Concepts of Teaching
Which of the five perspectives best fits my views of my teaching?
In each of the five perspectives Pratt (1998) emphasises the words “good teachers” implying that each of the perspectives, although conflicting in their approach, meets the changing needs in the contexts, contents and learners, when required. In my role as a teacher of primary students, tutor teacher and team leader, a positive rapport and dyadic relationship is key to my students and colleagues, in developing a sense of competence, autonomy and relatedness. Students and colleagues are more likely to take risks in their learning and seek help as an opportunity in developing their competence, which results in higher self-efficacy Tuckman & Monetti (2011). I consider my dominant approach to teaching to be that of a Nurturing Perspective, where the learners efforts are supported by myself and their peers. Consistently maintaining a classroom culture that promotes a climate of caring and trust, where learners efforts are appreciated, and high expectations are achievable, is important to me, in my role as a teacher.
One of the challenges I face at the moment as a tutor teacher, is what Pratt (1998) refers to as our teaching perspective being something “we look through, rather than look at, when teaching” (p. 33). It is only when this is challenged with another perspective to teaching that our perspective changes from invisible to visible (p. 36). My idea of what classroom management looks like and a teacher’s obligations in meeting the demands of the NZ Curriculum, are challenged by a constant resistance to a change in capabilities, knowledge structures and skills Laurillard (2002), by a beginning teacher I am currently tutoring, has now become a problem that requires intervention. It is important in my role as tutor teacher to understand the underlying and intentional beliefs of the beginning teacher, and to adopt a Developmental Perspective in order to support the learning of new knowledge, skills and attitude, to enhance understanding of the teaching profession (p. 47). This leads onto the Developmental Perspective as another dominant approach to my teaching, when the content moves to the foreground, making it a “learner-centered” philosophy of teaching (p. 46). I encourage my students to critically think about new learning that occurs in the classroom and acquisition of skills through questioning, scaffolding, exploring, testing, researching, evaluating, etc. It is important to me in teaching, to facilitate change in the quality of their thinking, by building on their prior knowledge and experiences (p. 47).
The Transmission Perspective would be considered my recessive perspective as a teacher.
The “stable body of knowledge and/or procedures is efficiently transmitted to learners
regardless of time constraints (p. 40), is in conflict with the dominant Nurturing Perspective I hold. The teaching profession does require a level of Transmission Perspective in order to meet the demands of the NZ Curriculum, which was exasperated with the introduction of National Standards. The dominant relationship between the teacher and content, with the teacher having authority over what is to be learned, does need to occur in order to scaffold learning, however, I would not want to do this too often.
Teaching Perspective Inventory (TPI)
The Teacher Perspectives Inventory (TPI) is a model of teaching created by Daniel Pratt and John Collins that measures teachers’ profiles on five contrasting views, or perspectives, of what it means “to teach.” It is a tool used to provide self-reflection and develop statements for our teaching philosophy. This tool also enables professional conversations about teaching and to learn about others’ perspectives without adopting the commitments and beliefs of those perspectives Pratt (1998).
Looking at the results of the TPI with the differentiated columns, it was no surprise that the Nurturing Perspective was my dominant perspective, in an attempt to stay true to my professional role as a teacher, while maintaining a reciprocal relationship of trust and respect. My beliefs and intentions in this dominant perspective had the highest results in the profile.
It was surprising to see the Apprenticeship Perspective appear more dominant than the Developmental Perspective.
When reflecting on my practice in the classroom my actions encourage a Developmental Perspective with the intention of making the classroom a “learner-centred” environment, where learners are able to take risks and build on their understanding and acquisition of skills.
The results of the initial TPI had motivated me to do the survey again, now that I am familiar with the tool itself and the formal setting of the classroom as the focus.
Overall, the TPI reflects the kind of teacher my beliefs, intentions and actions intend to reflect.
I have taken the TPI again, three months following the initial summary, with a better understanding of the tool and a clear focus on the formal setting, when responding to the questions. Looking at the current results of the TPI with the differentiated columns, it is reassuring that the dominant perspective continues to be the Nurturing Perspective, where the goal is to facilitate learner agency. Interesting also, but not surprising is that the Apprenticeship Perspective is consistent with the initial results. The definition of this perspective has become more defined in my role as an educator. One of the conscious decisions made as a teacher is to model self control, intrinsic motivation, emotions, empathy and collaboration to the students we teach. There was a noticeable change in both the Transmission and Social Reform Perspectives. My beliefs and values are in positively empowering the individuals which would result in influencing the collective as indicated in the Social Reform Perspective. The Transmission Perspective focuses on mastery of the context. which I am opposed to in most situations.
References:
Pratt, D., & Associates. (1998). Alternative frames of understanding. In Five Perspectives on teaching in adult and higher education (pp. 33-53). Kreiger.
Tuckman,
B., & Monetti, D. (2011). Educational Psychology. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Engage Learning. Chapter 10, Motivating Learners. 386-433.
Laurillard, D. (2012). Motivating and enabling the learning cycle. In Teaching as a design science: Building pedagogical patterns for learning and technology. Routledge.