The art of learning to teach creating professional narratives

In the con text o f professional learning, these them es translate into the follow ing p rin cip les of teaching and learning: • T h e processes of learning to teach and of becom in g a

The Art Creating

The Art of Learning

T h e art of learn in g to teach: creatin g p ro fession al narrativ es/

M arv B eattie.— 2nd ed

V ice P resid en t and E x e cu tiv e P u b lish er: Jeffery W Jo h n sto n

E xecu tiv e E ditor: D ebra A S to llen w erk

S en io r E d ito rial A ssista n t: M arv M orrill

P ro d u ctio n E d ito r: Kris R oach

P ro d u ctio n C o o rd in atio n : Sh aro n M o n to o th , M ichael B ass & A sso ciates

D esign C o o rd in a to r: D ian e C L orenzo

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P ro d u ctio n M an ag er: Su san H annah s

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S en io r M ark etin g M an ag er: D arcy B etts P rybella

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PEARSON

Life m ust be lived forw ards, but it can only be understood

in the light of new insights and u nderstandings You w ill d ocu m en t the

d etails o f y o u r reflectio n s and on g oin g inquiry, and ev en tu ally w rite a

n arrative of professional learning that is unique to the person you are and

to the p rofession al teacher you w ant to becom e Your narrative w ill p ro­ vide insigh ts into your learning and u nlearning, your m ethods of reflec­ tion and inquiry, and your w ays of creating an ethically based professional

k n ow led ge in teaching It w ill also show the person and the p erson ality

b eh in d the id e as and issu es, and p ro v id e in sig h ts in to y o u r learn in g

p ro ce sses, y o u r b e lie fs and th eo ries of teach in g and le a rn in g , you r passion s and preoccupations, and your hopes and dream s.

T h e n a rra tiv e s you read th ro u g h o u t the b o o k w ill p resen t you w ith the d eta ils o f the learn in g jo u rn ey s taken by o th er b e g in n in g teach ers

T h ese n a rra tiv e s w ill stim u la te y o u r reflectio n s and in q u iry as you read

ab o u t the w ay s in w h ich each of th ese in d iv id u als learn ed to q u estio n ,

to m ak e co n n e c tio n s, and to create a p ro fessio n al k n o w led g e th at w as

u n iq u e ly th e irs T h e y sh o w h ow the p e rso n a l and p ro fe s s io n a l are

co n n ected in th eir lives, and h ow le arn in g in v o lv es the w h o le p erso n — the in te lle c tu a l, e m o tio n a l, so cial, m oral, a esth etic, and sp iritu al asp e cts

o f th e p e rso n w h o is b e co m in g a teach er T h e ir n a rra tiv e s a lso sh o w

h ow m a k in g c o n n e c tio n s an d re la tio n s h ip s is a c e n tra l a s p e c t o f

c r e a tin g a p r o fe s s io n a l k n o w le d g e in te a c h in g — th e re la tio n s h ip

b etw een all a sp e cts of the p erso n w h o is b eco m in g a teach er, b etw een

the se lf and o th ers, b etw een p ractice and theory, b etw een p ast e x p e ri­

e n ce and fu tu re g o a ls, and b e tw e e n th e w ay th in g s are an d th e w ay

b a ck g ro u n d s, and p u rp o ses T h ey a lso sh o w h ow th ey sea rch ed for teach in g strategies and classroom proced ures that w ou ld en g ag e stu d en ts

m ore fully in the learnin g process and w ould in sp ire them to p articip ate

in the cu rricu lu m o f the c la ssro o m in a u th e n tic and p e rso n a lly m e a n ­

in g fu l w ays A s you read th ro u g h th e se n a rra tiv e s o f p ro fe ssio n a l

le a rn in g , you w ill read a b o u t sig n ific a n t e x p e rie n c e s o f le a rn in g and

u n learn in g , and o f how the p ro cesses o f reflectio n and in q u iry en ab led these b egin n in g teach ers to u nd erstand their roles in the co n tex t o f a quest for th e goo d , and o f m ak in g a d iffe re n ce n ot o n ly in th e ir cla s sro o m s , but in their sch ools and in society In so d oing, they created a stron g co rre­

sp o n d e n ce b etw een th eir m eth o d s o f in qu iry, th eir re flectiv e p ro ce sse s and teach in g p ractices, and those espou sed in cu rren t p ed ag o g ical theory,

in research and p rofession al jou rn als, in m eth o d s classes, and in p ro fes­ sional discussions.

T h e n a rra tiv e s and a c tiv itie s th ro u g h o u t the b o o k are d e sig n e d to

h elp you to explore the com p lexities of b ecom in g a teach er and of le a rn ­ ing to teach T h ey w ill h elp you to reco g n ize you r stren g th s and to u se them to learn w hat you need to know, to d ev elo p you r u n iq u e voice, and

to learn how to hear the v oices of others T h ey are also d esign ed to help you to deal w ith the com p lexities and d ifficu lties o f creatin g an au th en tic profession al identity, d ev elo p in g m ean in gfu l relation sh ip s w ith stu d en ts and colleagu es, and fosterin g d em o cratic learn in g co m m u n ities in v ou r classroom and school.

The narratives are w ritten in b egin n in g teach ers' ow n voices, in their

ow n lan gu age, and in form s that allow ed them to focu s on their p articu lar

p rio rities and p ersp ectiv es T h ese in d iv id u a ls co m e from a ra n g e o f acad em ic and cu ltu ral b ack g ro u n d s and rep resen t d ifferen t age grou p s

Th ey all cam e to the teach er ed u cation program w ith an u n d erg rad u ate degree in the arts, h u m an ities, or scien ces So m e had ju st recen tly c o m ­

p leted th eir u n d erg rad u ate d eg rees; o th ers had left jo b s and ca re e rs to

em b ark on a career in teaching T h eir n arrativ es w ere w ritten in the c o n ­ text of the tea ch er ed u ca tio n p ro g ram w h ere th ey w ere e n ro lled as

a co h o rt in tw o co n se cu tiv e co u rses in the fo u n d a tio n s o f e d u c a tio n : (a) D eveloping a P ersonal P hilosop h y and (b) Teaching: Stu d en ts, Sch o o ls, and System s.

Preface v

In the context of these tw o courses, individuals w orked on a variety of activities, assignm ents, and projects that engaged them in the follow ing:

• Ind ivid ual and collaborativ e inquiry

• O ngoin g reflective w riting

• Exploration and sharing of m etaphors and im ages of teaching and learning

• R ole-p lay and sim ulation activities

• A nalysis of critical incidents in practice

• Storytellin g

• C oop erative and group presentations

T h ese activ ities and their ongoing reflections and inqu iry provided in d i­

v id u a ls w ith m u ltip le o p p o rtu n ities to ex p lo re th eir ow n b eliefs and u n d erstan d in g s, to share ideas w ith oth ers, to h ear v iew s and p er­

sp ectiv es d ifferen t to their ow n, and to create a p rofession al kn ow led ge

in teaching.

As you read their narratives, you will hear the voices of practitioners

w ho w rite, and not those o f trained w riters Ind ividually and collectively, these n arrativ es ackn ow led ge the in tercon n ected n ess of the m ind and the

b o d y the em otio n s and the intellect, and the spirit and the senses, in the

p ro ce ss o f b e co m in g a teach er and of learn in g to teach H ere, sp irit or

spiritual is u n d erstood in a secu lar way, referring to a n on m aterial source

of m ean in g in an in d iv id u al's life Each n arrative provides in sigh ts into the u n iq u e jo u rn e y taken by each in d iv id u a l w h o is d raw in g from a

u n iq u e set o f past exp erien ces and has his or her ow n unique dream s and

g o a ls for th e fu tu re T h e in d iv id u a l n a rra tiv e s p resen t the p a rtic u la r

co m p le x itie s and p ro ce sses of in q u iry th at are d istin ctiv e to that in d i­

v id u a l and in to the w ay in w h ich new ex p e rie n c e s, c o n v e rsa tio n s,

in tera ctio n , and co llab o ratio n en ab led that in d iv id u al to exp an d h is or

h er k n o w le d g e , ran g e of p ra c tice s, p ersp e c tiv e s, and w o rld v iew s

C ollectively, they provid e insights into the w ays in w hich these b egin n in g teach ers cam e to recognize the necessity to create classroom co m m u n ities that are b ased in the exp erien ces and realities of the learn er rath er than those of the teacher T h ey also show how in d ivid u als learned to teach for stu d e n t e n g a g e m e n t and stu d e n t su ccess, and ad d ress co m m o n issu es

th at face e v e ry p ro sp e ctiv e teach er: the d ifferen ce s b etw een h ow they

w ere tau gh t and the w ays in w hich they m ust teach, betw een w hat they

th em selv es h ave exp erien ced and w hat their stu d en ts h ave exp erien ced and are ex p erien cin g , betw een the kinds of sch ools they attended th em ­ selves and tho se in w hich they teach, and betw een the b egin n in g teachers they are and the p rofession al teach ers they w ant to becom e.

In d iv id u a lly and co lle ctiv e ly , the n a rra tiv e s are te stim o n y to the

co m p lex ities of b eco m in g a teacher, to the joy s and d ifficu lties associated

w ith th e r e c o g n itio n th at o n e 's in d iv id u a l v iew s an d le a rn in g sty le s

are v alid b u t are n ot u n iv e rsa lly sh ared , and to the im p o rta n c e o f o n ­

g o in g re flectio n , q u e stio n in g , and self-d irected in q u iry in p ro fessio n a l

le a rn in g T h e y are a te sta m e n t to the p ro fo u n d ly h u m a n e n d e a v o r of

b eco m in g a teacher, an en d eav or that en gages each p erson in tellectu ally,

e m o tio n a lly , so cially , p h y sically , m orally, and sp iritu a lly T h e y b e a r

w itn ess to the w ays in w h ich p rofession al learn in g is a jo u rn ey that lin ks

th e in d iv id u a l's p a st, p re sen t, and fu tu re in p ro fo u n d ly in tim a te and

h u m an w ays.

THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE TEXT

T h e ph iloso p h y of this text is based on a h olistic and n arrativ e ap p ro ach to teach in g and learning It is u nderstood that teach er ed u cation is based in inquiry, w hich is focu sed on the dev elop m en t o f the w h ole p erson w h o is

b e co m in g a teach er T h is in v o lv es the d e v e lo p m e n t o f s e lf-k n o w le d g e ,

k n o w le d g e o f o th e rs, an d k n o w led g e o f w o rk in g c o lla b o ra tiv e ly w ith oth ers in classroom s, sch ools, and com m u n ities It is ack n o w led g ed that

b ecom in g a teach er and learnin g to teach are in extricab ly in tertw in ed and that p ro fession al learnin g is grou nded in the in d iv id u al's past exp erien ces,

cu rren t p u rp o ses, and fu tu re asp iration s It is also u n d ersto o d that in d i­

v id u als con stru ct m ean in g from their in terp retation s o f their exp erien ces and recon stru ct their k n o w led g e in the light of new exp erien ces, insights, and u nd erstan d in g s.

P ro s p e c tiv e te a c h e rs b rin g a w e a lth o f p rio r e x p e rie n c e , p e rso n a l

k n o w le d g e , and u n d e r s ta n d in g to th e p ro fe ssio n a l le a rn in g situ a tio n ,

w h ich p ro v id es th em w ith a rich reso u rce for reflection and inquiry T his

k n o w led g e, m ost o f w h ich has b een gain ed as a stu d en t, m u st b e e x a m ­ ined and reco n stru cte d in the co n tex t o f b eco m in g a teach er and in the creatio n of a p ro fessio n al k n o w led g e o f teach in g By reflectin g on o n e 's

ow n ex p e rien ce, and throu gh d iscu ssio n s and co n v ersatio n w ith oth ers, the in d iv id u al d ev elo p s his or h er v oice and ex p an d s it throu gh h earin g the in sig h ts and u n d ersta n d in g s o f o th ers T h is p h ilo so p h ica l p e r s p e c ­ tive is g rou n d ed in D e w ey 's (1966) n otion that w e learn from e x p e rien ce and reflectio n on exp erien ce and that the "ed u ca tio n a l p ro cess is o n e of

co n tin u al reo rg an izin g , reco n stru ctin g , tran sfo rm in g e x p e rie n ce " (p 50)

T h e goal o f this kind of teach er ed u catio n is to en ab le b eg in n in g teach ers

to re o rg a n iz e an d re co n stru ct th e ir p erso n a l k n o w le d g e in to a p r o fe s ­ sio n a l k n o w le d g e o f te a c h in g b y p ro v id in g m a n y o p p o rtu n itie s for reflectin g on p rior and cu rren t ex p erien ces, for co n sid erin g and a d ap tin g

w h a t is k n o w n th ro u g h liste n in g to th e p e r s p e c tiv e s o f a v a r ie ty o f

o th e rs, fo r stim u la tin g n ew w ay s o f th in k in g , and for d e v e lo p in g the

p ra c tic e s , h a b its , an d c a p a c itie s for o n g o in g re fle c tio n , in q u iry , and

m ean in g m akin g.

in d iv id u al's w hole life.

• Learning is a process of creation and re-creation, of learning from and w ith oth ers, by con tin ually adapting w hat is know n in the light

of w hat is learned.

• Stories and n arrativ es are prim ary w ays of thinking and know ing and of rep resen tin g w hat is know n We u nderstand our experience, our realities, and our jou rneys through life in the form of n arratives that h ave b egin n in gs, m iddles, and endings The expansion of our

u n d erstand ing , persp ectiv es, and w orldview s involves us in the rescrip tin g of these narratives and those of our com m u nity and of the w orld around us.

In the con text o f professional learning, these them es translate into the follow ing p rin cip les of teaching and learning:

• T h e processes of learning to teach and of becom in g a teacher are

in extricab ly in tertw in ed , and all aspects of the person— cognitive, social, m oral, aesth etic, em otional, spiritu al, and ph ysical— are interrelated in the learning and in the teaching processes.

• Inqu iry p ro v id es a central organ izin g fram ew ork for professional learning and for the con tin u ou s con stru ction of a professional

kn o w led g e in teach in g throughout an in d iv id u al's career.

• The ab ility to reflect on exp erien ce and to learn from it is an essential asp ect of b ecom in g an ethically based professional The con tin u ou s use and d ev elo p m en t of reflective abilities, habits, and practices are essen tial for a career of eth ically based practice.

• Teaching and learning are relational endeavors, and professional learnin g is grou nded in learning from on eself and from and with others W ithin collab orativ e relation sh ip s w ith stu dents and

co lleag u es, profession al teachers can achieve both personal and

co llectiv ely con stru cted goals and w ork together to create au th en tic learnin g co m m u n ities in their classroom s and schools.

• P rofession al learnin g begins in the exam in ation of practice, of

ex p erien ce, and of the stories we enact in our lives, our schools, and ou r so cie ty It in volves u nd erstand ing o n e's ow n story, learning

to h ear and u nd erstand the stories o f others, and con tin u ou sly rescrip tin g the stories of self as teacher and of school, com m unity, and society R escrip tin g the story is about inventing the future,

ab ou t im ag in in g how things can be oth erw ise, and abou t w orking

w ith co lleag u es to bring abou t a better w orld for all people.

THE GOAL OF THE TEXT

The goal of the text is to help teachers to create and re-create their p ro fes­ sional kn ow led ge through reflection and inquiry R ead ers w ill h ave the

o p p o rtu n ity to exam in e and co n sid er a v ariety o f p o ssib le resp o n ses to teaching and learning situations, and to relate their thin kin g to their ow n

ex p e rien ce and d ev elo p in g p ro fessio n al k n o w led g e R ead ers w ill be

in v ited to reflect and respond in d iv id u ally and co lla b o ra tiv e lv to w h at

th ey read , and to d o cu m en t th eir reflectio n s, resp o n ses, and o n g o in g inquiry In this w ay teach ers can use w hat they learn to build their ow n

u n iq u e p ro fessio n al k n o w led g e in tea ch in g , and to p lan th e ir fu tu re action s and profession al practices T h e n arrativ es serv e as sp rin g b o ard s for discussion, con v ersations, and self-con scio u s reflection on the n atu re and d ev elo p m en t of e th ica lly b ased p ro fessio n a ls T h ey p ro v id e rich resources for readers as they explore the stories of their ow n lives, open them selves up to the stories of others, and prepare to d ocu m en t the details

o f their professional learning.

SPECIAL FEATURES OF THE TEXT

T h e text en co u ra g es and g u id e s the read er th ro u g h th e p ro ce sse s of reflection, inquiry, and the creation o f a n arrative of profession al learning

It c o n ta in s a v ariety o f n a rra tiv es w ritten by b e g in n in g te a ch e rs w h o

d escribe the unique jou rn eys they took in the process of b ecom in g p ro fes­ sional teachers T h ese n arrativ es are w ritten in b eg in n in g teach ers' ow n language, and they reflect their individual voices, pu rp oses, p ersp ectiv es, and realities Ind ivid ually and collectively, they show the u n iq u e pro cesses

by w h ich th ese au th o rs created au th en tic p ro fessio n a l id e n tities, d e v e l­ oped professional relation sh ips w ith stu d ents and colleagu es, and w orked

to e sta b lish in q u iry -b a se d , d e m o cra tic cla ssro o m s and sch o o ls T h e

n arratives are follow ed by a w ide ran ge of su ggested reflective activ ities and w ritin g that p ro m p t the read er to gain in sig h ts from the n a rra tiv es

th em selv es, and to relate them to th eir ow n ex p e rien ces and situ atio n s

By b u ild in g up a b od y o f reflectiv e w ritin g ov er tim e in resp on se to the

ch apters, the reader has a rich data b an k from w h ich to draw in ord er to create a n arrative of his or her ow n professional learning.

T h e text has three m ajo r se ctio n s w ith in w h ich the n a rra tiv es h ave been arran ged accord in g to the a u th o r's m ajor focus:

1 C reatin g a P rofession al Identity: C o n n ectin g the P ersonal and the Profession al

2 C reatin g R elation sh ip s and M akin g N ew R elations: L earn in g from and w ith O th ers

Preface ix

3 C reating N ew N arratives: C on necting Self, School, and Society

• Each of these parts begins w ith an introdu ction to the them e and an overview of the n arratives contained in the section.

• Each n arrativ e is introduced and the significant d im ensions of the them e are highlighted.

• Q u estion s follow ing each narrative invite the reader to reflect on and to respond to the ideas, the experiences, the m eanings

m ade, and the lessons learned T h ese questions are designed

to stim u late thought, discussion, con versations, reflective

w riting, and professional action.

• Su ggested w riting activities are included in the follow -u p to each n arrative T h ese ideas are designed to help beginning teach ers d ocu m en t the d etails of their ow n professional learning

T h ey are intended to provide support for the begin n in g teach er's

d ev elo p in g voice and to stim u late and deep en the ongoing inquiry.

• The in trod u ction , "L etter from O ne Teacher to A nother,"

presen ts the process of inquiry and the invitation to begin a

p ortfolio of w riting that d ocu m ents the professional journey.

• C h ap ter 13 is designed to support the w riting of a professional narrative.

