Teaching as Principled Practice

Linda R. Kroll - Mills College
David M Donahue - Mills College
Tomas Galguera - Mills College
Vicki Kubler LaBoskey - Mills College
Anna Ershler Richert - Mills College
Philip L Tucher - Mills College
Ruth Cossey - Mills College

Other Titles in:
Curriculum | Leadership & Management | Teaching Methods & Learning Styles

September 2004 | 176 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc

This book is about a practical vision for effective teacher development for social justice and excellent outcomes for all children and youth, but especially those who have been traditionally underserved by the educational institutions of our country. This vision is encompassed in a set of six principles that underlie the work we do with pre-service teachers: the courses we teach, the supervision we do in the schools, the work we do with the cooperating teachers who open their classrooms to us and our students, and the ongoing conversations we have with our students and with one another. This book is about how one might teach using such underlying principles to guide one's practice. It speaks directly to pre-service and experienced teachers about a way to think about the challenges of urban education for teachers and children alike by building on a fundamental set of ideas. These notions are at the core of what and how we teach teachers and are at the core of how teachers can think about their own practice in schools. The principles are: teaching is inherently moral work, teaching is an act of inquiry and reflection, learning is a developmental constructivist process, the content of what we teach must be well understood by those who teach and those who learn, teaching is a collegial act, and teaching is political.

Features and Benefits:

} each chapter in the text addresses and explores one of the principles, presenting the rationale behind the principle and including several examples of how the principle informs the complicated work done in classrooms.

} real-life case studies and voices of teachers show the application of each principle.

} responses to each of the chapters/cases by school leaders examine the dilemmas of teachers from principled practice to the work of leadership.

Linda R. Kroll

Preface

Rebecca Akin

Foreword

Linda R. Kroll and Tomás Galguera

1. Teaching and Learning to Teach as Principled Practice

Anna Ershler Richert

2. Learning to Negotiate the Moral Terrain of Teaching

David M. Donahue

3. Preparing and Supporting the Reflective Practitioner

Linda R. Kroll

4. Constructivism in Teacher Education: Rethinking How We Teach Teachers

Vicki Kubler LaBoskey

5. Preparing to Teach Content : "Not Just a Series of Fun Activities"

Ruth Cossey and Philip Tucher

6. Teaching to Collaborate, Collaborating to Teach

Tomás Galguera

7. Learning to See the Invisible: Power, Authority, and Language in the Classroom

Vicki Kubler LaBoskey, Anna Ershler Richert, and Linda R. Kroll

8. Principled Practice in a World of Standards: Some Concluding Thoughts

Index

Acknowledgments

“Teacher candidates and practicing teachers will find inspiration and ideas for reflection throughout this text. The principled practice demonstrated in each chapter sets the stage for examination of ones beliefs, passions, and values of teaching and learning. The vignettes present realistic problems with evidence that solutions are not simplistic but value laden and complex.”

Elsa L. Geskus

Kutztown University

“Teaching as Principled Practice provides educators with a valuable frame for rethinking and reconfirming the commitment to students and society in a world of globalization and standardization.”

Miriam Ben-Peretz

University of Haifa

“This book introduces prospective teachers to (and reminds practicing teachers about) key principles for guiding effective practice in urban settings. Through helpful vignettes and readable text, the authors clarify what these principles mean and how teachers can make these principles an embedded part of their work.”

Diane Kyle

University of Louisville

“This text provides much insight and variety of opinion regarding contemporary issues and educational practices in today's society. The format is unique and would encourage lively discussion in a university class setting.”

Rebecca S. Compton

East Central University

"This book is itself a collegial project of inquiry and reflection with moral and political dimensions. As an elementary-school teaching-credential student at Mills, I can also attest to the constructivist and collaborative approach to their own instruction and the value these professors place on subject matter content. A rarity in academia, these educators practice what they preach."

Pat Soberanis

editor

Mills Quarterly

Pat Soberanis

editor

Mills Quarterly