Jackson,+Philip+W.+The+Practice+of+Teaching

Return to Book Summaries //The Practice of Teaching// by Philip W, Jackson

__**Summary:**__

In __The Practice of Teaching__, Philip W. Jackson examines and dissects the many aspects of teaching. Although each chapter illustrates a different sect of the teaching world, they seem to be bound by a few main convictions that Jackson tries to illuminate. The first is that all the chapters treat teaching with esteem, each pointing to the fact that teaching is important and necessary in our world. This main idea urges people to respect teaching and not be ignorant to the foundation it is based upon. Another binding idea that all the chapters seem to allude to is the fact that teaching is complicated. Knowing that this is true, people should not be quick to critique education in a negative fashion. Now that the simularties have been set down between the chapters, each may be examined alone for further understanding of Jackson's design. Jackson blueprints the teaching world through six, separate main ideas. Each of these main ideas is given a respective chapter, the chapters are as follows; On Knowing How to Teach, How to Talk to Teachers, The Uncertainties of Teaching, Real Teaching, The Future of Teaching, and Alternative Outlooks on Teaching. Using these six main ideas, Jackson is truly able to illustrate "the practice of teaching".

__On Knowing How to Teach__-The book starts off with a chapter asking the question, "What must teachers know about teaching?" The chapter tries to answer this question through the examination of what it means to be a teacher.The chapter then goes into the different names that teachers have in this world.There are your professional teachers who have gone to school to learn how to teach. Those are the ones that are in the elementary and secondary schools. Then there are people who we learn from but don't normally consider teachers. These people include tutors, trainers, and public speakers. Then there are also high respected teachers who are called professors. These teachers are spoken of, as in the book, as being a highly respected form of a teacher. The problem with that is that many professors have never taken a single class on pedagogy, unlike there "lesser" colleagues who work in the lower grades. The book brings up the question on why teachers must be taught to teach. The many that have come before this generation of teachers were given their license with very little educational background. The teachers that we may remember from our younger days may not have been as fully "qualified" as we must be today. With all the qualifications that exist today, it doesn't add up with how unsuccessful teachers are still in the system. There are techniques of teaching that are basic and well known that need to be executed in order to be successful at teaching. The first one is the use of common sense. If the teacher uses their common sense in the right "voice", it will benefit their students. Also, a teacher must have the "knowledge of how to organize knowledge for teaching purposes". The book also speaks of three key presumptions that teachers must make and use appropriately in order to be an effective teacher. The first of these presumptions is the one of "the presumption of a public". In order for a teacher to be effectful in their duties, one must have an audience either present or listening. The second is the "presumption of ignorance". The teacher must assume that there is a gap of knowledge that needs to be filled by the teacher. The teacher can not know who knows what so they assume that all their students are slightly if not completely ignorant on the subject being taught. The third presumption is "the presumption of shared identity". The teacher relates to the students through the presumption of a shared heritage and culture. Through that connection it should allow the teacher to be more effective with the common bond between students are teachers. The chapter does not answer its first question posed but leaves it up to the individual to decide for themselves what is and isn't necessary for a teacher to "need to know" in order to perform her/his job.

__How to Talk to Teachers__ - In this chapter, Jackson investigates the daunting task of talking to teachers and critiquing their methods. He does this by closely examining a set of lectures by William James, in which teachers where being addressed and commented on. Jackson pays close attention to the subject matter of James's lectures, as well as, the way in which James delivers his ideas and commentary. Jackson does this to compose and answer to the question posed in the chapter title. First, with the subject matter, Jackson extracts a few main ideas that James is trying to convey to teachers. James says that teachers should study psychology in order properly understand the minds and ways of their students. Psychology would give teachers the confidence to teach while knowing that their students are understanding what they are saying. James also voices that there are many standards and leading thinkers in the field of teaching that are highly incorrect in their ways. He cautions teachers not to get pulled into or affected by these false ideas. Another thing that Jackson observes about James's lectures is the way in which he addresses the teachers. Jackson discovers that James does show his contempt for the teaching world within his speech, but he hides it under a very positive tone. By using this positive and flattering approach, James is able to get teachers to accept the things he says. Jackson also discovers that James never fully points the finger at any person, thus lightening the blow of his constructive criticism.

__The Uncertainties of Teaching__ - Jackson confesses that every teacher doubts whether or not their students understand the lesson they have just taught. This uncertainty leads teachers to question their ability to transmit knowledge, and it forces them to demand proof that concepts are learned through a variety of methods. Four distinct methods that Jackson mentioned were observing students for visual and auditory signs of involvement, extending an open invitation for students to ask questions outside of class time, direct questioning, and giving tests and quizzes.

