There is a growing pattern in the professional development of teachers to move away from an emphasis on pedagogical skills to thinking like domain experts. In many ways the idea is not new, yet the application is intriguing. Science teachers spend the summer being scientists working in university lab- thus learning the fabric of science. Math teachers spend their time learning and working math. Perhaps the most established of such ideas is the Writing Project. In the Writing Project each participant is encouraged to write and see herself as a writer, as a result, the logic dictates, she is more likely to teach writing, understand her students process, and finally help them identify themselves as writers.
The question that started emerging in our work is whether that is also true for teachers who are charged with teaching the arts in their classroom? We envision trying to foster Studio Habits of Mind with teachers as a way of transforming their practice. I think this may be a transformational piece for classroom teachers who are not formally trained as art specialist. For them (and me in all honesty) the last time they were engaged with any sustained effort of art making was in school (K12).
There might be a catch that must be considered: can elementary teachers who are asked to teach all, or almost all, subjects be domain experts in all these areas? Can we really expect depth of understanding and real experiences in Math, Art, Science, Writing, History etc.? I am excited about this idea but as I look at the larger context and being able to scale such practices up- I am sure we can scale our pedagogical ideas up (VIEW) but as for teachers thinking like artists, I am not so sure anymore.
Guy, I have to totally agree here. To me the answer lies within total collaboration. I have worked WITH other teachers and I have worked ALONGSIDE other teachers. To truly have expertise, I strongly feel each teacher must teach from their own domain and collaboratively work the the students. The strongest teaching and highest learning comes from this format. It's very difficult for me to teach reading in my art class. But, one time when I teamed with a professional storyteller, it produced incredible results in the student's involvement and outcomes. I have since tried to "recreate" that same environment myself but the passion and vigor is just not replicated. My students seem to get more of the art ideas and the stories just do not seem as strong.
ReplyDeleteI do think there's some real relevancy to teaching from your own domain and trying to "substitute" for the real thing just isn't as effective.