SUGGESTIONS FOR USING THE TEXT

N arratives of professional learning can be used by beginning teachers in teacher ed u cation program s It is also designed to be used in grad u ate pro­ gram s by exp erien ced teachers as a resource for self-directed inquiry The

b ook will also be useful to associate teachers, curriculum and staff d ev el­

o p m e n t c o n su lta n ts, tea ch er ed u ca to rs, and all tho se in terested in the dev elop m en t o f professional know ledge in teaching The text can also be useful to those w ho are interested in h olistic and narrative approaches to

ed u ca tio n a l research , p ra ctitio n e r inquiry, and research that rep resen ts

p ractitioners' voices It is hoped that the reader will use the text in the w ay that best fits his or her p articu lar p u rp oses and in terests by p ro ceed in g

th ro u g h the ch a p te rs as they are p resen ted or by creatin g an a ltern ate sequ en ce better suited to the purpose at hand.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I w ould like to exp ress m y gratitu de to the m any people w ho have m ade this b o o k p o s sib le and w h o h av e help ed m e to realize the d ream of a second edition First and forem ost, I w ant to thank m y form er students at

the O ntario Institute for Studies in Education at T he U niversity of Toronto (D ISE/U T) w ithout w hose contributions the b ook w ould not exist: W endy Barber, G ilb ert Barsky, A licia C ash o re, G eo rg e H ad d ad , S tev en H unt,

D ou g K irkaldy, C arol S ap ian o , E llen S h ifrin , D o u g S tra tfo rd and Ruth

W einstock T h ese v o ices h ave in sp ired m e as I w ork ed on the first and second editions of the book.

I also w ant to than k the p u blish ing team at M errill/ P ren tice H all for their su pport throu gh ou t this project I am esp ecially g ratefu l to D ebb ie Stollen w erk, w h ose gu id an ce and w isd om h ave been so v alu ab le to m e from the beginning Sharon M ontooth, the P rod u ction Editor, and Laura

L arson of L eap fo r W ords h av e p ro v id ed th eir sp e cia l e x p e rtise to the cop yed itin g and layout of the book.

I w ould like to express m y gratitu d e to the rev iew ers w h o p ro vid ed

su ch e x cellen t feed b a ck on the first e d itio n o f the text T h ey are P au la

D Packer, Lock H aven U n iv ersity of P en n sylv an ia; M ichael Perl, K ansas State U n iv ersity ; T h eresa S Stew art, U n iv ersity o f Illin o is— S p rin g fie ld ; and D u ncan W aite, Texas State U niversity, San M arcos I h ave resp on d ed

to their com m en ts and su ggestion s throu gh o u t the ch ap ters, and I b elieve this has h elp ed m e to create a b etter book Forem ost am on g the ch an g es in this second ed ition is a re-w ritten and exp an d ed v ersio n of C h a p te r 13,

W riting a N arrativ e, w h ere I h ave tried to p ro vid e m ore su p p o rt and p rac­ tical su ggestion s for the w riting.

F in ally, I w an t to e x p re ss m y d eep g ra titu d e to m y h u sb a n d Jim ,

w h o se lo ve and e n co u ra g em en t alw ay s feels lik e a b lessin g I ow e him

m ore than I can say.

M ary B eattie

Teacher Preparation Classroom

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Chapter 1 Beginning the Inquiry: D ocu m enting

the Jou rn ey of P rofessional Learning 7

Introduction L e tte r fro m O n e T e a c h e r to A n o th e r 1

Section I Creating a Professional Identity: Connecting the

Chapter 2 M aking Room for the A esthete:

A ccom m od atin g the Self in Teaching 23

Chapter 3 Believing in the Self: Teaching and

Individual Talent 35

Chapter 4 Sy nth esizin g H yacin ths and Biscuits:

C reating the A rtist-Teacher 45

Chapter 5 Learning Self-R esp ect and Self-W orth:

Professional Learning and P ersonal Past

E xperien ce 57

Section II Creating Relationships and Making New Relations:

Learning from and with Others

Chapter 6 Som e Experien ces of a Lifelong Learner:

Teachers I H ave K now n 75

Chapter 7 M aking C on nection s: C reating N ew

R elation sh ip s 87

Chapter 8 C reating R elationships: Learning from

and w ith Stu d en ts in the C lassroom 99

Chapter 9 The C om m u n ity in the C lassroom 113

69

Section III Creating New Narratives: Connecting Se lf School,

Chapter 10 Teaching Transform ations: M erging

Self and Teacher 129

Chapter 11 C on fron tin g C h allen ge w ith C reativ ity

C ollegiality, and C om p assion 139

xiii

Chapter 12 C reating C om m u n ity: Seek in g C om m on

G round 151

Chapter 13 W riting a N arrativ e 163

Chapter 14 C on tribu tin g to the E xistin g L iteratu re 173

M ary Beattie is an associate professor in the D epartm ent of C u rricu lu m , Teaching and L earn in g at the O ntario Institute for Stu d ies in Education (O ISE ) at the U n iv e rsity of Toron to P ro fesso r B e a ttie 's teach in g and research in te re sts are g rou n d ed in tea ch ers' p ro fessio n a l k n o w led g e,

n arrative inquiry, and h olistic education She teaches in the grad u ate and teacher ed u cation program s at O ISE and also has extensive experien ce in

K -1 2 classroom s She h as taught in C anada, the U nited States, the United

K in g d om , and Irelan d , and sh e has giv en k ey n o te ad d resses at co n fe r­ ences and w ork sh op s around the w orld.

P ro fesso r B eattie has p u b lish ed articles, b o o k ch ap ters, and books

H er m ost recen t b ook , N arrativcs-in -the-M akin g: Teaching and Learning at

C orktow n C om m u n ity H igh School, w as p u b lish ed by the U n iv ersity of

T o ron to P ress in 2004 The A rt o f L earn in g to Teach: P reserv ice Teacher

N a rra tiv es w as p u b lish e d by P ren tice H all in 2001 The C on stru ction

o f P rofessional K n ow led g e in Teaching: A N arrative o f C hange and D evelopm ent

w as pu blished by Teachers C ollege Press in 1995.

H er p assio n s an d p re o ccu p atio n s in clu d e m u sic, literatu re, n atu re,

w alkin g, and p eo p le w ith a sense of humor.

xv

Letter from One Teacher

to Another

When you m ake sense o f som ething, it tends to disappear It is only

m ysten/ which keeps things alive Things only disappear, only become lost, because you've stopped flunking about them, stopped living with

them in som e vital way Things and people have to be planted in you,

have to grow in you, and you have to keep them alive If you forget to

keep them alive, you lose them M any people have w alked out on life

because they stopped seeing it M any have fallen into the abyss because they zoere looking for solid ground, for certainties H appy are those who are still, and to w hom things come A nsw ers are like that Thex/ go to

those who expect them So, if you leant to find som ething find it first .

H ow?

Find it in yourself, I suppose.

Ben O kri

DEAR PROSPECTIVE TEACHER:

W elcom e to a book that is about the creation of a professional know ledge and a professional identity in teaching I will be your guide as you engage

in reflection and self-directed narrative inquiry throughout the text As you read the narratives presented here, reflect on them , respond to them , and learn from them In m v role as guide, I will help you to see how prospective teach ers like v o u rse lf tran sfo rm ed th eir th in kin g and their p ractices through se lf-co n scio u s reflectiv en ess and inquiry As you read, I w ill be there with vou, pointing out the w ays in w hich other prospective teachers

h ave created a p ro fessio n al k n o w led g e in teach in g from w h at in itially seem ed to be unrelated sets of life experiences and disconnected bodies of

1

know ledge and skills A s your guide, I will be directing you to look at the

w ays in w hich these individuals gained deeper and m ore profound insights into the role of the teacher, to find their ow n voices and values, to see how their individual and collective actions could influence change, and to create new scrip ts for their w ork in classroom s and in sch ools M y p u rp o se throughout is to enable you to do this in your ow n life In the end 1 w ill be there w ith you, guiding you as you w rite your ow n narrative, as you m ake plans to invent the future and to enact it in your professional practices.

T h e p ro sp ectiv e teach ers th ro u g h o u t th ese c h a p te rs tell h ow th ey cam e to recognize the w ays in w hich past experien ces and the stories they had heard th rou gh o u t their lives shaped their id en tities and the k n o w l­ edge they brought to the teacher education setting T h ey exp lain h ow their inqu iries provided fram ew orks for the exp loration of that k n o w led g e and for the dev elop m en t of kn ow ledge of subject m atter, of pedagogy, of in ter­

p erson al relatio n sh ip s, and of the creation of learn in g e n v iro n m en ts for stu d en ts T h ro u g h th ese se lf-d irected in q u irie s, th e y c o n d u cte d a ctio n research into their ow n lives and attem pted to m ake sense of how people,

sy stem s, and rela tio n sh ip s w ork to g eth er in e d u ca tio n a l se ttin g s T h eir accounts of professional learnin g d escribe the d ifficu lties and com p lexities

of articu lating d eep ly held valu es and personal p h iloso p h ies, of d ev elo p ­ ing a to leran ce for a m b ig u ity and u n certain ty , an d of stru g g lin g to d is­ cover w here self-in terests and com m u n al interests m eet T h eir n arrativ es provide texts you can step inside and find su p p ort for you r ow n p ro fes­ sion al inquiry T h ey p ro v id e su p p o rt for the re co g n itio n of y o u r ow n

h u m an ity and th at o f y o u r stu d e n ts, fo r the a c k n o w le d g m e n t of you r stren gth s and w eak n esses, and for w o rk in g w ith them in the co n tex t of your personal and professional goals and purposes.

