Learning, Innovation & Tech

Bombs & Breakthroughs

Are Teacher Education Programs Irrelevant?

CJ Westerberg, February 15, 2012 2:48 PM

obsolete.addingmachine.jpg

"The most innovative teachers are drawing on experiences and skill sets they developed outside of education."

While I was just about to re-tweet this blog post about a research study from Scott McLeod, one of my favorite provocateurs in education and technology . . .  I thought twice, especially since I am under the weather and relying on other peep's insight to make up for my cotton-headed brain for the week. 

What I love about this research is how it's about crossing silos - one of things that still often gets lost in education.

It is a good one to ponder and debate.   It is actually a guest post for McLeod's blog, Dangerously Irrelevant, from Seann from gamingmatter.com, which McLeod frames as "self-promotion."  Okay, good to know, yet the questions raised are more the point.  Post is entitled, "Are Teacher Preparation Programs Dangerously Irrelevant?"

Below is an excerpt of the post and research. Do check out the entire post or the follow-up posts, as where you will find me soon.

-C.J.W. 

Were you trained to teach in a teacher education program? What training most equipped you to teach like you do?

The results were striking. Stop for a moment and consider the following numbers from 39 of our award winning teachers.

  • 10% credit their primary training to a traditional four year certification program


  • 21% credit their primary training to a hobby, game, or interest.

 

  • 33% credit their primary training to another job/profession.



  • 36% credit their primary training to another field of study.


  • Only 31% completed a traditional four year certification program.


  • 46% were employed in other fields or left the teaching profession for a time.


  • 67% were trained in other fields of practice before getting a certificate in a 1-2 year program.


  • Only 10%, or 4 of 39, affirmed that their official 'teacher training' was relevant to their current practice. The rest were inspired elsewhere.

There were no patterns on what these other field/professions were other than that they covered the gambit: Medicine, Aviation, Acting, Mortuary Work, Rock-n-Roll, Journalism, etc. etc. Commonly, these teachers felt their training in that field was what actually influenced their teaching.

Ironically, those that are being recognized as excellent teachers, were largely not trained as such. Moreover, they largely went out of their way to make sure the world would know it.

So what does this say to educational leadership?

Do we want more 21st century teachers? The most innovative teachers are drawing on experiences and skill sets they developed outside of education.

Later I'll show results that 21st Century skills are a key part of what they are bringing into the classroom, while traditional education programs still reduce "technology training" to the use of an over-head or interactive whiteboard. The following posts will uplift the sources that positively affect teacher training.

Immediately, a few things... this data would suggest if you want to employ innovative creative teachers, you may want to consider:

1) Interview non-traditional candidates; those with other training, lifelong learners with avid hobby interests, avid readers, and yes, computer gamers. These seem to be better predictors of potential among the sample set.

2) Refine your interview protocol to uncover these interests outside of the profession. What do you do for fun? What other interests do you have? Have you ever worked outside of education? Where?

3) Encourage workshops and training outside of education and validate those experiences with modified accreditation. NASA led summer workshops for teachers that were brought up by three of the candidates - none of them were high school science teachers and two of them went on to get flying licenses.

4) When a teacher leaves to work in another profession, this may not be the end of their teaching career. It may be the beginning of an adventure that will return to teach in coming years and win awards for excellence. Stay in touch with teachers that have left to work elsewhere. Encourage them and keep the door open.

5) We can't assume that teacher training is actually doing so. When the local prep program is redesigning, participate and vocalize what skills today's teachers need. Ask for the things that worked for our nation's 'best'. Demand that professors are modeling new media pedagogical practices, out-of-field training, student teaching for every course, design work, and community building.

More on those in the next post.

Best,

Seann
gamingmatter.com



You will find the full post and follow-up on Scott McLeod's blog - where I will be, too.








blog comments powered by Disqus
Now, keeping in mind these fourfold interests - interest in conversation, or communication; in inquiry, or finding out things; in making things or construction; and in artistic expression - we may say they are natural resources, the uninvested capital, upon the exercise of which depends the active growth of the child..
John Dewey, The School and Society, 1900
Follow The Daily Riff on Follow TDR on Twitter

find us on facebook

maui.John-Seely-Brown.JSB.serendipity.jpg

Conversations with John Seely Brown: Shaping Serendipity for Learning

CJ Westerberg, 04.11.2013

photo above: Maui"Conventional wisdom holds that different people learn in different ways.  Something is missing from that idea, however, so we offer a corollary:  Different People, when presented with exactly the same information in exactly the same way, will learn...

Read Post | Comments

Riffing good stories

connected.JSB.John-seely-brown.entrepreneurial learner. jpg.jpg

Cultivating the Entrepreneurial Learner

CJ Westerberg, 04.11.2013

John Seely Brown: Connected and Collective Learning (Part 2)

Read Post | Comments
comics.jpg

Weekend Funnies: "Going through a phase" Video

CJ Westerberg, 04.07.2013

Gabriel Iglesias' smart teenage son doesn't talk to him anymore. 2 Minute Video via Comedy Central

Read Post | Comments
high-school.paul-graham.jpg

High Schoolers: "What You'll Wish You'd Known"

CJ Westerberg, 04.06.2013

It's dangerous to design your life around getting into college

Read Post | Comments
jolt.stanford.car2.vertical.jpg

The Practical University?

CJ Westerberg, 04.06.2013

Musings on college: Visiting with high schoolers, David Brooks and Stanford University's new video series on MOOCs: " . . ."It's the beginning of a wholesale reorganization of teaching and learning in higher education."

Read Post | Comments
harry-potter.jpg

Weekend Light - Daniel Radcliffe Sings the Elements

CJ Westerberg, 04.05.2013

Harry Potter sings the periodic table of elements on the Graham Norton show with Colin Farrell, Rihanna...humor video

Read Post | Comments
HarryPotterBook.jpg

"The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination"

CJ Westerberg, 04.02.2013

JK Rowling, Harry Potter Author, Captivates Crowd With Harvard Commencement Speech

Read Post | Comments
graduation.Kirsten-olson.jpg

High School: Are the Kids Alright?

CJ Westerberg, 04.02.2013

"Long ago my son determined exactly how not to let the institution of school get in the way of his learning, and had explicit plans for choosing courses carefully so that he had ample time to attend local university lectures and participate in arts events."

Read Post | Comments
stop.red.facebook.jpg

"The Little Discussed Dark Side" of Public Education

CJ Westerberg, 04.02.2013

"We've completely distorted learning."

Read Post | Comments

More Featured Posts