Appropriating Tools for Teaching English: A Theoretical Framework for Research on Learning to Teach

Abstract

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Why new mathematics teachers do or don’t use practices emphasized in their credential program

“…Various personal characteristics have been theorized to influence whether and how a teacher will appropriate a tool: One is knowledge, including mathematical knowledge (Ernest, 1989) and a grasp of the tool's conceptual underpinnings (Grossman et al, 1999). Another is the teacher's values and goals and their congruence with the culture promoting the tool (Grossman et al).…”

“…The experiences of new teachers as students and the cultures of their employing schools push them to conform to the status quo and traditional modes of teaching. The ideas and practices endorsed by the university are overpowered by this press for tradition Grossman et al, 1999).…”

“…The literalism that emerged-the teachers' discomfort with using a method that they had not practiced to the point of competence in a similar classroom context, and their professed inability to translate general pedagogical ideas into specific plans-underscores Grossman et al's (1999) distinction between conceptual and practical tools. One framing of this study's findings is that these new teachers learned certain practical tools in the credential program and were willing and able to use them relatively directly.…”

“…Mitchell (1950) observed experienced teachers in a workshop literally and inappropriately replicating in their classrooms the workshop activities as presented, rather than adapting them to their teaching situations. This raises the question of whether teachers, over time, develop the ability to generate specific teaching ideas from broader concepts, as Grossman et al (1999) posited, or whether this task challenges teachers throughout their career. And if experience enhances this ability, does overall experience suffice, or must the experience expressly increase familiarity with the specific conceptual tool?…”

Structures and improvisation for inquiry‐based science instruction: A teacher's adaptation of a model of magnetism activity

“…Research indicates that courses in which teachers learn through the methods that they will be expected to use when teaching may be useful (Grossman, Smagorinsky, & Valencia, 1999) and, as such, teachers enrolled in PET learn through guided inquiry. When learning a topic in PET, elementary school teachers discuss their preinstructional ideas in small groups and then share their ideas in whole-class discussions.…”