M y ow n story o f teach in g and le arn in g and m y v alu es, b eliefs, and theories o f teach in g and learn in g are d eep ly em b ed d ed in the text You will hear m y voice as I in trod u ce each of these n arrativ es and follow up

w ith q u e stio n s and su g g estio n s for yo u to reflect u p on an d to talk and

w rite about I w ill en co u rag e you to locate you r ow n au th en tic v oice and urge you to d escribe you r exp erien ces as you know them and expan d the range of you r voice by listen in g to the p ersp ectiv es o f oth ers, esp ecially those that differ from v ou r ow n M v voice is stron ger and m ore d istin ctiv e now than it w as w h en I w as in a p osition sim ilar to y ou rs, b eg in n in g m v jou rn ey in teach er ed u catio n and e n v isio n in g m y p ro fessio n al career It has b een d ev elo p ed through reflection and in q u iry th rou gh o u t m y years

of teach in g and w ith in relatio n sh ip s w ith stu d en ts and colleagu es It has been en rich ed and exp an d ed by the p rivilege of h elp in g oth ers to learn,

a p rivilege that g u id es m y w o rk now ju st as it w as cen tral to m y o rigin al

m otiv ation to be a teacher M y p h ilo so p h y of teach in g and learn in g can be heard in the ch oices and d ecisio n s I m ake throu gh o u t these ch ap ters, just

as they are ev id en t in m y classroom action s and in m y p ro fession al life.

Introduction 3

In m y ca reer so far, I h ave tau g h t stu d e n ts in E u rop e and N orth

A m erica, stu d e n ts from k in d erg a rte n to g ra d u a te sch o o l, ex p erien ced teachers in the m id d le of their careers, and prospective teachers w ho are just b egin n in g theirs In all of these situations, I have learned som ething about hum an relation s, about the person and professional I am , and about the art of teach in g O n e of the m ost im p ortant lesson s I have learned is that the relation sh ip betw een teacher and stu dent is at the heart of good teaching I have learned that good teachers are cen trally concerned w ith the creatio n of au th en tic relatio n sh ip s and a classroom en v iro n m en t in

w h ich stu d e n ts can m ak e co n n ectio n s b etw een the cu rricu lu m o f the classroom and the cen tral con cern s of their ow n lives G ood teach ers help stu d ents to id en tify their pu rp oses, to respect them selves and others, to show com p assion and tolerance, and to develop the qualities and habits necessary for full p articip ation in life inside the classroom and out in the com m unity T his kind of teaching requires not only a sound kn ow led ge of

su bject m atter and of p ed ago gical strategies, but also a d eep u n d erstan d ­ ing o f stu d en ts and the w ays in w hich they learn.

Teachers m u st know how to create relation sh ip s and learnin g en v i­

ro n m en ts in w h ic h stu d e n ts feel th ey are v a lu ed m em b ers w h o are resp o n sib le for m ain tain in g those relation sh ip s and environ m en ts This kin d of tea ch in g c a n n o t b e red u ced to stra teg ies, p lan s, tech n iq u es, or styles It can n o t be p rep ackaged or prescribed M akin g stu d en ts' learning the fo cu s o f te a c h in g and e m p h a siz in g co m m itm e n t, co m p a ssio n , and the ca p a city for tru e co lla b o ra tio n w ith stu d e n ts in th eir learn in g

p ro v id e the im p e tu s and in sp iratio n for lifelo n g p ro fessio n al learn in g ,

o n g o in g in q u iry , and p ro fe ssio n a l joy It has tak en m e a lo n g tim e to com e to th ese u n d erstan d in g s just as it takes a lifetim e to b eco m e a good teacher T h e b eco m in g is alw ays a w ork in progress, and the n arrativ e is alw ay s a tem p o ral o n e that will ch an g e in the ligh t of new exp erien ces and new u n d erstan d in g

In m y w o rk w ith the in d iv id u a ls you w ill m eet th ro u g h o u t th ese

ch ap ters, I have help ed them to find their ow n au th en tic voices, to tell the stories o f their pro fession al learnin g at a certain point in tim e, and to d o c­

u m e n t th e ir sto rie s so th ey and o th ers can learn from them A s th e ir

a cco u n ts d e m o n stra te , the n a rra tiv es are tem p o ral p o rtra its, or " s n a p ­

sh o ts in tim e " T h ey cap tu re the d etails o f learn in g and u n learn in g , of

ch angin g v iew s and p ersp ectiv es as the au th ors w ere influ enced by new exp erien ces, u n d erstan d in g s, and w orld v iew s over tim e T h e n arrativ es

sh ow h ow p ro sp e c tiv e te a c h e rs learn ed new w ays o f k n o w in g and of bein g m ore aw ak e to the realities and lives of the people they taught.

As in d iv id u als, w e accept scien ce as the story of the w ay thin gs are in the n a tu ra l w o rld and h isto ry as the sto ry o f p ast ev en ts We also ackn ow led ge that these stories ch an g e w hen new kn ow led ge and insigh ts are b ro u g h t to b e a r u p on them or new p a rad ig m s are d isco v e red

L ik e w ise , w e a ccep t the sto ries, the k n o w led g e, the id eas, and w o rld ­

v iew s w e h ave in h erited in ou r liv es u n til n ew k n o w led g e, id eas, and

w o rld v ie w s ca u se u s to rev ise ou r u n d e rsta n d in g s and the sto rie s of

ou rselves that w e tell and enact W hen w e ask such q u estion s as "W 'hose

h istory is th is?" "W h o se definition is th is?" or "W h o se v ersion o f reality

is rep resen ted h e re ? " w e em b ark on an in q u iry th at can ca u s e u s to rev iew w h at w e th o u g h t w ere certa in ties C h a n g e can resu lt from th is kind o f q u e stio n in g of the statu s quo, and from reflectio n and in q u iry

w h en w e a c k n o w le d g e th at ou r k n o w le d g e is p a rtia l and th at it can

be ex p a n d ed th ro u g h h earin g the p e rsp e c tiv e s o f o th e rs We a c c e p t that inqu iry is a n ev er-en d in g process and that w e m u st b e w illin g to be lifelong learners.

A s you em bark on this professional learning journey, it is im p o rtan t to ackn ow led ge that you h ave m any significant exp erien ces in life and in for­

m al edu cation settings from w hich you can now learn You p robab ly have

in excess of 20 years of experien ce in form al ed u cation settin gs w h ere you have dev elop ed u n d erstan d in g s of w h at it m ean s to teach and to learn You have also learned m an y valu able lesson s in the sch ool of life and have

w ell-estab lish ed (thou gh p robab ly im p licit) th eo ries ab o u t teach in g and learn in g You w ill find that all o f th ese e x p e rien ces are rich so u rces for reflectio n , d iscu ssio n , co n v e rsa tio n s w ith p ro fe ssio n a l c o lle a g u e s, and reflective w riting A s you u ncov er you r m em ories of sch o o lin g and m ake explicit you r u n d erstand ing s of teach in g and learnin g, you w ill find that

m uch of w hat you know has been learned from the p ersp ectiv e of a stu ­ dent w here you w ere focused p rim arily on you r ow n learnin g N ow as a prospective teacher, you r focus and resp on sibility m ust be on the learnin g

of all stu d e n ts, m an y of w h om co m e from d ifferen t c u ltu ra l and so cial backgrou nds to you rs, and w h o learn in w ays that are very d ifferen t from the w ay you learn.

As you exp lore the m em ories of you r ow n sch oolin g , rem em b er that

m uch of w hat you r teach ers did and th o u gh t w as h id d en from you r view

A s a stu dent you did not h ave access to the array o f ch o ices av ailab le to the teach er or the d ecisio n s m ad e in the p rep aration for an y giv en class

A s a stu d e n t, you p ro b a b ly did n o t k n o w th e te a c h e r 's p h ilo s o p h y of teach in g and learnin g, asp iratio n s for teach in g, or the w ays in w h ich that

in d iv id u a l u n d e rsto o d an d a sse sse d su c c e ss in tea ch in g N ow , as a

p ro sp ectiv e teacher, you w ill need to exp lore the k n ow led ge of teach in g you h ave gained from you r p rior exp erien ce and to recog n ize the p a rtia l­ ity o f that kn ow led ge You w ill expand you r p erson al u n d erstan d in g bv

d raw in g on cu rren t theory, new exp erien ces in sch ools, and co n v ersatio n s

w ith co lleag u es and stu dents In d oin g so, you w ill brin g y o u r p erson al

kn ow led ge to the su rface, m ake it exp licit, and recon stru ct it in the c o n ­ text of creatin g a p ro fession al k n o w led g e in w h ich the p erson al and the profession al are fused.

Introduction 5

As a b egin n in g teach er you w ill need to be patient w ith you rself, to recognize and articu late the progress you are m aking, and to give you rself cred it for w h at yo u k n ow and can do You w ill n eed to be co n fid en t enou gh to q u estion and ch allen g e som e of w hat you know and to be open

to learning from and w ith others At the outset, you should establish w ays

to d ocu m en t you r th in kin g, you r p ractices, and you r q u estion in g Your reflective w riting w ill provid e you w ith a w ay to do this, and to track your

g ro w in g c a p a c itie s to co n n ect th eo ry and p ractice as th ey in tera ct in you r life You m ust dev elop w ays to really listen to stu dents' voices and to hear them in their ow n term s, to observe them , to enter their realities, and

to see the w orld from their perspectives Your stu dents w ill teach you if you listen to their stories, if you ask them w hat is going on in their lives and how it can b e u nd erstood They w ill teach you how to create respect­

fu l, tru stin g , and e m p a th etic relatio n sh ip s w ith them and p rovid e you

w ith w ay s in w h ich to su p p o rt th eir le arn in g T h is kind of teach in g requires flexibility and adaptability, an attitu d e o f openness, and the w ill­ ingness and cap acity to learn from and w ith stu d ents, colleagu es, parents, and oth ers It req u ires atten tiv en ess to the p erson s w ith w hom you are

in teractin g and to the q u alities and n uances of their responses To teach in this w ay on a d aily b asis requires com m itm en t, creativity, and im ag in a­ tion W h en the celebrated C anad ian violin teacher Lorand Fenyves (1998)

w as asked to exp lain the secret of his su ccess as a teacher, he said, "You

m u st b e a b le to tra n sfo rm y o u rse lf to deal w ith stu d en ts You h av e to

en te r y o u r stu d e n ts ' h ead s and th in k lik e them Even w h en you are

in stru ctin g y o u n g ch ild re n , th ere m u st be an u n d e rsta n d in g b ased on

m utu al resp ect" (p C8).

