I have decided to investigate each provocation individually, to assist myself in the exploration of their implications. I feel it is important to place them in a meaningful context, drawing on the knowledge that I have gained during the past five weeks to assist me in doing so. It is my hope that periodically deciphering each of the provocations will assist me in uncovering their role and importance to me as a teaching student, and even potentially their impact upon me going into the future as a fully fledged teacher.
1. What kind of a teacher do I want to be?
I can attest to the fact that each and every person entering a teaching course does so with aspirations of emulating those memorable teachers who had a large impact upon them, and disregarding the methods of those teachers who are remembered for all the wrong reasons. Despite the subjectivity of a what makes a ‘good’ or ‘bad’ teacher each person brings with them their own clearly defined idea of just that, based on their own experiences in the classroom. It is very easy to say that I do or do not wish to model certain behaviours or implement certain teaching methods, but it is a wholly separate issue to successfully uphold these ideas. In the heat of the moment, when under pressure to perform in a classroom context, it may be that we find ourselves falling back on the very methods and theories that we initially disregarded as ‘bad’. Their success upon utilisation may or may not fit with these original ideas, but such an instance would work to highlight the ease with which we can all fall prey to becoming ‘that teacher’.
3. To whom am I accountable?
I am accountable to my colleagues, my school, my students and their parents, my community and, of course, to myself. I am responsible for my actions, behaviours and the implications therein; I am responsible for planning and undertaking my lessons; I am responsible for the learning and welfare of the students under my direction; I am responsible for monitoring and reporting the progress of my students; I am responsible for seeking feedback and acting upon it; I am responsible for continually aiming to achieve the best for my students. I view teaching as more than merely a trade, a job or a career – it is more accurately described as a state of mind.
4. Am I ready to teach?
Ah, Provocation 4: the query that remains unanswered, the inquiry that goes wanting, the simplest of questions with the most complex of answers…I am still a long, long way from reaching any sort of informed answer for this, and thus it remains in the ‘too hard basket’ for now. I would like to think, though, that my recognising the fact that there is no simple answer would imply some level of understanding of its multi-faceted implications, and that this lends itself to achieving a better long-term grasp of it. Although I could, equally, be simply clutching as straws…
5. Is teaching a profession or a trade?
Teaching is a career, but as I have stated previously, I believe it is also a state of mind. I am finding already that the mentality that accompanies the investigation of teaching concepts and theories alters your outlook on the world; I am finding myself continually assessing situations and interactions from the point of view of the ‘learning outcome’ achieved, or the method of communication employed. I believe I am not fully engaging with this provocation, as I view it as somewhat irrelevant; hopefully in time I will be able to read more into its implications.
6. What will students want and need from me?
This, again, I find hard to dissect without a true teaching experience under my belt; however, I understand my role as a teacher to be that of knowledge provider, welfare officer, mentor, adjudicator, oracle (haha) etc – the list is vast. As a teacher I will hold a position of power over the teenagers whose care I will be charged with, and with that comes certain inherent responsibilities. I am expecting to be relied on for support and advice outside of the classroom context, although I do doubt this will happen as early as my pre-service days, considering the limited time available to develop any real sense of rapport. I view the teaching of science in the classroom to be my primary focus, in that I will expend a lot of time and energy on the preparation and execution thereof, but I also believe that the relationship management that accompanies teaching will play an equally as important role in practice.
7. Should we teach students or subjects?
This is one provocation that I initially failed to recognise the implications of: what more could there possibly be to it than teachers teaching subject matter to students? And, well, ho-hum, closer inspection has a yielded a wholly different view of this wily little provocation. As a science teacher I will be endeavouring to convey scientific knowledge and concepts to students, employing methods that will help to reinforce multi-disciplinary methods of inquiry, all the while encouraging students to partake in activities to strengthen social interactivity, self-esteem and skills in communication. The approach to teaching any subject involves such a multitudinous outlook that I find it impossible to conclude that we solely teach subjects; albeit, I could not say with conviction that we teach students as a stand-alone, either. It seems to me that teaching attempts so instill in students the skills and knowledge to live their lives successfully, and therefore in an obscure way is teaching neither students nor subjects, but instead is conveying a way of life.
8. To what extent is teaching an intellectual pursuit?
Teaching is a conduit for the transfer of knowledge from teacher to student, student to teacher, and student to student, but is underlain by premises founded in the psychology of interactions and communication between individuals and groups. In my mind teaching is an intellectual pursuit due to this foundational premise, as the theories and methods employed in the classroom have been studied and challenged with such rigour that it seems almost every notable educator has thrown their two-cents’ worth into the debate. Research into classroom management techniques, rationales for student behaviour and ‘best practice’ approaches to teaching are some of the very hotly-debated issues in teaching, and the sheer ‘volume’ of intellect pouring into them, in my mind, necessitates the inherent intellectual basis of teaching.
9. How will I control my students?
I honestly do not wish to ‘control’ my students, but I can see that wishing to establish and maintain a positive learning environment could be viewed as such. How this will be achieved, however, I am, yet again, unsure without any informing practical experience. Getting this balance right, however, appears to be one of the most difficult aspects of teaching, as successful methods certainly vary from one class to another. More confoundingly, though, it varies within a class, and thus a method that yields success on one day may or may not provide a similar result on the following day…such is the fickle state of the individual!
And, after that seemingly massive exploration of provocative content, I believe it is time to put the Nine Provocations to rest for the time being; I have no doubt that once more reflecting upon them will be of great benefit to my teaching learning journey, and possibly yield some interesting insights along the way.
Synergistic Bonding in the Classroom! 