Adult & Teacher Development in the Context of the School

1. Adult & Teacher Development in the Context of the School R. Martin Reardon’s summary of Chapter 4 Glickman, C. D., Gordon, S. P. & Ross-Gordon, J. M. (2009), 41-71

2. Supervision must respond to teachers as changing adults • Five tasks of supervision • Based on Supervisor’s understanding of how teachers change • Instructional improvement • = improved decision-making about • Students • Learning content • Teaching Session 4: 11 slides

3. Adults as Learners • Intelligence • Does ability to learn diminish with age? • Thorndike (1928): yes • Horn & Cattell (1967): • Fluid intelligence – yes; relies on physiological acuity • Crystallized intelligence – no; untimed measures; “wisdom” • Gardner (1983, 1999): • identify & utilize learning strengths; help to expand repertoire • Sternberg (1985, 1990): Triarchic Theory of Intelligence • Componential: intellectual ability • Experiential: level of experience at which ability is applied -- Expert? Novice? • Contextual: socially influenced abilities: adaptation, shaping, selecting • Contextual subtheory: How teachers deal with challenging situations • Identification and solution of real-world problems Session 4: 11 slides

4. Adults as Learners (ii) • Are there differences between learning processes of adults & children? • Shift from psychological orientation (e.g., Knowles, 1980) to sociocultural (Amstutz, 1999) • Knowles: Andragogy: Adults… • Need to be self-directing • Bring an expansive reservoir of experience • Are motivated by need to solve real-life adult-developmental problems • Have performance-centered approach to learning • Are primarily intrinsically motivated True of adults only? Self-direction actual v desirable preference? Conditions under which andragogy applies? Andragogy is broad guide only • Tough (1971): Self-directed learning (SDL) • Goal? Process? Characteristics of task and learner? • Implication? Match S behaviors to teacher’s situational readiness for SDL Session 4: 11 slides

5. Adults as Learners (iii) • Mezirow (2000): Transformative Learning • How we transform our taken-for-granted frames of reference into frames which will prove more justified action guides • Triggered by significant life events: • “disorienting dilemmas” • Minor events creating opportunity for reflection/redirection • Accumulation of internal dilemmas -> “disillusionment” • What’s a dilemma? • TPS: What’s your experience of “transformative learning?” Session 4: 11 slides

6. Adults as Learners (iv) • Brown, Collins, & Duguid (1989): Situated Cognition • Centrality of experience to learning • Lasting knowledge = engage in “authentic activity” embedded in specific situations • What’s “authentic activity?” • Implication: “Teachers…most effectively acquire knowledge useful in a new situation by being directly immersed in real practice situations” (p. 48) • Basis of emphasis on practicum/internship • Marsick & Watkins (1990, 2001): Informal/Incidental Learning • Informal: intentional, but less structured • Incidental: by-product of some other activity; tacit or unconscious at the time • TPS: When have you encountered incidental learning? • Implication: Assist teachers to identify conditions that help them learn or stand in the way of learning Session 4: 11 slides

7. Adults as Learners (v) • Critical Theory • Hegemony preserves inequities linked to structures of privilege & oppression based on race, ethnicity, gender, class, age… • Learning = identifying own hegemonic frames & acting to change our frames & practices • “Power” held by some over others • How to interrupt power -> emancipation? • Postmodern Theory • Truths shift according to experience & context of knower • no absolutes • Learning = collaborative production of knowledge • negotiating & rearranging power relationships • “Power” present in every relationship • Situations need to be deconstructed to see how power is being used and by whom Session 4: 11 slides

8. Teachers as Adult Learners • Some implications so far… • Novice teachers need to be supervised differently than experts • Need to identify & utilize different learning strengths of teachers at all levels • Need for a variety of strategies for adapting & changing learning environment • Continuous cycle of collaborative activity & reflection on activity • Focus on empowerment & self-direction • TPS: Compare the above implications to personal experience Session 4: 11 slides

9. Adult Development • Stage Development (p. 48 ff.: read, & choose one which you prefer) • Cognitive Development • Conceptual Development • Moral Development • Ego Development • Levels of Consciousness • Stages of Concern “If teaching is complex and ever-changing…then higher levels of reasoning are necessary” (p. 55) • Life-Cycle Development (p. 57) “Occupational development of teachers appears to run counter to the needs of teachers as they progress through the adult life cycle” (p. 57) • Transition Events (p. 58) “Both personal…& professional transitional events can have a significant impact on a teacher’s career and teaching” (p. 59) Session 4: 11 slides

10. Adult Development (ii) • Role Development (p. 60) “Teacher’s other adult roles have direct effect on their instruction” (p. 61). Supervision has largely failed to provide support • Sociocultural Influences on Adult Development (p. 61) • Gender • Race/Ethnicity “Teachers from non-dominant groups are likely to find that they must learn to successfully navigate two or more cultures” (p. 63) Session 4: 11 slides

11. Teacher Motivation • Human motivation is developmental • Maslow (1954) • Self-actualization: follows what he/she believes is best • Esteem: becoming a contributing & leading member of group • Belonging & love: affection of friends; acceptance as group member • Safety: comfortable, regulated environment • Physiological: food, oxygen, water, sleep, exercise • Lower stage must be satisfied before next higher stage • Individual’s situation dramatically altered = retreat on levels • Herzberg (1987) • Dissatisfiers: elimination does NOT improve performance; “hygiene” factors • Expect ebb & flow in development Session 4: 11 slides