T h e au th ors of th ese n arrativ es ackn ow led ge that at the ou tset their teach in g p ractices and the stories they w ere en actin g in their lives w ere larg ely u n exam in ed , taken for gran ted , and accep ted as the w ay thin gs are A s you read th eir n arrativ es, you w ill be rem inded of the exten t to

w hich w e all forget that the w orld v iew s, stories, and practices w e enact are cultural co n stru ctio n s that have b ecom e part of the fabric of our ev ery ­ day lives W hen w e travel to oth er cou ntries, w e see how oth er societies and cultures en act d ifferen t p ractices, con v en tion s, and w orld view s It is often a su rp rise to find that our view s, our attitudes, and our stories are not u n iv ersally shared Th rou gh the processes of inquiry, these b egin n in g teachers sh ow h ow they cam e to und erstand that som e "official sto ries" and accepted n orm s of the cultures and com m u nities in w hich thev had lived w ere restrictin g and con fin in g for them in their roles as teach ers in a

m u lticu ltu ral, m u ltilin g u al, and d em ocratic society In their efforts to be

m ore resp on sive and ethical to others, they faced up to w hat they saw and heard, and learned to nam e, resist, and take action against lim itin g b eh av ­ iors, stru ctu res, and con stru ction s of reality They learned to im agin e how

th in gs cou ld be o th erw ise and to rescrip t the stories o f teach er-stu d en t

relation sh ips, to m ake classroom s and schools collab orativ e learn in g co m ­

m unities, and to enact these stories of positive change T he n ov elist Jam es Baldw in w rote, "N o t ev eryth in g that is faced can be ch ang ed , but n oth in g can be changed until it is faced " A s you read and respond to these n a rra ­ tives, I hope you w ill be en cou raged to face up to the ex p erien ces and the stories that have shaped you r life, to explore the w ays in w h ich they in flu ­ ence w hat you say and do, to identify the ran ge of p ossib le ch o ices a v a il­ able to you, and to im agin e, rescript, and en act new narrativ es.

As you r gu id e in this self-d irected inquiry, I h o p e the n a rra tiv e s you read here w ill offer in sp ira tio n and su p p o rt for y o u r in q u iry and p ro ­

v id e fra m ew o rk s in w h ich you can reh ea rse the fu tu re scrip ts of y o u r career I h o p e th e y w ill s tim u la te you to a sk h o w you can re la te to stu d en ts and co llea g u es in n ew w ays, and in sp ire you to act co lla b o ra - tiv ely to b rin g a b o u t p o sitiv e ch a n g e s in the c la s sro o m s , s c h o o ls, and

co m m u n itie s in w h ich yo u w o rk W h e re v e r w e are in o u r te a c h in g careers, w e all n eed sto ries to stim u la te ou r im a g in a tio n s and a ctio n s,

to su p p o rt ou r o n g o in g reflectio n s and the co n tin u o u s rescrip tin g of our

fu tu re liv es C aro ly n H eilb ru n (1988) ex p la in s the im p o rta n c e o f th ese stories to ou r p ro fessio n al lives:

What m atters is that lives do not serve as m odels; on ly stories do that.

A nd it is a hard thing to m ake up stories to live by We can on ly retell and live by the stories w e have read or heard We live ou r lives through texts They m ay be read, or chan ted, or experien ced electron ically, or com e to us, like the m u rm u rin g s o f ou r m oth ers, tellin g us w hat con v en tion s d em an d W hatever their form or m ediu m , these sto n es have form ed us all; they are w hat w e m ust use to m ake new fictions, new narratives, (p 37)

Th ese n arrativ es are in ten d ed to in sp ire you and stim u late you r in q u irv into the creation of a p rofession al k n o w led g e that is u n iq u ely vours.

• M ay you find p erson al m ean in g and fu lfillm en t in you r teach in g career ahead.

• M ay the good you do for oth ers b e retu rned to you a h u n d red fold

• M ay you use you r sp ecial gifts to leave the w orld a little b etter than you found it.

All the best,

Mary Bwnx

Beginning the Inquiry:

Documenting the Journey

of Professional Learning

It has been said that if w e as individuals are to determ in e what our

relationship is to som e idea o f the good, "we m ust inescapably

understand ou r lives in narrative form , as a 'quest.'"

C T a y l o r

Dou g K irk a ld y 's a c c o u n t o f p ro fe ssio n a l le a rn in g sh o w s h ow this

p ro sp ectiv e teach er ack n o w led g es that teach in g and learnin g are not accom p lish ed by d isem b o d ied in tellects but by p eop le w hose m in d s are con n ected to their b o d ies, their feelin gs, their h earts, and their spirits H e

is w illin g to ack n o w led g e w hat he sees and h ears w ith ou t an attitu d e of

d e fe n siv e n e ss, an d to d eal w ith the su rp rises, am b ig u ities, and u n ce r­

ta in tie s o f p ro fe s s io n a l le a rn in g w ith h o n esty and co u ra g e D ou g resp on d s w ith co m p assio n and carin g to the life situ ation s that in terfere

w ith stu d en ts' learn in g in the classroom , and he accep ts the n ecessity to

do som e u n learn in g o f his past v iew s and teach in g practices By w orkin g around the situ a tio n s and o b stacles that get in the w ay of stu d en ts' learn ­ ing, D oug rev eals h im se lf as a teach er w ho resp ects their hum anity, their

p ersp ectiv es, their learn in g , and their lives H is story illu strates the value

o f a u th e n tic re la tio n sh ip s w ith stu d e n ts and the open co m m u n ica tio n that can take p lace w ith in those relation sh ip s as sources of profession al learning It sh o w s how this p ro sp ectiv e teach er is b ecom in g aw are of the

so cial realities th at p ro v id e a co n tex t for his w ork H is n a rra tiv e illu s­ trates his b u rg e o n in g u n d erstan d in g s of the hum an issues that affect his classroom p ractices, and his g row in g ab ilities to m an age the d ilem m as of

d aily classroom life.

7

DOCUMENTING THE JOURNEY

OF PROFESSIONAL LEARNING

If I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity

to do it even if I m ay not have it at the beginning.

M ah atm a G an d h i

Create a Professional Portfolio o f Writing

C reate a p o rtfo lio o f w ritin g th at d o cu m en ts the d eta ils of y o u r re fle c ­ tions and in qu iry as you en g ag e in the read ing , w ritin g , d iscu ssio n s, and

co n v e rsa tio n s p re sen ted th ro u g h o u t th is tex t Tell the s to rie s o f y o u r learnin g exp erien ces, of you r u n learn in g exp erien ces, o f y o u r reflectio n s, argu m en ts, fru stration s, stru ggles, q u estio n s, co n n ectio n s, and joys Your

p ortfolio w ill be a p lace to keep all you r reflectiv e w ritin g as you d o cu ­

m ent you r learn in g jo u rn ey by creatin g a trail o f y o u r th in k in g , m ean in g

m ak in g , and p ro fessio n al le arn in g o v er tim e P ut a d ate on e v ery th in g you w rite W rite in y o u r ow n a u th en tic v o ice, and w rite fo r y o u r ow n

pu rp oses K eep y o u r "in n e r c ritic " at b a y as yo u w rite , an d rem em b er that it w ill be you r d ecision regard in g w h ich p ieces of w ritin g you w ill

m ake p u blic and w h ich you w ill keep p rivate A ll of the first-d ra ft w rit­ ing you do w ill no d o u b t be p rivate, b u t it w ill p ro v id e a rep o sito ry for you r id eas and you r th in kin g, and b eco m e a b asis for futu re d rafts and for the n arrativ e you w ill w rite.

The ongoing reflective w riting you do w ill h elp you to articu late w hat you are learning, build self-kn ow led ge, and u nd erstand how this is co n ­ tributing to you r grow th as a teacher W h en you read b ack ov er the details

of this w riting, they w ill provide you w ith v alu able in sigh ts into the w ays

in w hich you have m ade m ean in gs and u nd erstan d in g s, related issu es and ideas to you r professional practice, and im agin ed altern ativ es T h is w rit­ ing w ill be the resource you w ill draw on w hen you w eav e the threads of your personal and profession al life into a coh eren t w h ole in you r n arrative You w ill be ab le to u se the n a rra tiv e s w ritten b y p ro sp e ctiv e tea ch ers through out the text and the q u estion s follow in g them to stim u late ideas and issues for you to reflect on, discuss and respond to, and stim u late vour

ow n reflection s and w riting T h e activ ities fo llo w in g each n arrativ e w ill help you to lo cate the cen tral v alu es and p u rp o ses at the h eart o f v o u r desire to becom e a teacher, articu late you r person al p h ilosop hy o f teach in g and learnin g, u nd erstan d and en rich you r classroom p ractices, and plan you r future profession al grow th.

T h e n a rra tiv e s you w ill read th ro u g h o u t th e se c h a p te rs w e re

w ritten b y p ro sp ectiv e teach ers w h o w ere en rolled in a teach er ed u ca tio n

p ro g ram in v o lv in g c o u rse w o rk and p ra c tic e te a c h in g s e s s io n s in

C h ap ter 1 Beginning the Inquiry: Documenting the Journey 9

classroom s, throu gh o u t one acad em ic year D uring this year, these in d i­

v id u a ls created a la rg e b o d y o f re flectiv e w ritin g w h ere th ey d o c u ­

m en ted th e ir in q u irie s in to th e ir th in k in g , th eir p ra ctice s, and th eir learning All this w ritin g w as collected in a p rofession al p ortfolio along

w ith a variety of v isu als, sk etch es, profession al d ocu m en ts, artifacts, and

a ssessm en ts o f p ractice teach in g T h e p ortfolio s ranged in ap p earan ce,

sh ape, and size, and they inclu ded three-ring b in d ers, cardboard boxes, and a v ariety of co n tain ers deem ed su itab le for the purpose The m ateri­ als collected w ere used to exp lore the m ean in g of past exp erien ces in the con text of b eco m in g a teach er and learnin g to teach , and to plan future

le arn in g e x p e rie n ce s and actio n s T h ey w ere used to keep an on g oin g record of q u estio n s, in sigh ts, con v ersatio n s, critical in cid ents, reflection s, resp on ses to th eoretical articles, d escrip tion s o f p ractices, id eas for future

p ra c tic e , a ss e ssm e n ts o f te a ch in g , and p lan s fo r fu tu re p ro fe ssio n a l

d ev elop m en t.

