Sharon Feiman-Nemser is currently the Jack, Joseph, and Morton Mandel Professor of Jewish Education at Brandeis University (Feiman-Nemser, 2014). In her book, Teachers as Learners, the author chronicles her research and career that has led to the completion of the book. Her focus and expertise lies in the evolution of teacher education and how institutions and governments can improve the abilities, skills, and performance of teachers who are entering an increasingly diverse classroom. This book views the historical and recent health of the teacher preparation system in the United States and serves as a guidebook for improved teacher preparation. It sheds light on limitations and issues that are present in current post-secondary education …show more content…
Chapters begin with a look at past practices and beliefs in teacher education. This information is followed by ideas being tested throughout the United States. Feiman-Nemser also offers suggestions from current and past research and instructional programs. The introduction frames the information and discusses the circumstances that led Feiman-Nemser to write the book. She details her progression through career choices, entrance into academia, and the events that shaped her current research agenda. She is open and honest about the things that molded her beliefs and philosophies. Early in her career the author realized that much of her preparatory education was spent learning what to avoid in teaching, rather than best practices for the classroom. It is through her years as an educator and researcher that she has attempted to give the reader an informative overview of the state of teacher preparation. She describes how the book was assembled as a collection of papers that she had written in the past 30 years. The author explains that the book serves to tell the reader about important changes she has seen in her career and what future possibilities lay ahead. This is important as small changes in teacher preparation can have a marked effect on attrition rates in the field (Goldhaber & Cowan, …show more content…
The section goes into detail about practices that have been designed to prepare future teachers. In chapter one, Feiman-Nemser discusses three phases of learning to teach: preservice education programs, induction, and on the job experience. She makes three arguments that serve to set the tone for the remainder of the section. First, she argues that the manner in which teachers learn to teach in a preparation program does not agree with what professionals know about learning. Principally, many preservice programs ignore basics of learning while preparing teachers for their future classroom. Secondly, the author discusses how unintended lessons may contribute more to a person’s classroom philosophy than formal courses. For example, a teacher may learn steps that are convenient or helpful, which are not based on best practices. Teachers often learn how to manage a classroom based on experience or observation, but it may not be the best way to handle the situation. The preservice program often contains an element of practicum and student teaching, which can be effective, but can also lead to bad habits based on short-sighted goals and incorrect observations and experiences. The first chapter also investigates the induction phase and identifies differences of thought and implementation that can hinder a program’s effectiveness. Finally, the author discusses the in-service
In “The Teacher Wars”, by Helen Goldstein, the book focuses on the historical implications of school policy and how it affects teachers. The author goes into depth with everything from the rise of female teachers to the rise of technology in today’s teachers. As Goldstein argues teachers have an incredible ability to be able to widen equality, yet can also narrow the achievement gap that is created from birth. Her showcase of the constant strife against teachers throughout the ages gives way to multiple ways politics and decisions affect the achievement gap.
middle of paper ... ... Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 25 (1), 45-51. Retrieved from http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol25/iss1/5. Western Australian Department of Education. a.
In the article, "Why Tough Teachers Get Good Results", the author, Joanne Lipman, is identified as the speaker. In the past, the author had a particularly strict teacher, Mr. K. In paragraph 3, the author states that research supports the fact that their and Mr. K’s other students’ eventual success is due to Mr. K’s strict teaching style. Through experiencing Mr. K’s rigorous style of teaching, the author gains credibility by experiencing the effectiveness of the aforementioned methods first-hand, but also in observing the success of their former classmates. While others may argue and provide research that would prove that other types of learning are the “most effective”, the author exhibits a bias towards traditional education that may be
As the time approached, my attitude toward student-teaching was one of confidence and in some ways overconfidence. I believed that I was equipped with all of the tools necessary to be a superior teacher. Little did I know what truly goes on behind the scenes of a teacher. Between grading papers, attending meetings, and preparing lessons, I would often feel overwhelmed. Still, student teaching would prove to be much more valuable than I anticipated. It would teach me to appreciate the wisdom of mentors and experienced teachers, value or being organized and prepared, and lastly the resilience of students.
166-173). Linda Darling-Hammond (2000) discusses how teacher education has changed and how it has affected our education system (p. 166). The author also notes how even the most intelligent people found it hard to prosper in the field without the right skills and preparation (Darling-Hammond, 2000, p. 166-173). In the article, she presents how post baccalaureate programs are carefully structured, versus alternative routes which can be no more than backup employment options. Darling-Hammond (2000) also addresses how it becomes difficult for aspiring teachers to learn both subject matter and pedagogy (p.
