What are they teaching teachers?

Posted By: Alfred Thompson | Apr 8th, 2007 @ 3:17 PM

Chris Higgins has a great post about all the things he is learning during his first year of teaching that they didn't teach him when he was studying to become a teacher. One of the things he doesn't talk about but that I hear a lot about is that teachers are not taught to use technology. They are not taught about how to use it for personal productivity and they are not taught how to use it as a teaching tool.
Oh I am sure there are some education programs that do this (please allow me to believe that) but as far as I can tell those programs/courses are few and far between. I have heard of a few university programs that train professors to use various tools, including technology, to teach at the university level. That's great as far as it goes. But honestly there are a lot of departments who pay little more than lipservice to quality of teaching and put a lot more on quality of research.
For K-12 teachers there is some in-service training going on but the quantity and quality of that training seems to be hit or miss. Given how our students are growing up in a computer and media driven world this seems like a real problem. Schools can't fix it themselves. Schools of education can't fix it themselves either because there has to be local support for new teachers. But you'd think they'd at least include some technology training as a required part of the curriculum. Perhaps if states started requiring a bit more training in technology for certification and accrediting agencies started requiring a demonstration that technology was being used it would help.
But really it has to start somewhere and training new teachers seems like the best way to me.

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lajones

As far as I know, most universities do require a tech ed course. I had to take one 18 years ago. But it doesn't matter what they teach in those courses. In the very near future, it will be outdated. And besides, even if a "new" teacher is a technological wiz, it doesn't mean that they have the ability to use that technology to effectively teach their students. I can't tell you how many elaborate presentations I've seen developed by very hard working and dedicated teachers, that I just can't believe were all that effective in reaching the students. In my opinion, teaching and learning are interactions that happen dynamically. It's not canned, and then you pour it out on them. It just doesn't work that way.

I remember being taught a particular way of lesson design in college. I did use it for a couple of years because I thought I should. They said it was the "right way" to teach. Well, pretty soon I realized that I had to loose that altogether or I'd go insane, or have to find another career. It just wasn't my style. I wanted to be able to adapt the lesson instantaneously when students went a particular direction with it. Of course, I had a goal trying to ensure that everyone understood a main concept, but I personally needed the change. One year I taught geometry four times, in a row, every single days. The only way I survived that was by encouraging the students to direct it and hope (pray) that they went different ways!

I believe that technology is the same way. You can't expect to teach one thing and it be effective for very long. One type may not fit with different teaching styles. Our best bet would be to introduce new and "old" teachers to a variety of available options and offer the support that they will need to experience success with it.