topics and interests. All hold state, regional, or national conferences.

Professionals attend conferences for a variety of reasons; one is to establish a network of personal contacts. Through such networks you can benefit from others’ expertise and build your own human potential. You are just an e-mail address away from someone who shares your passion for art, biology, history, or reading. Personal contacts become powerful sources of knowledge about practical classroom matters. Through such networks you become part of a dissemination loop. They allow you to communicate with other professionals who are also just beginning their careers in education.

Local Resource Persons  Here we list some of the individuals who can help you do a better job of teaching during your first year (see the box below).

For example, you are sure to request help from the teacher across the hall during your first year of teaching, if only because you don’t know who’s supposed to replace your light bulbs. You might need to consult the bus driver to find out if a problem student causes trouble during the ride to school as well as during classes. The school guidance counselor can tell you what assessment options are available to help you decide whether a student has a learning disability or needs some behavioral intervention. The school secretary can help you interpret the many forms you’ll have to complete on a regular basis. The bookkeeper will help you order needed teaching supplies. Coaches develop a special relationship with students, so call on them if you have a question about one of your students. All the persons on the list can help you—if you ask them.

The Journey to Becoming a Master Teacher

We end as we began: the journey to becoming a master teacher is one of continuous reflection, study, preparation, work, and execution. The ranks of master teachers are filled with individuals like you. Each one started teaching with apprehension, doubt, and some confidence. Your sense of efficacy will begin to grow with your first successful planned teaching episode. Each further success will add to that sense. Sure, there will be problems, even disasters. But you can learn from your mistakes. Reflect. Review your plans. Seek solutions. That is how beginning teachers become master teachers.

Earlier in this chapter, we mentioned that you would be provided with an "overview" of several important educational topics and issues. Well, the jig is up. We know that in most basic methods textbooks, the authors try to provide information on just about every conceivable topic. We do not! At this juncture in your career, you do not have the experiential basis for judging the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of the many instructional methods or teaching strategies that are published, espoused, or championed. Our book is structured to provide you with basic instructional methods that you need to begin teaching. It is your professional responsibility to expand your frame of reference and knowledge base. Thus, we delimit the number of topics being covered.

But to illustrate the vast array of topics that you may want to cover when you have teaching experience and can then better evaluate their efficacy, we present Table 2.1. Peruse the topics. Ask yourself, At what point in my career will I need to study them and incorporate them into my repertoire of instructional methods? In our opinion, the listed topics form a basis for continued lifelong learning. However, as you enter teaching, only a select number of teaching techniques can be mastered or even understood, let alone practiced. Newer techniques or models can be examined and evaluated as part of your professional growth plans, although at this time many concepts are not relevant to you.

Table 2.1

Forty-Eight Topics for Future/Lifelong Learning

Administrative Topics	Learning Styles
Collaborative action research	Brain research-based learning styles and brain hemisphericity
Conflict management	Dimensions of learning
Effective schools	Emotional intelligence
Leadership skill training	Field dependence and independence
Organization development	Modalities of learning
Paideia schools	McCarthy 4MAT system
School support teams	Multiple intelligences
Stress-reduction programs	Special Education Considerations
Team teaching	At-risk youth
Curriculum Design	Bilingual learners
Content analysis	Diagnostic-prescriptive teaching
Curriculum mapping	Differentiated instruction
Economic education	Direct instruction
Integrating curriculum	English-language learners
International curriculum	Independent learning
Instructional theory into practice	Gifted and talented models
Mastery learning	Multiage classrooms
Multicultural education	Teacher effectiveness training
Evaluation and Assessment	Teaching study skills
Conducting formative evaluation	Teaching Methodologies
Effect size	Asynchronous learning
Evaluation rubics	Circles of learning
Performance assessment	Cooperative learning models
Program evaluation	Constructivist classrooms
Student portfolios	Internet enhanced classrooms
	Socratic teaching
	Technology and distance learning