I sometimes read documents about teacher preparedness and think, “Gee, who are they talking about?” Then I remember, “Hey! I’m a teacher. They must be talking about me! But yet I don’t recognize me…” I know this information pertains to our education environment, undergraduate learning, and professional development, but do they (the infamous they) really think we got all that out of our four year degree and a couple of years in the classroom? Most of what I know was learned on the job or previously in other jobs or in the 46 years of life experience I have under my belt. The best professors taught us how to ‘think on our feet’ and adjust our plans to meet the circumstances. Those are the skills learned in my undergraduate courses that have served me the best.
Specifically regarding the 7th strand – Technology Operations and Concepts - Very little to none of the content was taught in my undergraduate courses. Believe it or not, I had a professor, in 2006, teach us how to teach students on a manual typewriter. This example is one reason why I much prefer adjunct faculty to tenured professors. (No, I am not trying to get brownie points….) Adjuncts know the ‘real world’ and have adjusted their style to serve the needs of their students and our future students. They are fresh, alive, and hungry. Some tenured professors have never seen the inside of a K-12 classroom nor have they worked outside the world of academia. There are exceptions of course, but they are few. Our universities are doing a disservice to future teachers by not incorporating more technology learning in the teaching programs. And please, keep in mind, one of my undergraduate majors was business education. If anyone should have received training in technology, it should have been me. All I learned regarding technology has been self-taught.
The objectives of this course align themselves perfectly with the 7th strand. Again – adjunct staff = realistic teaching. But we must keep in mind that the majority of teachers will not be getting an advanced degree in Education Technology. This strand should be addressed at an undergraduate level and to all future teachers.
And don’t get me started on Strand 2 item d! That is a whole other story!!
Typewriter Picture: http://mytypewriter.com/ProductImages/Olympia_SM3_Maroon_M.jpg
Tenure Picture: http://www.larta.org/lartavox/images/9-2010-images/tenure-cartoon.gif
It’s hard to believe that just a few years ago you had a professor that actually taught you how to teach students on a typewriter. I agree with what you talked about teacher preparedness. I don’t think that my undergraduate degree really prepared me all that much to become a teacher, especially with technology. Just as you said that much of what you learned was on the job or life experiences, I would say student teaching was by far the best part of the undergrad degree to prepare me…on the job experience. I think you are pretty accurate to say that “universities are doing a disservice to future teachers by not incorporating more technology learning in the teaching programs”…especially if they teach manual typewriters.
ReplyDeleteSabina, because I do not have an undergraduate degree, I was very anxious about starting this graduate program thinking that I would really be lost. Reading your blog and your comment that not one of your undergraduate professors discussed the 7th standard was really remarkable. I don’t feel so alone now. I agree with your blog. As an adjunct instructor myself, I tell my students that I always enjoyed my part-time college professors because they always were in touch with the “real” business world and always had examples to share that were beneficial to the class. Could this be the reason that many universities now employ more adjunct instructors? It’s probably due to budgets and cost, but I would like to think so. As I am in pursuit of a full-time professor position at my college, I fear what I may be like in 10-20 years. I don’t want to be that stagnate professor who has lost touch of reality. Good educators are continually learning. I believe that is why professional development is captured in the National and Michigan standards. It’s an important component of these standards. I enjoyed reading all of your posts.
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