Fuller (1969) explains that often these practicing teachers do not see the benefit in coursework. Through a pilot study of 100 education students (97 did not have teaching experience, 3 had teaching experience) it was discovered that only three students were enthusiastic about the coursework- the three with teaching experience. Why did those three feel enthusiastic about the course? My belief is because they could see the relevance of the learning. They could make connections to the classroom environment- they knew what they needed to learn from this course. Preservice teachers, who are not in the field, often struggle to see the relevance of courses because they lack the experience in the field. I find that an intense field experience in the Urban Teacher Residency Program (UTRPP) helps the residents see the relevance in the coursework. The theory to practice connection is evident through the conversations I have with them. Residents have shared strategies that they have learned in their management, math or science courses and how those strategies are working in their field experience. Students are able to take the strategies that they have learned and practice them immediately. The conversation with them reinforces the learning and at times the residents tweak strategies to meet the needs of their field experience classrooms. They are able to see the relevance of what they are learning through the practice in their field experience.
As Fuller (1969) looked into the concerns of teachers, it was interesting to see that many preservice teachers are concerned with self. They are concerned with content adequacy, behavior management and evaluations. As they progressed through the program, some of them started to feel concerned about student learning. This is very similar with what I am seeing through the supervision of my residents. I just had a conversation with a resident who was concerned about the student learning during a specific content area. I stopped her and asked if she realized that it was the first time that her discussion was regarding student learning and not about her performance during a lesson. It seems that residents come into the program very concerned about understanding the content and managing student behaviors. Although student behaviors seem to be a reoccurring concern throughout their time in the residency, most move past the concern for self and begin to have concern for student learning.
Glickman, Gordon, & Ross-Gordon (2014) also addressed the stages of concern by stating that teachers that are concerned with survival are in the self-adequacy stage. As these teachers start to think less of their own survival and more on the task of teaching, they tend to focus on the responsibilities of teaching and the environment. Glickman, Gordon & Ross-Gordon (2014) describe the superior teacher as one who has a concern about the impact on students’ learning.
As I read about the stages of concern as described by Glickman, Gordon & Ross-Gordon (2014), I wondered the stages might affect how teachers gain knowledge. Cochran-Smith & Lytle (1999) describe three ways in which teachers gain knowledge. “Knowledge-for-practice,” which refers to a more formal knowledge that might be attained in a professional development or a college classroom (Cochran, Smith & Lytle, 1999, p.250). It seems that teachers that are in the stage of survival search for knowledge that is given to them through this setting. The survival stage doesn’t afford the freedom to search for new knowledge in any other area than what is already familiar to him/her. As the teacher moves to the stage that is concerned with the task of teaching, this could align with Cochran-Smith & Lytle’s (1999) “knowledge-in-practice” (p.250). This is the idea that teachers gain knowledge from other expert teachers. In this stage, teachers have moved away from survival and more into a role of seeking ways in which they can deepen their own knowledge. Finally, teachers who are in the stage where they are concerned about the impact on student learning, start constructing their own knowledge through inquiry. Cochran-Smith & Lytle (1999) refer to this as “knowledge-of-practice” (p.250). It is in this stage that teachers begin to generate knowledge about their own practice. Is it possible that the stages of concern might affect how a teacher gains knowledge?
Cochran-Smith, M., & Lytle, S. L. (1999). Relationships of knowing and practice: Teacher learning in communities. Review of Research in Education, 24, 249-305.
Fuller, F. (1969). Concerns of Teachers: A Developmental Conceptualization. American Educational Research Journal, 6(2), 207-226.