Date of Award

3-7-1994

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Teaching & Learning

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to learn how teachers acquire knowledge about teaching. My hope was that, through the eyes of some of the teachers with whom I had worked, I could move beyond my own experiences in understanding how experienced teachers learn to teach, and, from that, how inservice education could better support teacher learning. I selected four experienced teachers whom I perceived as confident and effective. In a series of four interviews each teacher was asked to talk about her teaching. An interview guide was used to initiate and focus the discussion. Three portraits based on interviews with the four teachers are presented. Findings were organized around two themes. The first theme, "significant influences," discussed people and groups who influenced each teacher, including the principal and the Prairie Teachers' Project. The second theme, "the nature of knowledge base," was discussed as it related to each teacher.The findings of this study are as follows: (1) Each of the teachers identified a significant person, group, or other influencing factor in their acquisition of teacher knowledge. The significant influence was different for each teacher. (2) All of the teachers stated that support from a principal was important and that this support was especially important during their formative years of teaching. (3) The success of the Prairie Teachers' Project in the Medberry-Benson School District appears to be due to the teacher involvement in planning inservice and the extent to which teachers were allowed to pursue individual avenues in their learning. (4) The involvement with significant influences seemed far greater for less experienced teachers than for veteran teachers. (5) Each of the four teachers' conceptions of the knowledge base seems to be very different. (6) The nature of each teacher's knowledge base appears to be stable with its general shape established early in her career. (7) All of the teachers spoke of the importance of refining their knowledge base through sharing ideas with colleagues. (8) All of the teachers in this study relied on direct instruction from textbooks; however, all sought to supplement their curriculum. (9) All of the teachers regarded their work with children as important. It seems what teachers viewed as important for children gives insight to their development as teachers. (10) The veteran teachers seemed much more confident in supplementing the curriculum than the less experienced teachers. (11) All of the teachers justified supplementing their curriculum on the basis of what was practical. (12) Three of the four teachers valued reflection.The recommendations in this study suggest that inservice planners should accommodate the individual needs of teachers. Individual recommendations are made for each of the four teachers followed by general inservice recommendations.

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