__Real Teaching__ - Here the author sets down three convictions he has gained through his study of teaching and he discusses each as follows. First, he discusses the conviction that there is no such thing as a behavioral definition of teaching and there never can be. After questioning whether it is possible that good teaching can be defined in any way, he concludes with the knowledge that he no longer questions when a person is teaching but asks how we know when a person is trying to teach. He inspects his second conviction that states any attempt to say when a person is, or is not, teaching is always an act of interpretation. His determination is that it is a question of whether the teacher feels at home in the classroom and not a matter of skill. His third conviction, wherein Jackson denies the possibility of anyone ever arriving upon a lasting definition of what it means to teach, is then dissected through logic to attempt to discover a definition of true teaching. He takes different routes to answer this question. The generic approach insists there must be a difference between a definition of teaching and the performance of teaching. The epistemic approach obliges teachers to provide reasons for the beliefs they seek to impart to students, encompassing their total respect for truth and with complete disregard for their personal preferences. The consensual approach describes teaching as an emancipatory activity which either sustains a democratic society or enables it to emerge. Finally, there is the evolutionary approach which determines that no event has any single description. It can only be viewed as part of the whole. At the conclusion of all this Jackson finds that there is no definition of teaching that holds for all times and all places. It does not eliminate the possibility of frauds within the ranks of teachers. It only demonstrates that the fraud is the claim to competence. There are no real teachers or real teaching, there are only interpretations of events. There are arguments that can be made for certain teaching practices, some are better than others, and professional responsibility calls for teachers to get on with that defense.

__The Future of Teaching__ - Here in this chapter the author looks at teaching from the past, the present and tries to see if teaching can be done any better than it has been doing. He references Dewey a few times in the beginning of the chapter regarding teaching from a past perspective. Then he says some things that are different now that are being done to help make the learning environment more comfortable for the students and teachers alike. He says now games are being introduced into the classroom to help the learning process to be more hands on. Also the overall environment of the classroom has changed. Classrooms now are more colorful. The chairs and desks are more comfortable. Schools now are also being updated with new state of the art equipment such as computers and televisions. The teachers are even updated. Teachers now are more friendly, whereas years ago they might not have been. Another thing that is different is the length of classes, periods or semesters. Educators are looking at these things because they think if the subject is dull it shouldn't be as long because the students will get bored with it and not do as well. So there trying to break up the time, or spread out the time hoping to get a better result. As far as the future of teaching the author seems to think there is room for improvement, but also that we've come a long way already.

__Alternative Outlooks on Teaching__ - Within this chapter, Jackson discusses two prominent methods of teaching, the mimetic tradition and the transformative tradition. He carefully chooses “unfamiliar” terms to explain these two traditions as to render his description free of any associations that are attached to these words. According to Jackson, the mimetic tradition of teaching is about information being given to a learner, as opposed to information being realized and “discovered.” This tradition has five steps; test present, perform/evaluate, reward/fix or enter remedial loop, and advance (Jackson 119). The transformative tradition is less concerned with the building of knowledge and facts but focuses more on transforming and revising the learner’s nature and personality. Jackson explains three techniques used by people who follow this tradition of teaching; personal modeling, “soft” suasion, and use of narrative (Jackson 124).

__**Key Terms:**__

__Psychology__ - In the book, it is seen as something that all teachers should learn and become fairly well versed in. Knowing psychology will give the teachers more knowledge of whether their students are absorbing the information being dictated. It will also help teachers to more easily decide what is right and what is wrong when it comes to the teaching process. This is all because they will have a better understanding of the human mind and how it learns.

__William James__ - Jackson looks to this 19th century psychologist and philosopher for methods on how to talk to and critique teachers. In the book, a set of James's lectures to teachers are fully dissected by Jackson. With this being done, it can be seen that James has comtempt for teachers and the people that teach them. James also has major issues with many of the leading scholars and traditions of the teaching world, calling them "incorrect" and "ignorant". James does give constructive criticism to teachers, but does it in a very flattering way in order to gain morale amongst his listeners. (ch 2)

__knowledge reproduction model__ – According to Jackson, teachers might be less likely to ask intrusive questions because they believe that knowledge is deposited into a student’s brain and there it remains stored until it is called upon. This teaching style employs nods as acknowledgement of understanding or an example. A teacher’s uncertainty would be whether or not the knowledge arrived safely and that it is properly stored. This uncertainty is answered through specific questioning where a teacher wants a correct answer. The majority of teaching and testing employs this trust in stored and readily accessible knowledge. (pp. 69-71)

__knowledge transformation model__ – Jackson expanded on an idea proposed by John Dewey, where knowledge is adapted to fit an individual’s learning process. This teaching style is concerned with building bridges between concepts, and it attends to how knowledge is being used by an individual and how it might be applied to new situations. A teacher’s uncertainty would be in what types of questions to ask. Questions must be more open-ended, as the teacher searches for the best way to transmit knowledge to the student. (pp.69-71)

__epistemic approach__ - Jackson believes that this approach to teaching encompasses the obligation of teachers to provide the underlying reasons for why they seek to impart certain beliefs to their students. In doing so, they must hold to absolute respect for the truth of the matter and they must not allow their personal preferences to infringe on these truths. They must seek to develop the capacity in each student to test the worth of everything that is taught to them.

