The Trainee Teacher's Handbook

A companion for initial teacher training

Carol Thompson, Peter Wolstencroft

• Publisher: Learning Matters
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9781526448514
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Elementary Education

This book helps trainees to build skills and focus on developing their professional practice through understanding, reflection and experimentation. Its practical structure and learning features help readers to recognise their own learning needs and set their own targets. The book takes the Teachers' Standards as a base and covers:

• planning
• creating teaching resources
• inclusive practice
• assessment and progress
• classroom management
• pastoral care

Hear what teacher training applicant, Alex is saying about this book:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uN1yZye9zDA

Part 1

Learning to teach

In this section, you will be discovering the skills you need to make a success of your training. This will help you to plan your journey and use your time effectively.

The following chapters will explore:

• ways in which you can work effectively with others;

• how to use feedback and self-reflection to enhance your development;

• strategies for overcoming barriers and developing your resilience.

1

Why do you want to teach?

In this chapter we will explore:

• philosophies of teaching;

• values, beliefs and attitudes;

• skills for teaching.

Introduction

Our motivations and values have a great influence on how we develop as teachers and establishing these at the outset will help you to plan your professional progress effectively. Although you have already taken the decision to pursue a teaching career, it is important to explore the reasons behind this and in this chapter we will consider the motivations, philosophies and values that underpin these choices.

Why teach?

Before you embark on your journey think about the events which brought you to this point. Perhaps it was your love of learning? A desire to share your knowledge with others? Maybe you were inspired by one of your own teachers? Having a clear view of the underlying reasons which fuelled your motivation will help to establish your base philosophy in relation to the role, as well as highlighting your core values, both of which are important to remember when you come across challenges in your career.

Reflection

Imagine you are at your first job interview and are asked the question ‘Why did you want to become a teacher?’ What would you say? Without spending too much time deliberating (much as would be the case in an interview) jot down your initial thoughts and then come back to these when you have finished reading the chapter.

Your initial answers will tell you something about your motivation which, in turn, will influence the sort of teacher you become.

Recent research (Chiony et al., 2017) explored the main things which draw people to the teaching profession and concluded that these were largely based on either intrinsic or altruistic motivations. For many teachers and trainees, the desire to do something they found satisfying which was also socially meaningful was a big draw and reasons such as ‘making a difference to others’ were cited as key motivators.

For participants in the research, the top five reasons for choosing teaching as a career were as shown in Figure 1.1.

Figure 1.1 Top five reasons for choosing teaching as a career

The research also developed a typology of ‘teacher types’ and identified four broad categories of teacher which were described as in Table 1.1.

Table 1.1 Typology of teacher types

If you are interested in finding out more about this, or want to take the test (which has the usual limitations associated with remote, online questionnaires), then go to teacherquiz.lkmco.org.

All of this is very interesting and may well resonate with your own reasons for choosing a career in teaching but although these initial motivations are important it is even more important to consider what it is that makes people stay in teaching. This is particularly true at times when the job seems very difficult and we are challenged to remember the reasons why we chose it in the first place.

Some philosophies of education

There are a number of philosophies relating to education which provide us with a starting point in thinking about our views of the purpose of teaching and education overall. These are outlined below to prompt initial thinking about your own philosophies which in turn may lead to a greater understanding of your values in relation to education.

Figure 1.2 Perennialism

Perennialism

Perennialism presents a highly determined view of education and sees it as a vehicle for presenting fixed ‘truths’. In this sense, educational institutions would exist simply to teach the commonly accepted ‘truths’ and may do so through a series of structured lessons. It is easy to imagine the advantages of having such certainties in life, particularly in terms of structuring teaching and subsequently learning against pre-determined expectations; likewise it is not difficult to imagine the limitations of this approach. The name itself suggests a degree of conformity and stagnation – like the perennial plant, the conditions in which it will grow remain fixed, as does the plant itself, never having an opportunity to blossom in a way which differs from its predecessors.

Idealism

Idealism is based on the view that reality is individually constructed and that ideas are the only ‘true reality’ as well as the only thing worth knowing. Plato is considered the ‘father’ of idealism and he described a utopian society in which the purpose of education was to bring latent ideas to consciousness and discover and develop each individual’s abilities. From a teacher’s perspective, this would mean a focus on handling ideas through discussion and Socratic dialogue (a method of teaching based on questioning to clarify knowledge). By using these methods, a teacher is eliciting information rather than providing it and becomes a guide as opposed to a sage. While at first glance this might seem very appealing, the reality of a large group of students all having individually constructed realities can be overwhelming.

Realism

Realism is a philosophy based on the belief in the world ‘as it is’. In this sense, ‘reality’ would be based on observations and the scrutiny of observable data. A curriculum based on the principles of this philosophy would emphasise the physical world (in particular disciplines such as science and mathematics) in order to study structure and form and develop rational thinking. The teacher’s role in this case would be to organise and present content systematically and use methods which encouraged the mastery of facts and basic skills. As with perennialism this has the advantage of being an organised, systematic approach to teaching, although it may potentially stifle creativity by limiting the scope of teaching and learning to that which is observable and considered factual.

Pragmatism

For pragmatists things are only considered ‘real’ if they are experienced or observed. From this perspective, there is no absolute because things are always changing so the aim is not to search for ‘truth’ so much as truth in what works. John Dewey applied this philosophy in his progressive approaches based on the premise that learners must adapt to each other and to their environment, therefore learning would take into account the social experience, the context, place and time. A pragmatist approach to teaching would have a focus on methods which involved hands-on problem-solving, experimentation and working in collaboration.

Figure 1.3 Existentialism

Existentialism

Existentialism is based on the belief that we all have a personal interpretation of the world and this is defined at an individual level. In this sense individuals are defined by the choices they make and not driven by others’ views. For Sartre, the existential moment comes when a young person realises for the first time that choice is theirs and they are responsible for themselves so that their question becomes ‘Who am I and what should I do?’ In relation to education, an existentialist classroom would be one in which choice is paramount and where the teacher emphasises that answers come from within individuals rather than an outside authority. Therefore the educational experience would focus on creating opportunities for self-direction and would start with the individual learner, not the curriculum. At first sight, this seems like a good approach to take in many classrooms and helps develop skills needed by students when they complete their courses; however, in an educational culture driven by the achievement of targets it can be difficult to implement.

Activity

Go back to the beginning of the chapter and look at your answer to the interview question. Now that you have some information about key philosophical approaches to teaching how would you frame your answer? Could you relate to a particular philosophy, or articulate professional values which are important to you?

Skills for teaching

As well as exploring your motivations for teaching it is also worth reflecting on the skills, attributes and personal traits best suited to the task. After all, even the most altruistic motivations will not make up for a mismatch between these characteristics and the requirements of the role.

As outlined by the Department for Education:

Teachers make the education of their pupils their first concern, and are accountable for achieving the highest possible s...