Process-oriented Teaching Repertoire

In the Education Studies Department at Guilford College, our teacher/learners:

Develop a repertoire of teaching approaches, enlightened but not confined by developmental perspectives, attending to the processes of learning as much as the quality of their students' products and performances (Process-oriented Teaching Repertoire).

Teacher/learners in the Education Studies Program examine the cognitive, social/emotional, cultural, and physical theories of how people learn. They are also encouraged to develop and test their own theories of learning based upon their observations, inquiries, analyses, and experiences as teachers and learners. As they apply their knowledge of these theories, they develop a repertoire of ways to teach and to support their students' learning. Underlying their repertoire is a solid understanding of the developmental needs of all learners with particular expertise in what is currently understood by researchers and practitioners about the age group they wish to teach. It is through practice with their repertoire that they learn to select what works best for them in various settings and situations for many types of learners. While the process of accumulating a repertoire sounds simple, it is not, for this Habit of Mind is also influenced greatly by the attitudes, beliefs, and contexts with which teacher/learners must engage. Throughout their career as professionals, preservice educators learn that there are exceptions to every theory and reasons why students' behaviors do not always match what developmentalists would have us believe. Human beings are unpredictable. A teacher/learners' repertoire must remain dynamic since concrete evidence of what always works in the classroom is often difficult to obtain.

1. Discovery

2. Guided Exploration

3. Independent Application

Teacher/learners are receptive to accumulating the knowledge, experience, and theories they will need to develop a teaching repertoire. They can write lesson plans according to a framework supplied by faculty or mentors and have begun to understand that there are many ways to assess and evaluate student learning.

Teacher/learners recognize the necessity to apply their knowledge, experience, and theory in building a teaching repertoire. They develop learning goals for their students based upon what they believe to be appropriate and remain open to the idea that they may need to adapt and change their goals according to the needs of the student. With assistance, they create assessments that link directly to the learning goals they set. They are prepared to experience some frustration as they implement their plans and they remain willing to focus on the processes of learning over the products and performances of their students.

Teacher/learners develop an ability to "read", interpret, and respond to learners in ways that promote learning, drawing on an accumulation of knowledge, experience, and theory about what works within various learning environments. They focus on learning goals and developing intrinsic motivation among their students more than performance goals and extrinsic motivation. Preservice teachers draw a direct link between the learning goals they hope to achieve and assessment which may not always be represented in quantifiable terms. They view and respond to ambiguities and complexities as learning opportunities, realizing that they must remain flexible in defining what constitutes real learning for any one student.