Week 2 theory & practice

If students are taught in an explicit, succinct manner, where objectives and guidelines are clearly communicated, they can better understand how to incorporate that newly acquired knowledge into what they've already learned. When instruction is vague and ambiguous, energy and focus are expended away from the task and opportunities to learn are lost.

I am beginning to understand how teacher's beliefs play a critical role in how students learn. It seems obvious that teachers have a set of beliefs about teaching but I'm not sure they are always clearly defined and certainly not always faithfully followed. I can remember having teachers who seemed to have been guided by no discernible beliefs, or if they did possess such beliefs, they stopped following them long ago. Through our study of critical pedagogy and social justice, we have seen "big" beliefs articulated e.g., empowering the poor through literacy, advocacy for urban youth, cultural diversity. While these are admirable, it is equally important to formulate beliefs centered around student learning styles, expectations, motivations, and societal perspectives. Whatever these may be, it is crucial as a pre-service educator to begin to construct a well thought-out set of personal beliefs about how and why I teach. I need to trust that what I bring to the mix as a teacher---these beliefs--- will positively impact how my students learn.

If a teacher can develop a set of beliefs and then incorporate these with the beliefs of their students, a richer learning environment results because a community of trust develops between teacher and students. If we follow Vygotsky's theory of socio-cultural development (Goodman, 2008), and believe that scaffolding and guidance through the Proximal Zone of Development (Goodman, 2008), a classroom includes this relationship of trust and mutual respect can become an optimal starting point to begin effective learning.

How can we we as teachers work to incorporate our beliefs with those of our students? One way is to become a "bridger" (Putnam, 2000). By working to bring together various affinity groups within our classrooms, we learn to appreciate the differences among our students, to encourage groups to come together and most importantly, model for our students what it looks like to open yourself up to new ideas and ways of thinking.