What is teaching practice?

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I’ve been working on the literature review for my comprehensive portfolio and have landed on an important question for my research. It’s often when you stop and think, as I’ve done in this part of the portfolio process, that you can stumble over the most basic questions. So, in an effort to think more clearly on the basic elements of my research, I need to answer this question.

What is teaching practice?

What prompted this question was an interview with Dr. Paul Kirschner that I first read when doing the Cognition and Learning course. It’s titled “Constructivist pedagogy is like a zombie that refuses to die”. In terms of media, this title grabs attention. The contrasting stance in the interview was not new, but now in the re-reading, it provides a shift in my perspective. Kirschner bemoans the fact that constructivist teaching, iterated in ‘innovative’ or ‘experiential’ teaching won’t go away and is hindering the use of effective teaching strategies like direct instruction that expert teachers apply.

“…researcher John Hattie has shown to be unique to expert teachers. They have deep conceptual subject knowledge and an understanding of the substance should be communicated as well as a deep conceptual knowledge and skills in teaching / didactics. Good learning requires good teachers who can adapted for the students. You can’t do this by posting lessons on YouTube.” ~ Paul A. Kirschner

So, in this time of COVID-19 and the requirements for remote and distance teaching, or learning, this is a particularly important question. What is teaching? How are teachers ‘practicing’ their craft when the students are socially and physically distanced from the teaching action? How does this impact `their ability to teach?

Kirschner was asked: What distinguishes an expert teacher?

“It’s important to point out that you can be an experienced teacher but still not be an expert in teaching. An expert teacher has deep conceptual knowledge of her or his subject area as well as a good didactic ability to reach out to her or his students. To achieve pedagogical expertise, it’s crucial that you have good insight into educational and learning psychology so that you know how learning takes place in the human brain. Knowledge of our cognition should be the most important part of a teacher training program.” ~ Paul A. Kirschner

The importance of knowing and having pedagogical expertise is the critical point here. It’s not because our brains are different or can process information differently because of the technologies we are using. As Kirschner emphasizes, the evolution of our brain structures haven’t changed since cave-dwelling days. We still learn in biologically primary or secondary ways. Cognitive theory reveals that short term and long term memory works the same way, but what has changed is how these tools and technologies shape our ‘becoming‘ (Ihde & Malafouris, 2019) within our culture, our world, our relationships with each other. Teaching practice, and teachers’ knowledge, includes an understanding of cognitive science and how biologically primary and secondary knowledge is taught and learned. Specifically, cognitive load theory and collective/collaborative learning (Kirschner et al., 2018), or how to provide effective instruction (Rosenshine, 2010). These are not necessarily included in all teacher education, instructional design, or how-to-teach-online crash courses.

“We also know that there is evolutionary primary and evolutionary secondary knowledge. The former is something we need to survive as a species. It has been evolutionarily ‘hardwired’ into how we think and develop. We learn this almost automatically without instruction, such as our ability to recognize our mother and communicate with each other and, thus, acquire our first language. The secondary is all cultural, such as how to read and write and use mathematics. That is something we need school and instruction for.” ~ Paul A. Kirschner

So, back to the question. What is teaching practice?

High leverage teaching practices derive from five key concepts, according to TeachingWorks (http://www.teachingworks.org/work-of-teaching/core-ideas). These include (rephrased from web-site):

  1. Teaching develops knowledge, skills, and abilities that are purpose driven.
  2. All students can and should learn at high levels.
  3. Teaching and learning are active sense-making processes.
  4. Teaching and learning are interactive, co-constructed and collaborative.
  5. Classroom contexts matter. Teachers manage and use contexts to support learning.

From these five core concepts come 19 high leverage teaching strategies. These do not identify ‘practice’ per se, but do outline some of the teaching moves and actions that expert and effective teachers apply. Examining these within the context of ‘open’ and media/digital literacies may be a necessary step in my research plan.

Again, back to the question. What is teaching practice?

The Ontario College of Teachers (OCT) outlines five key components or standards of teaching: commitment to students and student learning, leadership in learning communities, ongoing professional learning, professional knowledge, professional practice. The four ethical standards include care, trust, respect, and integrity. I wonder how this holistic view of professional practice connects to the art and science and the complexity of actions, moves, and thinking that is involved in teaching? Is teaching practice limited to only those actions that relate to student learning – identifying learning outcomes, sharing content, providing learning activities, assessing learning (Paskevicius & Irvine, 2019) – OR can teaching practice be viewed beyond the act of teaching. How do the standards outlined by OCT connect to current contexts for remote, distant, online, and digitally dependent teaching practices.

What do you think? If you are teaching, how are your teaching practices and instructional ‘moves’ enacted in the digital, remote, technology enabled spaces where you are meeting, teaching, and engaging with your students? What is teaching practice in current contexts? How are you practicing your craft differently?

References

Ihde, D., & Malafouris, L. (2019). Homo faber revisited: Postphenomenology and material engagement theory. Philosophy & Technology, 32(2), 195–214. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13347-018-0321-7

Kirschner, P., Sweller, J., Kirschner, F., & Zambrano, J. (2018). From cognitive load theory to collaborative cognitive load theory. International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning, 13(2), 213–232. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11412-018-9277-y

Ontario College of Teachers. (2020). Standards of practice. Retrieved April 15, 2020, from https://www.oct.ca/public/professional-standards/standards-of-practice

Paskevicius, M., & Irvine, V. (2019). Open Education and Learning Design: Open Pedagogy in Praxis. Journal of Interactive Media in Education, 2019(1), 10. https://doi.org/10.5334/jime.512

Rosenshine, B. (2010). Principles of instruction. UNESCO International Academy of Education. http://www.ibe.unesco.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Publications/Educational_Practices/EdPractices_21.pdf

Skogstad, I. (n.d.). ”Constructivist pedagogy is like a zombie that refuses to die”: An interview with Paul A. Kirschner. Retrieved April 16, 2020, from http://isakskogstad.se/constructivist-pedagogy-is-like-a-zombie-that-refuses-to-die/

The Principles of Instruction [infographic] https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/how2-blog/_1240xAUTO_fit_center-center_none/Principles-of-Instruction.png

Image attribution: Photo by Adi Goldstein on Unsplash