Conceptualizing Teaching Acts
I find it extremely interesting that as teachers there are
so many various methods; people argue, defend, and criticize methods of
teaching but we all have the same goal at the end. Our aim is to create the
most sufficient learning environment for our students and get them to learn to
the best of their ability in the shortest amount of time. If we all have the
same goal in mind why is there such debate about what the role of a teacher is?
Can’t it be true that each teacher can use different methods and styles of
teaching and still come out successful? It is hard to believe that many people
feel that only one type of teacher (passive technician, reflective
practitioner, or transformative intellectual) can be successful, it depends on
the personality of the teacher and the students. As teachers or goal is to get
the students to learn to the best of their ability and our methods and styles
should be able to shape to accommodate whatever the students need.
I can appreciate all the different types of roles teachers
should have. Each role individually can be and has been successful; again it
all depends on the classroom environment. I like how the passive technician
focuses on professional knowledge and research, but I think this role is cold
and impersonal in a way. The fact that
teachers and their methods are not considered very important and that in school
future teachers learn more about education than teaching leaves the student at
a disadvantage. I do not this approach is student centered at all, while I think
it is vital to exchange your knowledge with your students, if you do not know
how to teach them there is a big problem. Teachers as reflective practitioners
is more up my alley because it takes what passive technicians are good at,
maximizing the students knowledge but it also places the student at the center
of the classroom. The teacher finally gets to add his/her personal knowledge
and personality while teaching which is extremely important. This role
“emphasizes creativity, artistry, and context sensitivity” (10). Reflective
practitioners also involve problem solving activities into the classroom. The
role that makes the most sense to me is the teacher as a transformative
intellectual. This teacher takes their knowledge both personal and what they learned
in school and add dedication to the students school and community. This type of
role makes teaching a vocation; this is a career that serves others.
Understanding Postmethod Pedagogy
It is fascinating that as teachers we have been trying to
find the best method for years and years but have never come up with the
perfect concoction. People have tried to make lists of the most effective
method but a “perfect” one has never been found.
Language centered learning is effective because it is
additive and linear, simple to complex. You would never ask a language learner
to write a paragraph before they know how to construct a sentence. I also like
how language centered learning makes language seem simple and easy to learn,
not over the students heads. Learner centered methods focus so much more on
combination aspect of language and its aim is not to just have the students
become grammatically efficient but also communicatively fluent. This is the
only method out of the three that seems to be focused on communication, which
to me is key to language learning. Learning centered methods takes what
language centered learning says and flips it around in some ways. While
language centered learning considers learning as linear learning centered
methods are not because its attention should be understanding, saying and doing
something with language.
A big restriction in teaching methods is that not every
student learns the same way. Most methods assume that all students are the same
types of learners and all at the same place of learning, and this is not true.
Teachers have to be flexible with methods, and not just “swear” by one type.
Learning has to be student centered and this includes what types of methods the
teacher decides to use. This is why pedagogy is so important, it goes beyond
methods and brings in much more than just a style of teaching into the
classroom. The parameter of particularity, practicality, and possibility work
together to understand local linguistic, sociocultural and political
particularities, reflection, search for identity of the student and social
transformation.
Pennycook
This article deals with diversity in the classroom,
especially in a TESOL classroom. As teachers we should always put the student
first and be aware of cultural issues and preferences of the individual. I
thought this article was necessary to assign because it is very important to be
alert and responsive to any students needs and that means being aware and unbiased
when it comes to culture and education of the individual student.
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