February 22, 2014

Reid (2011) teacher education

Reid, J. (2011). A practice turn for teacher education? Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 39(4), 293-310.

Reid argues for alternative professional teacher-education, specifically practice-experiences, to address limitations and integrate teacher-education models. Reid justifies her need to change teacher-education by reminding us of our problems.

Education strives to improve and reform, appearing to be continually frustrated with current teaching practice and fascinated with cutting-edge teaching practice (Carlgren, 1998). We have to remember that teaching practice resists change because it is ‘rhizomatic’: new-ways of teaching are off-shoots from old-ways of teaching that live on and on and on (Phelan & Sumsion, 2008). Basically, 20th Century learner-teachers practice teaching in 19th Century schools with 21st Century children and learning contexts (Britzman, 2009).

In addition, novice teachers are not really inexperienced teachers because they have observed teaching for at least a decade: this familiarity makes it difficult to perceive and accept new ways of teaching. Using an apprenticeship model of teacher-education, on-going generations of teachers remain essentially unchanged. We need to critically examine teaching practice as something strange and foreign, rather than unquestionably repeat existing practice. Reid states that learner-teachers need to feel like novices through deconstruction of core practices, which are modeled, explained, rehearsed, and evaluated. Leraner-teachers need to practice separate skills in simplified contexts, before simultaneously applying multiple skills in complex learning contexts. In-line with Grossman (1991, 2008, 2009), ultimately Reid seeks to integrate theory and practice (and praxis and rational action) to improve the teacher-learning and education-development.

Finally a few quick definitions of essential terms. Aldrich (2006) describes teacher-education models as apprenticeship or training or disciplinary study. Dreyfus (1980) defines teacher-education as consisting of initial teacher education (for novice teachers), transitional teacher education (for advanced beginners and competent performers), and continuing teacher education (for proficient performers and experts).