__consensual approach__ - This is a belief that teaching is a kind of emancipatory activity which can perform two functions. One is to sustain a democratic society and the other is to pave the way for the democratic society to emerge into being.

__pedagogy__-the "art of teaching".

__common sense__ - Provides teachers with the meaning of all common objects, like chairs, walls, cats, and dogs. It may not contribute to the effectiveness of a teacher but if it were missing from an instructor, may hinder their over all effectiveness.

__Learning to learn__ - The phrase learning to learn stands for what is done to equip the learner with the instrumentality of self-instruction. This is the first of two goals Jackson says increases self-governance on the part of the learner. (pp. 104)

__Choosing to learn__ - This is the second term under the two goals of increasing self-governance on the part of the learner. Choosing to learn involves selecting the goals of learning, that is, choosing what is to be learned, whether with the help of teachers or on one's own. (pp. 105)

__Mimetic tradition__ - Teaching method that concentrates the furthering and imparting of knowledge by way of information being passed from a knowledgeable person to the learner.

__Transformative tradition__ - Teaching method aimed toward the shaping and molding of character based on positive traits from a society.

__**Key Passages:**__ "Thus all claims about what teachers need to know in order to do their work are confronted at the start with a double paradox. They first must take into account that somewhat puzzling fact that the most prestigious class of teachers in our society - those working in colleges and universities - devote less time to the formal study of teachings than do their less respected colleagues who work in elementary and secondary schools. Indeed those who might be considered the "stars" of the teaching profession, have rarely studied the process of teaching at all in any formal sense" (p. 6)

"This means that even if we were to discover that all of teaching calls for little more than the application of common sense we would still not be allowed to conclude that everyone who possesses common sense is capable of being a teacher. That conclusion would be questionable for the simple reason that it overlooks the possibility of there being other qualities that teachers must possess, beyond knowledge per se, if they are to do their job well." (p.15)

"Yet, despite these cautions, James obviously believes that the study of psychology would be beneficial to teachers, even though it might not guarantee their success. In fact he goes so far as to say that 'psychology ought certainly to give the teacher radical help.' But if teachers cannot deduce definite programs and schemes and methods of instruction from the subject matter of psychology, how may it still be of radical help to them?" (p. 44)

"We speak of putting theory into practice. But that is not what we do at all. We put theory, or whatever you want to call the ideas we transmit, into practitioners, where it may serve a wide variety of functions, only one of which is to guide their actions, step-by-step." (p. 50)

“…teachers sometimes have a hard time proving their worth, even to themselves. When their work is finished they have nothing tangible to show off as a fruit of their labor; no sturdy brick wall, no tumor-free brain, no smoothly purring engine, not even a clean back alley to point to with pride as evidence of a job well done.” (p. 55)

“Teachers commonly ask questions whose answers they already know. They do so because they do not know whether the student being questioned can answer correctly. In other words, the teacher’s real interest, in most instances, in the student’s mastery of the knowledge or skill in question, rather than the content of the answer //per se//.” (pp. 65-66)

"But even more important than whether many or most teachers come to resemble our hypothetical expert, how does such a perspective on teaching address the array of questions treated in this chapter? Of special interest is what it seems to say about the relationship between what a teacher does and what he or she thinks. (p. 88)

"To put the argument in a nutshell, there is no such thing as "genuine" teaching. There is only an activity that people call teaching, which can be viewed from a variety of critical perspectives. Sometimes the criticism that teaching can undergo leads us to conclude that the person performing the activity, or claiming to be able to perform it, has deceived us in some way. Such deceptions are rare, we would hope, but they have been known to happen. (p. 95)

"Today's students at all levels of education are encouraged to be more independent as thinkers than were students of generations past. They are required to memorize less and to understand more. They are routinely encouraged to ask questions, to seek rational explanations, and thereby to challenge authority. They are increasingly permitted to make up their own minds with respect to what is true or false, a strong argument or a weak one. In short today's youngsters are taught to be more critical of everything they are told than was so in the past." (pp. 107)

"Knowledge of a "mimetic" variety, whose transmission entails mimetic procedures, is by definition identifiable in advance of its transmission. this makes it secondhand knowledge, so to speak, not in the pejorative sense of that term, but simply in that it has to have belonged to someone first before it can belong to anyone else. In short, it is knowledge "presented" to a learner, rather than "discovered" by him or her." (pp. 117)

"When we consider what has already been said about those rare teachers who seem to achieve a near perfect blending of the mimetic and the transformative, we can see that the tension between the two traditions can be experienced individually as well as collectively. What it makes conceivable, if not exactly likely, is the possibility that such tensions may be more readily resolved at the individual level, within the confines of a single classroom, than at the level of public debate, where the rift between the traditions appears so great that one is virtually forced to choose sides.." (pp.145)