“If a doctor, lawyer, or dentist had 40 people in his office at one time,all of whom had different needs, and some of whom didn’t want to be there and were causing trouble, and the doctor, lawyer, or dentist, without assistance,had to treat them all with professional excellence for nine months, then he might have some conception of the classroom teacher’s job.” -Donald O. Quinn Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz

“In training their attention on teacher behaviors, researchers had ignored what was to Shulman the very heart, the essence, of teaching: how teachers understand the content they teach and how their students develop understandings of the ideas, concepts, and root constructs that give meaning to school subjects.” (Wineburg1998, p.235)

Lee Shulman (1987) says expert teachers know: The academic subjects they teach. General teaching strategies that apply in all subjects (e.g. principles of classroom management) Curriculum materials & programs appropriate for grade/subject. Subject specific knowledge for teaching (e.g. best way to explain negative numbers to lower ability students). Characteristics and cultural background of learners. Settings in which students learn-classes, schools, and community. Goals and purposes of teaching. Do we agree with this list? Is this a complete list?

Instructional Objectives Adapted from:

What Are Instructional Objectives? Instructional objectives are descriptions of the performance a learner should be able to demonstrate after instruction. Objectives or outcomes are observable, specific, and measurable and are written at the course level as well as at the more specific lesson level.

Why Use Instructional Objectives ? 1. Define the desired outcome of instruction in terms of tasks that student will be able to perform. 2. Establish expectations for the student. 3. Focus course development and teaching activities on relevant information and skills. 4. Provide a clear reason for teaching. 5. Provide criteria for eliminating unnecessary information and activities. 6. Indicate how success can be measured; provide criteria for student assessment.

What Else Should I Know About Objectives ? 1. Objectives do not describe what the instructor will be doing when teaching. 2. A list of content topics is not a substitute for objectives. 3. When writing objectives, avoid ambiguous words that do not specify an observable outcome. Instead use action verbs that indicate how learning will be demonstrated. Ambiguous Words : learn, know, understand, grasp, appreciate, become familiar with Action Words : list, describe, explain, design, solve, criticize, compare, product

Bloom’s Taxonomy and Objectives. Bloom’s Taxonomy identifies six levels of thinking within the cognitive domain. At the lowest level is simple recall. The categories represent increasing complexity and abstraction, with the highest level involving judgment. Many educators conceptualize each of the levels as a type of objective.

Bloom’s Taxonomy: Knowledge- recall/recognition of previously learned material Comprehension- grasping the meaning of material Application- using learned material in a new situation Analysis-breaking down material into its component parts to undertand the underlying structure Synthesis- ability to put the parts together to form a new whole Evaluation- ability to judge the value of the material for a given purpose

How do these principles fit with Shulman’s principles?

Some quotes to think about on the subject of teaching: “What we hope to with ease, we must first learn to do with diligence.” -Samuel Johnson “The true aim of everyone who aspires to be a teacher should be, not to impart his own opinion, but to kindle minds.’ -Frederick Robertson “Those who educate children well are more to be honored than even their parents, for these only give them life; those the art of living well.” -Aristotle.

Lifelong expert learners are self-regulated learners. Self-regulated learners have: Knowledge- about themselves and how they learn best. They know: the subject, the task, strategies for learning, and contexts in which they will be applying what they are learning. Motivation-to learn. Volition- they possess the will power/self-discipline to do the hard work of learning.

To make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from…. …………… We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time. From T.S. Eliot –Four Quartets