Learning to Teach Nothing in Particular: A Uniquely American Educational Dilemma

Autor/in	Cohen, David K.
Titel	Learning to Teach Nothing in Particular: A Uniquely American Educational Dilemma
Quelle	In: American Educator, 34 (2011) 4, S.44-46 (4 Seiten) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0148-432X
Schlagwörter	Stellungnahme; Elementary Secondary Education; Education Work Relationship; Public Education; Teaching Methods; Academic Achievement; Teachers; Teacher Education; Teacher Effectiveness; Models; Evaluation; Standards; Tests; Pedagogical Content Knowledge; United States + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Öffentliche Erziehung; Teaching method; Lehrmethode; Unterrichtsmethode; Schulleistung; Lehrer; Lehrerin; Lehrende; Lehrerausbildung; Lehrerbildung; Effectiveness of teaching; Instructional effectiveness; Lehrerleistung; Unterrichtserfolg; Analogiemodell; Evaluierung; Standard; Examination; Prüfung; Examen; Pädagogische Kompetenz; USA
Abstract	When inspectors visit construction sites to assess the quality of work, they do so against the building code, which typically is written out in detail and used to guide work and teach apprentices. When attending physicians supervise interns as they take patients' histories or check their blood pressure, they compare the interns' work with established procedures, many of which are written down and used to guide work and teach novices. In these cases and many others, the assessment of quality in workers' performance is framed by and conducted in light of occupational standards. That is not the case for teaching in U.S. K-12 schools. There are no common standards against which teachers' performance could be judged and no inspections of their performance in light of such standards. Because there is no common infrastructure for U.S. public education, it has developed several anomalous features. One of the most important concerns testing: because there is no common curriculum, it is impossible to devise tests that assess the extent of students' mastery of that curriculum. Teacher education is a second anomaly: absent a common curriculum, teachers-in-training could not learn how to teach it, let alone how to teach it well. Lacking an educational infrastructure to rely on, teacher assessment has also been generic, as have standards for the colleges and departments of education that educate teachers. The infrastructure to which the author refers is not radical or unfamiliar for education throughout the world; it is only radical in the United States. The author points out that without a defined K-12 curriculum for teachers to master, education schools tend to offer generic advice, not grounded content and pedagogical knowledge. (Contains 3 endnotes.) (ERIC).
Anmerkungen	American Federation of Teachers. 555 New Jersey Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20001. Tel: 202-879-4400; e-mail: amered@aft.org; Web site: http://www.aft.org/newspubs/periodicals/ae
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10