When I first decided to be a teacher I had many thoughts and opinions about teaching and education. Some of my thoughts and opinions have stayed them same; however, many have changed from the discussions and readings in LL ED 411 and 480. When I first decided that I wanted to be a teacher I thought that most students learned in the same manner. I also thought that the teacher should have power over the classroom. Likewise, I thought that technology should not be used in the classroom--except to type papers. I now know that there is not much truth to my ideas and thoughts because my thoughts were shaped only from my experiences. My experiences are narrow because they were shaped from the problems in schools and the old ideas that teachers still have. Now that I have learned the other sides to these problems I know that my thoughts about teaching and education are not fully developed.
Ray Fisman writes a monthly column for Slate magazine. He is the Slate Family Professor in Behavioral Economics at Boston University. In his article “How to Build a Better Teacher”, which is published in the Slate magazine on the 25th of July 2012, Ray Fisman discusses different methods for improving American education. This article is written for the general audience. Its purpose is to analyze the opportunity of building a better teacher, rather than firing low-performing teachers and hiring new ones in a few school except some big cities in America.
From school buildings to supplies and teacher license requirements, life is very different for students and teachers today compared to two centuries ago. Today’s teachers receive higher education to learn the profession, and students learn new subjects such as foreign language, art, health, and science. After a long day of learning, most take the school bus home and continue their studies further. One thing that is similar between education in the 1800s and education now, however, is that children grow up to become well-educated, well-rounded individuals who are knowledgeable about themselves and the world around
In a society where kids must go to school up to the collegiate level, teaching is an impactful career choice. Teachers help contour the minds of future leaders of the world. Furthermore, teachers play a crucial role in guiding students to the knowledge, skills, and abilities they need to succeed in life, and teachers lead students to make informed decisions on any topic the meet in the future. As a teacher, a person must relinquish their knowledge onto students. Finally, they must prepare their students for all the obstacles they will face later in life.
I have gained a newfound understanding of what it means to be a teacher. My job is to “cause successful learning related to school, program, and course goals”, “cause greater interest in the subject”, and “cause greater confidence, feelings of self-efficacy, and intellectual direction in all learners” (Wiggins, 2010). Walden University has prepared
The University of Southern California’s Center of Excellence in Teaching advises prospective teachers to consider their outcomes and hopes of students when planning lessons and selecting what strategies to use. Similarly Sulivan et al (2012) believe that a teacher’s lesson planning is informed by their general knowledge of the curriculum that they intend to tea...
As I reflect on my experiences observing in three different classrooms over the last three months, I cannot express how much I have learned by being in the classroom. I began the Master of Science in Education last fall and previous to the practicum experience I had taken 8 classes. I read books, listened to the experiences of my classmates and instructors, reflected on my own education, and tried to imagine how this information was going to prepare me to face a classroom of elementary school students. While I learned theories and skills that should be known by any educator, these classes could not teach me what I most desired to know: what tangible steps could I take to correctly implement all of the correct ways of teaching.
In order for learning to take place in the classroom the teacher has to put in place an effective teaching and learning strategy. Being an effective teacher is not something that can be achieved instantaneously but rather something that has to be continuously developed and improved upon over time. Petty mentions how good teachers are not born but rather make themselves and that effective teaching comes from learning from your mistakes and successes. Petty, p. 516, 2009. This process involves teacher reflection and assessment of the effectiveness of different teaching strategies used in the classroom. It is only then that teachers can learn and advance themselves.
Individuals who enter the field of education reply to the question why teach with various answers. There is beauty, joy, and fulfillment in this profession, and these spirit-lifting emotions are the result of watching annually as a new group of children enter to learn and leave with the knowledge to achieve. Richard Dufour (2000), author of Why Teach expressed his views on the profession first by stating that teaching is not the career for everyone. He goes on to say, that the education profession has the ability to present the “unique opportunity” for individuals to cast a positive influence upon others (Why Teach, 2000, p.1). The smiles received from a room full of students when as a whole their individual needs, both educational and personal have been catered to, prompts a burst of passion in every teacher.
In this course I experienced an important change in my beliefs about teaching; I came to understand that there are many different theories and methods that can be tailored to suit the teacher and the needs of the student. The readings, especially those from Lyons, G., Ford, M., & Arthur-Kelly, M. (2011), Groundwater-Smith, S., Ewing, R., & Le Cornu, R. (2007), and Whitton, D., Barker, K., Nosworthy, M., Sinclair, C., Nanlohy, P. (2010), have helped me to understand this in particular. In composing my essay about teaching methods and other themes, my learning was solidified, my knowledge deepened by my research and my writing skills honed.