Publication Date

1985

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT)

First Advisor

Bonnie Mennell

Abstract

This paper addresses the question of how teachers teach themselves to be better teachers. Central to the paper are my assumptions that long­ range learning is self-directed and that the development of self-awareness is essential to growth in both learning and teaching. The paper is a case study tracing my own learning of one of my teaching objectives and is divided into three interrelated sections. The first section is a description of a model for teacher self-teaching: "the self-lesson plan." The model is a structure that teachers can use to guide themselves in the study of their own teaching objectives. The second section is a personal account of how I used the model to learn one of my own teaching objectives (developing awareness of individuals in a group learning context). This section attempts to trace my own growth and link together experiences that were instrumental in my learning of the objective. This section also includes an essay on the objective and what it has come to mean to me as a result of the process. The third section contains five techniques that can be used by teachers to develop awareness of themselves and students in the classroom. The techniques address lesson-planning time, in-class teaching time, and observation of other teachers. Central to all techniques is the idea that teachers need time, space, structure and focus to develop awareness. This idea evolves out of the preceding sections. My thoughts are greatly influenced by Gattegno, Krishnamurti, Stevick, and the experiential education which I received while at the School for International Training.

Disciplines

Education | Educational Methods | Teacher Education and Professional Development

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