TEACHER AS PRACTITIONEREDST 3000 (9-12.00pm)

By

Dr. John Kambutu

www.uwyo.edu/kambutu

www.uwyo.edu/ted http://www.uwyo.edu/edstudies/TPAC/index.html

Fall, 2011

Today Introductions

Name, history behind it…, and anxiety level at the moment and why? Recent Wow experience.

Syllabus

Course Structure/School experiences

Course culture/norms

Who’s a practitioner?

TEACHER AS PRACTITIONEREDST 3000- A PTSB general course

Themes and Outcome

Instructional strategies (theories and practices)… 15-20 page paperPlanning for instruction… Lesson plans Practicum experiences…. Teaching DVD & Other documentation Classroom Management…. Management handbook

*College Mission* Creating Competent, Democratic Professionals

Theory and Practice

Theories (ideas/principles) of teaching are constant

But

Practice (application of theories) is age, grade and content dependent

Public Schools • Be professional (before time, affirming talk/no gossips, conduct, dress, name tags, sign

in, communicate). • Familiarize with school environment (mentor, classroom, culture, dos & don’ts, school

structure, ask questions)• Who is a teacher? (Watch mentor schedule, decisions, student/teacher interaction,

teacher/administrator interaction)• Is teaching a profession?• Effective teachers (Decision making, teaching strategies, classroom management,

Guiding learning & growth)What did you see?

What areas didn’t you understand?

• Overall (What does all this mean to you? Questions). • Remember you’re a visitor not an employee.

College of Ed. Mission (Preparing Competent, Democratic

Professionals)

Who is a competent educator? Has professional skills, knowledge & dispositions (p.7)

Who is a democratic educator? What types of democracies are you aware of?

Types:

Social Democracy In a social democracy, people consider the “Other” Examples:

Fairness, respect, justice, kindness, equality, equity, etc. Learning is the foundation:

Thus, members seek to: Understand other points of view Explain their point of view Sharing and understanding feelings Collaboration to establish alternatives

“Only dead fish swim with the flow” ~ Sara Palin, 2009~

Democratic Space (Sirotnik, 1990) In a social democracy, the focus is on:

Knowledge: What do I want to learn or what did I learn? Inquiry: What questions do I have or what questions does this

reading, etc. raise? Competence: How has knowledge gained helped me become a

better person? Compassion & caring: How is the knowledge gained helped

me become compassionate & caring Social Justice: How will I promote justice & fairness for all due

to the knowledge gained? Thus, public schools are schools for publicness (Goodlad, et al. 2004).

School for Publicness Children learn what it means to be a public (p.35)

Thus:

Teachers must: Create a democratic learning space

Certain unalienable rights…among these.. and others in the “Bill of Rights”

Practitioners

TEACHER AS PRACTITIONER

Who is a practitioner? A professional (p. 4 on teachers.)

Characteristics: Code of conduct (organizations)Mastered his/her craft (pedagogy)- p 7.Speaks the language of the craftIs a decision maker-

Identify the decisions made by teachers (p 8)

TEACHER AS PRACTITIONER

As the decision maker: ..he/she chooses… To teach

Know when, why, rewards & challenges- why is this important?

How to teach (Instructional strategies?)How to manage classroom?How to help children grow and learn

Why should teachers appreciate what it means to be a practitioner?

Teachers & teaching 30% of trained teachers don’t join the profession 30% of those that join leave in the first 3 years 50% of those that join leave in the first 5 years due

to:Burn-out, Frustrations, workloadSafety, lack of support, salaryPoor incentives, Motives for joining, Work environment

DO OUR TEACHERS MEASURE UP?

The number one way to enhance students’ learning is through:

a) Parental involvement and support

b) Challenging preschools

c) Reduced student-teacher ratio

d) Improved programs for reading and other subjects

e) None of the above.

Classroom Teacher “I have come to a frightening conclusion. I am the decisive

element in the classroom. It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher, I posses tremendous power to make a child’s life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or deescalated, and the child humanized or dehumanized.”

-Hiam Ginnott, 1977

Your Students: Net Generation… (Don Tapscott, 2009) Have grown up digital--- Screen children…. “Screenagers” Smarter, quicker & tolerant to diversity Learn, play & communicate differently Care about justice and societal problems Civically engaged Enable vs. control Price freedom… freedom of choice Customize---make it their own—creative Multi-task & Collaborate Short attention span– conversation/discussion (learner-centered) Value fun Value speed

What Principals want

Relationship builder… Be nice to people Team player Organizer Planner Flexibility Willingness to learn Lifelong Learner (Tom Mesecher, 2008~ Grant~)

Characteristics of a quality Teacher Class Text ( p.. 3, 16…) Your Reflections (Prior teachers) What else? Metaphor for quality teachers?

1…. Leader/organizer 2…. Writer 3….. Material getter 4…… Draws 5….. Helper 0….. Presenter

Democratic= Practitioner= Decision-maker

Quality teacher

Teaching is a process that continues well after your first, third, or twentieth year. It’s what keeps it interesting. Teachers must be thinkers and decision makers who take full responsibility for their classrooms and students. It’s a continual search for knowledge. Teaching relies on the judgment of its “individual practitioners” – it’s called the art of teaching ~ Kathleen Lange, 5th grade teacher in Tennessee

Quality teacher

It’s your attitude not your aptitude that determines your altitude ~ Zig Ziglar, 1926~

And how are the Children?

The Masaai of East Africa

Just a thought!

Pedagogical principles are constant, but applications are grade and age dependent

First impression is critical to future encounters

Incongruity (mismatch) between school and home cultures is a hindrance to learning (Smith, 1998)

Quality Teachers

View quality teaching as a “personal” decision p. 19

View teaching as a science and art (pedagogy) p. 7

Do not teach from a recipe p. 7

Are decision makers p. 8 Teachers make one rapid interactive decision every 2-6 minutesTeachers make one rapid interactive decision every 2-6 minutes

EFFECTIVE TEACHERS• Have attitudes that foster learning (warmth, empathy,

sensitivity, enthusiasm and humor).

• Have deep knowledge of subject matter (Experts).

• Are well educated in theoretical knowledge about learning and human behavior.

• Have a wide repertoire of teaching skills.

(Ryan & Cooper, 1998).

QUALITY TEACHERS

“It’s not what is poured into the students, but what is planted that matters” ~ Erskine Dottin, 2003 ~