T h e fo llo w in g n arrativ e accou n t, "W h a t D o I H ave to D o to Be a

T e ach er?" by D ou g K irkaldy, p rovid es an exam p le o f one p ro sp ectiv e teach er's attem pts to m ake sense of his experiences in practice teaching and

to begin to d ocu m ent his reflections and professional learning D oug show s how he is developing self-aw areness, self-observation, and aw areness of his actions in the classroom H e is grappling w ith the big question, W hat does

it m ean for me to be a teacher?

WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO TO BE A TEACHER?

by D oug K irkaldy

I was in a classroom supervising some work when a student called me over

I guess she was about 17.

She said to me, "I'd like to be a teacher W hat do I have to do?"

I started with the usual, "Get your B.A Get some experience."

"I really want to teach elementary school," she said.

"Well," I said, "have you had any experience working with young kids?"

"I work with my 2-year-old twins every day," she said.

Welcome to the new reality, I tell myself These are not the same naive kids we were This girl picked up her daughters at the in-house day care center two doors down the hall from her homeroom Most of the parents with children at the center are students The parking lot for students' cars is three times the size of the lot for teachers and other staff Some of these kids have their own Internet accounts They've got CDs, CD-ROMs, and CNN And these are the kids I want to teach.

Rule number one Don't even think of trying to teach high school the way

I was taught high school Textbooks Jesuits Long pointers (not just for pointing things out) These kids are worldly They live at a much faster pace At some schools, the periods run for 85 minutes There's no way a bunch of teenagers is going to sit and listen to me prattle on for almost an hour and a half.

I've been out on two 3-week teaching assignments Already I've realized

my lessons have to change They have to be alive They have to include all sorts of activities The information must come from many sources Overheads, videos, handouts, and textbooks are just the beginning People have to get up from their desks Form into groups I need to pass out worksheets and have materials at the ready We need a short in-class break, but I can't let them go out into the halls Half of them won't come back W hat to do with the girl who's half asleep? The classroom teacher says she has to work, because she needs the money She puts in a 28-hour workweek outside the classroom I'd be half-asleep, too Still she manages to get her assignments in Talk to her Stay in touch She's a good kid But try to avoid the so-called halo effect In other words, don't give her a few extra marks on her essays because after all she's working so hard, not like Johnny over there who doesn't have to work and disrupts the class.

Whew.

And the material I heard years ago that books were often out-of-date by the time they were printed These days, information is almost out-of-date

by the time it reaches the computer monitor.

When I was in high school, it seemed the teacher knew it all These days,

no one can even pretend to know it all.

Centuries ago, the monks and others had knowledge and information They parceled it out carefully It was a way of holding onto power These days, anyone with a mouse and a computer has access to unlimited informa­ tion The role of the teacher— my role— has changed I'm no longer the sole deliverer of information I may not even be the principal deliverer of infor­ mation In my classroom, some students brought in information they picked off the computer the night before Great But now, we're checking sources Where did the information come from? W hy put it on the Internet? Is it accu­ rate? I'm taking my knowledge and using it in different ways They can get at least as much information as I can I've become their catalyst, their inter­ preter I'm helping to focus their thinking, teaching them discernment This is all quite a stretch from "Read the rest of chapter 10 and then do questions

1 and 2 on page 165."

And I've learned something about trust When I'm preparing my lessons,

I know what answers I need to get from A to B It's somewhat humbling, but as often as not, my answers are pedestrian In more than a few cases, their answers have been inspiring I've learned to trust my students More to the point, I've learned to trust myself to trust my students I've already gained a little more self- confidence If the discussion takes off, set aside the lesson plan Run with it.

C hap ter 1 Beginning the Inquiry: Documenting the journey 1 1

And I've learned something else that every good teacher already knows You have to love the kids I think every professor in the program has said this to us I've found that it's true I relate their stories to my friends after

my practice teaching It's not enough to love Keats and Byron or the theories

of communism in the pre-Gorbachev Soviet Union.

This all has been a revelation to me, even though I've done some teaching

in my other life I love teaching, and I would've taught to an empty room.

I have a few friends who teach at the university level, and they love what they teach But they don't love their students And neither did I That may have been good enough then, but it's not good enough now.

I sat beside a few of my students during a double-header basketball game I talked with a few of them after class about whether Doug Gilmour would ever come back from Switzerland and play hockey with the Toronto Maple Leafs Tiny things But their response in class the next day was mightily changed— for the better And I felt that my attitude toward them was friendlier, warmer, more personal.

Have I learned anything else?

I thought I'd forgotten them until this year.

In my teaching assignments this year, I've noticed the power of positive rein­ forcement Students who don't usually say much literally glowed when I called

on them for an answer and they got it right, and I told the whole class they got

it right and thanked them for it I had learned something about reinforcement in

my university class where the professor taught us by using a very dramatic example Two student volunteers were asked to leave the room while the profes­ sor talked to us about the three kinds of reinforcement— positive, neutral, and negative Then we participated in an experiment The students would come in, one at a time They would have a task to do They would be required to walk to the front of the class, pick up the professor's jacket, which was draped on the back of a chair, and put it on They'd cross the room and pick up a pen from a student's desk They would then go back to the front of the class and put the pen inside the professor's briefcase, which was closed Finally, they would carry the briefcase across the room and put it on the overhead projector.

The first volunteer would receive only positive and neutral reinforcement

If he did something right, took a step in the right direction, the professor would praise him If he turned the wrong way, there would be silence Volunteer A performed the entire exercise in 2 minutes and 40 seconds.

Volunteer B was to receive only neutral and negative reinforcement If he were to pick up the professor's jacket, nothing was said If he walked past the

jacket, he was shouted at, called stupid, and so forth After more than 5 minutes, volunteer B had managed to put on the professor's jacket That was all He was frozen to a spot He couldn't or wouldn't move And there was an uncomfortable silence in the room.

That demonstration will stay with me for years It was with me every day

of my practice teaching sessions in classrooms I had a little more patience on

my second session I was a little more encouraging And I noticed a few of the kids who hadn't said a word in class before were now daring to speak out

My associate teacher noticed, too!

Should I ever return to my previous career of journalism and broad­ casting, my colleagues there will also notice a kinder and gentler Doug Especially one person who worked for me He got from me neutral and negative reinforcement— with predictable results That will change in my interactions with people after what I have learned.

And there are a lot of other smaller things Like tests I used to lecture part- time at a university in the journalism program I spent a lot of time trying to teach the importance of teamwork No one can be a lone wolf The assign­ ment desk has to help the reporter who has to keep the desk informed about her story so the lineup editor knows where to place the story and so on Yet, every week, I'd give them a news quiz Ten questions W ho said what this week in the House of Commons? What's Canada's predicted deficit? What's the capital of the Yukon? I was trying to teach one thing and testing and hand­ ing out marks for something else I now realize this was not very smart When I arrived in the high school for my practice teaching session, the class was just wrapping up a series on democracy The teacher had been using a traditional lecture/test approach Can you teach democracy that way? And how far would I go? Would I let the kids decide democratically which areas of democracy they'll study? Would I let them vote on whether to have a test? If yes, how should it be constructed and assessed? W hat other methods of assessment could be used? I'll have to get back to you on that one And another small thing I'm thinking about what I say and how I say it and

recalling that in my last practice teaching, I used the word swell I was teaching

a few lessons on imperialism It's not a word I use a lot, but I heard myself, two

or three times in 2 days, say the imperialist forces weren't that happy with things

as they were so they sent in their armies, and soon after, they found everything was just swell And after the Revolution, the Americans didn't have to send any more taxes to Britain, and they thought that was just swell.

At the end of the lessons, I drew up a test using essay questions Just guess

which word turned up in far too many essays? They probably used the swell

word as seldom as I did Now, you might say, what's the big deal? And you're

right Swell isn't that big a deal But if they pick up on that word, what else are

they picking up? If the kids pick up on an innocuous word, imagine what they could do with biases and prejudices I took another look at some of my notes, and I made a few changes.

C h ap ter 1 Beginning the Inquiry: Documenting the journey 1 3

I've been told that sometimes we teach the way we were taught, and that includes becoming our worst teachers as well as our best ones I've realized that it's more than that We teach the way we are The teaching we got is a part

of who we are We have to decide what kind of teacher we want to be.

I came into the teacher education program to stretch myself.

To challenge myself.

To try something new.

To learn.

To change.

I've done a lot of that And I'll do more.

The best measure of how I've changed will come from my students' learning.

D ou g's story highlights the im portance of learning from experience— on e's

ow n and that of others— and of continually adapting w hat is know n in the light of w hat is being learned It illustrates the value of opening our m inds and hearts to new perspectives— especially those of students— and show s that there is m uch to be learned from points of view that are different from our ow n D oug sh ow s that he is w illing to reflect on w hat he sees, hears, and exp erien ces in the classroom , to face up to it, and to recon figure his

u n d ersta n d in g s o f the teach er-stu d en t relatio n sh ip , his ow n role as a teacher, and his classroom practices H e adm its his astonishm ent that the realities of stu dents' lives and of schools are very different than he expected them to be, and ackn ow led ges that his students have experiences and lives

v ery d ifferen t from his ow n H e ack n o w led g es that he can n o t exp ect to teach as he w as taught (or as he taught in his previous teaching situation) in the light of these realities Rather than turning these surprises into difficul­ ties, he recognizes the value of hearing stu dents' perspectives, of exploring the logic in their points of view, and of adapting his practices and w ays of responding in the service of students' learning.

