The Craft Model

Activity: Case Study

Ali Jaber is a student at Faculty of Education. He is in the last year and he has practicum courses in which students work with a classroom teacher. He is an enthusiastic and an energetic student. He works and studies hard to be a distinguished teacher after he graduates. Therefore, he needs to do this training course of teaching methodology in one of the public schools as a cooperative teacher with an experienced, skilled and up-to-date teacher. Ali decided to work with Saleh Hussein who works at Al-Salam School in Irbid. Saleh is an excellent teacher. He took many training courses and did many workshops in pedagogy.

Ali begins attending classes with Saleh, observing what he is doing in the class, taking notes, following Selah's instructions in the classroom, and applying exactly what he did and used with the students. Saleh did not let Ali use or apply any teaching technique which Saleh did not use in the classroom. Saleh wants him only to follow and parrot (imitate) his pedagogical teaching methods to avoid any unexpected pitfalls. Ali finished his training course with Saleh after three months and he feels that he has got a great experiential knowledge in teaching methodology. He thinks that he will be a good teacher like Saleh.

1-What are the main characteristics of Selah's model of teacher training? 2-How does Ali learn from Saleh? 3-Do you think Saleh is a professional teacher? Why? Why not? 4-Do you expect Ali to be a professional teacher? Why? Why not? 5-Describe the main characteristics of Ali and Saleh.

Overview

Craft : It is an activity that involves making something in a skillful way or a job that requires special skills. The Craft Model is the oldest form of professional education and is still used today in ESL/EFL teacher education. Its conceptual basis, however, is widely utilized in practicum courses in which students work with classroom teachers, often called cooperating teachers. The wisdom of the profession resides in an experienced professional practitioner. The practitioner is someone who is an expert in the practice of the Craft.

The underlying educational philosophy of such craft notions imply conceptions of training and skill acquisition. They includes ideas of production and belief that teaching skills can be predetermined. Teachers are seen as executors or delivers of codified effective teaching principles.

How do trainees acquire knowledge in the Craft Model ?

a) a) Observation and practice. b) b) Observation and instruction. c) c) Observation, instruction and practice.

Generally, the Craft Model consists of a trainee or a beginner working closely with an expert teacher. The practitioner is supposed to learn by imitating all teaching techniques, all principles of classroom managements, and all methods of assessment used by the experienced teacher. Knowledge is acquired/ absorbed as a result of observation, instructions and practice.

Practice Professional competence Study with master practitioner \ demonstrational instruction

What is/ are the other name (s) of the Craft Model ?

Another name of the Craft Model is " sitting with Nellie". Nellie was an experienced worker who had been doing routine tasks for years. It is also called the Apprentice-Expert Model.

Basic assumptions

-Follow exactly your GUIDE! -Do not think alone! -Hush and listen …….look at your GUIDE how he does it -It is a craft! It needs professional work. -Teaching is easy if you apply what you have already observed. -It is matter of an “imitative not creative” model. -Knowledge is experiential.

How does student-teacher learn ?

The master teacher tells the trainees what to do, how to do it and when to do it. The trainees imitate and follow the master teacher’s instructions.

MERITSMERITS

The positive sides of this Model are as follows: 1-The Craft Model allows the practitioners to develop their experiential knowledge, since the primary responsibilities of the learner are in the classroom. 2-In comparison with other training models, the Craft Model is a fast training model for ESL / EFL teachers.

Demerits

This model of ESL teacher education program suffers from several shortcomings: 1-The most relevant strategies of training are provided by experts, thus the student-teachers play a passive role. 2-The Craft Model is essentially conservative. It does not account for any kind of change. It depends merely on imitation. 3-It does not handle the relevant scientific knowledge. 4-In this model, there is no scope for developing one’s creativity since it does not allow suggesting new theories

Conclusion Teaching is …………. a- craft? b- science?

1- Teaching as a science is : Testable, reproducible, explanatory, predictive and tentative. 2- Teaching as a craft is goal-oriented, structured, consists of a process and a product, skill building and depends on thinking relating and coordinating.

True or False : 1- The Craft Model is the oldest model of teacher education. { T \ F }T F 2-In the Craft Model, a trainee works closely with an expert teacher. { T \ F }TF 3-The Craft Model is considered a dynamic training model. { T \ F }T F 4- This model develops trainees’ received knowledge. { T \ F }TF 5- In this model, the trainee has a creative role in the classroom. { T \ F }TF

References Day, R.R., & Conklin, G. (1992). The knowledge base in ESL/EFL teacher education. Paper presented at the 1992 TESOL Conference, Vancouver, Canada. Merseth, K.K. (1991). The early history of case-based instruction: Insights for teacher education today. Journal of Teacher Education, 42, Shulman, J.H. (1991). Revealing the mysteries of teacher-written cases: Opening the black box. Journal of Teacher Education, 42, Wallace, M.J. (1991).Training Foreign Language Teachers: A Reflective Approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.