DOCUMENTING THE JOURNEY: BECOMING

SELF-AWARE AND MINDFUL OF PRACTICES

Until toe can understand the assum ptions in w hich w e are drenched,

we cannot kn ow ourselves.

A d rienn e Rich

• U sing D o u g 's n arrativ e as a g u id e, m ake a plan for u n co v erin g

y o u r a ssu m p tio n s ab o u t teach in g and learn in g and for d ev elo p in g

se lf-a w a ren ess an d se lf-o b serv atio n in the classroom D escrib e how' you w ill lo ok fo r e v id en ce of grow th in these areas.

• W rite about a sign ifican t learning exp erien ce you have had in you r

life Recall the details of the exp erien ce— the settin g, the tim e o f year, the people present, the feelings you had at the tim e, the lesson s that have stayed w ith you D escribe them in w riting, u sin g as m uch detail as possible Read over w hat you have w ritten and con sid er

w hat it tells you about yo u rself as a learner W h at d oes it tell you about you rself as a teacher?

• W rite about the m ost sign ifican t teaching exp erien ce you h av e had.

As in the previous learnin g exp erien ce that you w rote abou t,

describe this teaching ev en t or m om en t in detail Read ov er w h at you have w ritten, and id entify w h at it tells you ab ou t y o u rse lf as

a teacher D escribe the w ays in w hich you can u se w h at you kn ow

to b ecom e the teacher you w ant to be.

• W rite about you r best and w orst exp erien ces as a stu d en t in school Include as m uch detail as you can.

• W rite a letter to yo u rself as a you n g child from y o u r cu rren t situ ation

as a prospective teacher Explain to you r y o u n g er se lf w h y you w ant

to be a teacher, an ticip ate how this form er self w ould react, and include you r respon ses to those issu es as you w rite.

• W rite letters to y o u r fo rm er tea ch ers: the b est, the w o rst, the o n es

w h o in sp ired you , and the on es w h o scared you Tell th em w h at you felt and th o u g h t and learn ed (or d id n ot learn ) as a stu d e n t in

th eir classes Tell them h ow th ey h av e in flu en ced y o u r c u rren t teach in g p ractice and w h at you h av e learn ed a b o u t tea ch in g from them

• W rite about you r favorite teach er w hen you w ere an e le m e n ta n ' school stu dent, a high sch ool stu dent, and a u n iv ersity stu dent

D escribe the asp ects o f these in d iv id u al teach ers that ap p ealed to you and the teach in g strategies that h elp ed you to learn.

• W rite an assessm en t of you r cu rren t teach in g p ractice, and d efin e the w ays in w h ich you w ould like to im p ro v e that p ractice D e scrib e the attitu d es, skills, and k n o w led g e you need to acq u ire to b eco m e the teach er you w an t to be.

• W rite a job ad v ertisem en t for the teach in g job o f you r dream s W rite you r ap p lication letter.

• W rite the speech you w ill giv e at you r retirem en t party at the end of your career.

CONVERSATIONS WITH OTHERS

• Talk to the stu d en ts you teach abou t their person al in terests and hobbies ou tsid e sch ool D o cu m en t the con v ersatio n s W h at su rp rises you abou t w hat they say? D escrib e the surprises.

C hap ter 1 Beginning the Inquirí/: Documenting the Journey 1 5

• A sk stu dents w hat m atters m ost to them in life, w hat they w ant to know abou t, how they learn best, and w hat con ditions m ake it easy for them to learn D ocu m ent the conversations H ow will you adapt your teaching p ractices b ecau se of w hat stu dents tell you about them selves and about how they learn? W rite about this.

• Find out abou t stu d en ts' lives, w hat they fear, hope for, and dream about K eep track o f w hat they say, and w rite abou t the im plications for you r future teaching practices.

• W rite a letter to the stu dent w ho has taught you the m ost about teaching D escrib e the lessons you learned, and the w ay these

lessons h ave influ enced you r practice.

• W rite to you r associate teach er in response to his or her assessm ent

of you r teach in g practice Explain how you plan to learn w hat you need to know and w ish to be able to do.

• A sk you r stu d en ts about the teachers they like m ost Find out w hat

q u alities they think are the m ost im portant in a teacher R elate w hat they say to you r ow n teaching practices.

• W rite abou t a tim e w hen you w ere able to see the w orld (or one asp ect of the w orld ) from som eon e else's v iew p oint Explain the circu m stan ces by w hich you w ere able to “step into a n o th er's sh oes."

D iscuss the v alu e of this ability in the process o f becom in g a teacher.

CONVERSATIONS WITH SIGNIFICANT TEXTS

• List the sig n ifican t books in you r life C ho ose the three m ost

sign ifican t on es, and w rite about how each one has influenced you r life, you r teach in g practice, and the w ay you en act you rself

in the w orld.

• W rite you r p erson al resp on se to a theoretical article or book, a policy

d ocu m en t, or cu rricu lu m docum ent.

• D escribe a theory of teaching or learnin g you find useful in your practice E xplain its u sefu ln ess and its lim itations.

• Identify tw o p ro fession al texts or articles that have influenced or inspired you W rite ab ou t you r respon se to the ideas presented in each of these D escrib e the w ays in w hich you believe they influ ence you r p h iloso p h y o f ed u cation an d / or profession al practice.

• Locate the three or four ch ild ren's books that you can rem em ber m ost vividly Reread them now as an adult, recalling their significance to you w hen vou w ere a child and the lessons they hold for vou as a prospective teacher.

• Share you r th in k in g and w riting w ith others D iscuss the ideas exch an ged in the con text of b ecom in g a teacher and of you r personal jou rn ey in p ro fession al learning.

RECEIVING WRITTEN RESPONSES FROM OTHERS

• A ssem ble a collection of objects and artifacts that h ave p articu lar sign ifican ce for you as a teach er and learner T h is collection can include m usic, pictu res, m em en tos, p h otograp hs, personal

d ocum ents, books, souven irs, jew elry, toys, and item s of clo th in g that have special and lasting m ean in g for you Present your

collection of treasures to a colleagu e or grou p of colleag u es,

explain in g the m ean in g and sign ifican ce of each item to you in the context of b ecom in g a teacher A sk you r colleag u es in ad v an ce to

m ake notes on their ob serv atio n s as you speak, to id en tify the p arts

of the presentation that reson ate for them , and to m ake n ote of any them es or p attern s they hear in the ideas and issu es presen ted

• W rite about the exp erien ce of m akin g this p resen tation E xp lo re the

d etails for in sigh ts and w isd om regardin g you r role and p u rp ose

as a teacher.

• C ollect qu estion s from recent in terv iew s con d u cted in the school

d istrict in w hich you h op e to be hired W ith a partner, id en tify five

or six potential qu estion s for a job interview Take turn s to be the

in terview er and the in terv iew ee and to role-p lay the job interview

As the interview er, be ob serv an t to w hat the in terv iew ee says and the w ays in w hich things are said Take n ote o f the oral lan gu age, body lan gu age, con ten t, and ton e of the an sw ers, and m ake you r notes im m ed iately after the interview P rov id e you r p artn er w ith oral and w ritten feed back on the interview

• Im agine a sch ool settin g that n ou rish es the w h ole person of the teacher and the learn er— a place w h ere teach ers' and stu d en ts'

m inds, hearts, em otio n s, and sp irits are en gaged in the acts of teach in g and learning Im agin e you are the p rin cip al of this school and you are hiring a n ew teacher D esign a series o f interview '

q u estion s you w ill use W ith a partner, take tu rn s as the in terv iew er and the in terv iew ee P rovid e y o u r p artn er w ith oral and w ritten feed back on the interview D o cu m en t you r reflection s on the

C h ap ter 1 Beginning the Inquiry: Documenting the journey 17

• Keep a copy of the N ational C oun cil for A ccreditation of Teacher Education Stan d ard s (N CA TE Standards) in your portfolio C reate a separate page for each standard, and as you com p lete an activity that

ad d resses that stan dard, m ake a note of the activity Review these pages from tim e to tim e, and reflect on your grow ing professional

kn ow led ge, skills, and attitu d es in relation to the creation of a

p rofessional id entity that is true to w ho you are, the creation of relation sh ip s w ith stu dents and colleagu es, and the creation of a new script for classroom s, schools, and society.

• Reread you r w riting on a regu lar basis to explore the w ays in w hich you are op en in g up a d ialogu e betw een you r history and your present, in ord er to create new insights and u nderstand ings K eep track o f these by w riting abou t them.

• U se the C ircle o f Inqu iry to d escribe you r exp erien ces— past and presen t— to reflect on them , interpret and m ake m ean in g from them , and to u se you r new u nd erstand ings to plan future action s and

Interpretation

and meaning-making

And to Put One's

Is the M ost

D ifficidt Thing.

G o e t h e

The creation of an au th en tic pro fession al id en tity is the m ajor focu s of

the ch ap ters in this p art o f the book T h is p rocess requ ires you to go deep into you rself, to find the cen tral v alu es and b eliefs that su stain you

in you r p erson al life, and to con n ect them to you r p ro fession al pu rp oses and p ractices T h e p ro cess is con cern ed w ith en ab lin g yo u to fin d you r voice, to link self-k n o w led g e and p ro fession al kn ow led ge, and to connect all the asp ects o f y o u r p erso n — you r personality, p assion s, eccen tricities and p re o c c u p a tio n s , in te lle c t, e m o tio n s, an d m o ra l p u rp o se — to th e

p ro cesses of b eco m in g a teach er and of learnin g to teach.

A holistic and n arrativ e orientation to teacher education acknow ledges the con n ected ness of the le arn e r's prior experiences, current purposes, and

fu tu re goals It lo ca te s th e le arn e r at the h eart o f the m ean in g -m ak in g process and recog n izes the in terrelated n ess of the intellectual, em otional, social, m oral, and aesth etic d im ensions of the individual w ho is becom in g a teacher T h is o rie n ta tio n to p ro fessio n a l learn in g h as a h igh d eg ree of autonom y, self-d eterm in ation , authority, and personal freedom associated

t

1 9

Aesthetically Intellectually

w ith it It ackn ow led ges that the creation of a p ro fession al id en tity takes place w ithin the context of the fam ilial, historical, cultural, epistem ological, and gendered fram ew orks of the in d iv id u al's life.

This view o f professional learning is based in relationships H ere, the curriculum of teacher education is regarded as an in teractiv e process that connects teacher, student, and subject m atter in a relational and h olistic con ­ text The construction and reconstru ction of kn ow led ge take place w ithin this relational context, and they are concerned w ith the m aking of con n ec­ tions and relationships: betw een the personal and professional, b etw een the teacher and the learner, betw een the theory and p ractice of teach in g and learning, betw een the various dom ains of kn ow ledge, and betw een teach ­ ers and their colleagu es and the com m u nities to w hich they b elon g This orientation to teacher education challenges sim plistic notions of a cu rricu ­ lum for p ro fession al learn in g b ased on a set o f th eo retical and p ractical requirem ents, a course of study, or a list of com petencies H ere, the person

w ho is becom ing a teacher is deeply connected to the con ten t of the teacher education program , the know er is in tim ately connected to w hat is know n, and p ro fession al grow th is u n d ersto o d as crea tin g d eep er co n n ectio n s betw een on e's ow n w ork and the concerns of learners, schools, and society The narratives in this section of the book focus on the creation of a pro­ fessional identity that has au th en ticity and coh eren ce in the con text of an

in d ivid ual's w h ole life T he kn ow led ge and u nd erstand ing these in d iv id ­ uals bring to the teacher edu cation setting are grounded in their personal biographies and fam ily histories, their experiences o f schooling and of grow ­ ing up in differen t cu ltu ral and social en v iron m en ts, and the h op es thev have for their future careers T h ese prospective teachers ask fu n d am en tal questions: W ho am I? W hat do I know ? W hat are the origins of w hat I know ?

W hat w ere the social, cultural, lin gu istic, and gendered circu m stan ces in which I learned? In w hat w ays is m y know ledge partial? W ho benefits from

ig a Professional Identity 21

m y style of teaching, and w ho is disadvantaged by it? W hat is the purpose of

m y teaching? W hat are m y desired outcom es for m y teaching? W hat are the best ways to achieve these outcom es? How can I m ake changes to m y teach­ ing that will enhance students' learning? W hat kind of teacher do I want to be? H ow can I becom e this kind of teacher? By probing beneath the surface

of their intellectual and em otional responses to these questions, these indi­ viduals com e to see that professional learning is different from other form s

o f learning in academ ic life It involves far m ore than an em phasis on the abstract "bo ok kn ow led ge" of traditional disciplines and requires them to learn from a w ide variety of sources, including their ow n past experiences They acknow ledge the involvem ent of the w hole person in the act of learn­ ing and of know ing They value the intellect, em otions, senses, and im agina­ tion in the processes of learnin g to teach, and they learn how to learn by using all the resources available They learn to ask questions of the stories and practices they enact in their classroom s and in their lives, and to contin­ uously plan their ow n grow th as persons and professionals.

Each of the prospective teachers here engages in a self-directed inquiry

to identify w hat is know n; to articulate personal beliefs, values, priorities, and orien tation s tow ard teach in g and learning; and to plan profession al grow th Their accounts show that what m ust be learned is intim ately con­ nected to w hat is already know n and to expectations for the future They show how they learn to "th in k like a teacher" and describe the unique and personal w ays they address the details and dynam ics of learning to teach—

of relating to students in the role of teacher, of dealing w ith classroom m an­

ag em en t issu es, of p resen tin g the su bject m atter of the cu rricu lu m , of assessing student w ork, and of creating dem ocratic classroom s Each narra­ tor learns a variety of teaching strategies, explores different w ays of creating safe and equitable classroom environm ents, and w orks out diverse w ays of relating to large num bers of students It is w ithin the structures provided by these individuals' ow n inquiries, their purposes and goals, that they build a coherent body of professional skills and strategies and m ake choices am ong instructional m ethods, assessm ent practices, and designs for curriculum

In ch ap ter 2, C arol S ap ian o 's n arrativ e m akes sign ifican t conn ection s betw een the p erson al and the profession al and the w ays in w hich they are

d eep ly con n ected in the process of b ecom in g a teacher C arol's narrative

ad d resses the follow in g d im en sion s of profession al learning:

• the in terco n n ected n ess of the in tellectu al, spiritu al, em otion al, social, and m oral d im en sio n s of the person w ho is learning to teach;

• the teach er as learner: the process o f tran sform in g personal kn ow l­

ed ge and p ro fession al practices;

• the im portance of establishing professional relationships w ith students;

• the p ow er of reflectiv e w riting in en ab lin g the teach er-learner to rethink assu m p tio n s, to con n ect the intuitive and the an alytical, to recon stru ct w h at is kn ow n , and to d evelop new practices;

• w ays to connect o n e's central pu rp oses and sou rces o f satisfaction to the larger con text of curriculum design and the p u rsu it of an

ethically based profession al life.

In ch apter 3, Steven H u n t's n arrative focu ses on the cen trality o f p er­ sonal authenticity, integrity, and self-accep tan ce in the creatio n of a p ro ­ fessional identity Stev en 's n arrativ e ad d resses the follow ing:

• the p ow er of p reconcep tion s and assu m p tio n s and the p ro cesses of exam in ing, rew orkin g, and tran sform in g them ;

• the in terrelated n ess of the p h ysical, in tellectu al, m oral, social, and aesthetic d im en sion s of the person w h o is b eco m in g a teach er— particu larly the im p o rtan ce o f recog n izin g the role of the b od y in the professional context;

• acknow ledgm ent of the em otional d im ensions of becom in g a teacher;

• the recognition o f p erson al stren gth s and u n iq u e featu res; of b elief in the self, o n e's ow n voice and w ays of b ein g in the w orld.

In ch apter 4, D oug Stratfo rd 's n arrativ e ad d resses the u n certain ty and

am biguity, the m ystery and the b eau ty at the h eart o f learnin g It honors the crea tiv ity th at is cen tra l to the le a rn in g p ro ce ss an d the p ro ce ss of learning to teach D o u g 's n arrativ e d eals w ith the follow ing:

• the teacher as learner: learnin g to teach as a creativ e and artistic process w h ere am biguity, con trad iction s, and d ilem m as ab o u n d , and

w here inqu iry is u n d erstood as con tin u o u s im p rov isatio n and

creation of m ean in g;

• recognition and au th en tication of the em otio n al asp ects o f b ecom in g

a teacher: d ealin g w ith self-d ou bt, p erson al sh yn ess, and lack of self- con fid en ce in the con text of pro fession al learnin g;

• learnin g to teach b y id en tify in g o n e's ow n p u rp o ses and asp iration s

as a teacher and b y con n ectin g them to cu rricu lar co n ten t and to stu d en ts' in terests and p erson al agen d as.

In ch ap ter 5, W endy B a rb e r's n arrativ e co n sid ers the v alu e of learnin g from past exp erien ce in the con text of b eco m in g a teacher W en d v 's ch ap ­ ter ad d resses these issues:

• learnin g from o n e's ow n past exp erien ces— p erson al strife and painful exp erien ces as rich sou rces for p ro fession al learnin g;

• self-accep tan ce, self-w orth , and self-resp ect as in tegral asp ects of a personal and p ro fession al id en tity;

• ack n ow led g m en t of p erson al stren g th s and gifts and of u sin g them

to create relation sh ip s w ith stu d en ts and to d ev elo p as a teacher:

• u n d erstan d in g teach in g as a relation al activity: b eco m in g a carin g,

em p ath etic teacher, w h ich en co m p asses care for the self and care for students.

Making Room for the

Aesthete: Accommodating

the Self in Teaching

Students are alive, and the pu rpose o f education is to stim u late and

gu ide their self-developm en t It follow s as a corollary from this prem ise, that teachers shou ld be alive w ith living thoughts.

A N W h it e h e a d

Carol S a p ia n o 's n a rra tiv e sh o w s h ow the p erso n a l and p ro fessio n a l

d im e n sio n s of b e c o m in g a tea ch er are in tim a te ly in te rtw in e d as

kn ow led ge is b u ilt through inquiry C arol d escribes the creation of a pro­ fession al id en tity that is true to the person she is and to the p rofession al teach er she w an ts to becom e H er n arrativ e sh ow s how h er cen tral values and beliefs p rovid e a stru ctu re for her p rofession al in q u iry en ab lin g her

to id entify the v ario u s ch oices av ailab le to her and the w ays to develop her practices She u ses in creased self-kn ow led ge to learn w hat sh e needs

to know and to direct h er p rofession al developm en t.

C aro l m a k e s e x te n s iv e u se of re fle c tiv e w ritin g to co n d u ct h er

in q u iry and to exp lo re the sig n ifican t life exp erien ces that h ave shaped her u n d ersta n d in g s of teach in g and learn in g T h ro u g h the w ritin g , sh e ack n o w led g es h er p erson al and cu ltu ral h eritage, accep ts the n ecessity to

b a la n ce tra d itio n an d in n o v a tio n , and e m b ra ces h er rig h t to w rite the scrip t for her p resen t and futu re p ro fession al life T h rou gh h er an alysis of the w riting d o n e o v er tim e, sh e recog n izes the con n ection s b etw een her need to estab lish creativ e, d em o cratic classroom s w h ere h er stu d en ts w ill create new k n o w led g e and u n d erstan d in g s, and her desire for creativ ity

in her p erson al life T h e an aly sis of the w ritin g allow s her to recog n ize

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