Understanding Teacher Learning in the New Context: A Constructivist Perspective

1. Introduction Shift in research paradigms; Conceptualizations of teacher learning; The constructivist perspective; A survey study

Questions What is the nature of teacher learning? How should teachers react to the contextual changes in understanding their professional development? In what way does the context affect and motivate teachers’ professional learning?

2. Understanding Teacher Learning from the Constructivist Perspective 2.1 Conceptualizations of teacher learning in the previous studies 2.2 The constructivist perspective of teacher learning

2.1 Conceptualizations of teacher learning in the previous studies

a) Teacher learning as skill learning; b) Teacher learning as a cognitive process; c) Teacher learning as personal construction; d) Teacher learning as reflective practice. (Richards and Farrel, 2005: pp.6-7)

2.2 The constructivist perspective of teacher learning

2.2.1 Philosophical basis of Constructivism

1) Dewey’s educational philosophy; 2) Piaget’s theory of humans’ cognitive development; 3) Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory.

2.2.2 Constructivist assumptions of learning (Fisher, 1991: p.15)

1) Reality: is constructed as experience;

2) Knowledge: is constructed as a product of social and individual assumptions and is mediated and developed through language;

3) Meaning: is constructed both internally and socially as processes of mental representations;

4) Process of knowing: is an ongoing process of interpreting present events from within the observer’s existential framework;

5) Person: behavior is indeterminate, constrained by recursive relations between self and the environment.

The constructivist learning cycle (Roberts, 1998: pp.23)

the meaning 1. filters new information 3. matched with 2. constructs the meaning 1. filters new information 3. matched with her prior internal representations 6. revises mental representations 4. confirms or disconfirms 5. maintains the meaning

2.2.3 Constructivist implications for Teacher learning (Pope, 1993: p.20-21)

1) The world is real but individuals vary in their perception of it;

2) An individual’s conception of the real world has integrity for that individual;

3) Teacher use personally pre-existing theories to explain and plan their teaching;

4) Teachers test these theories for fruitfulness and modify them in the light of such testing.

a) Teacher and reality Teachers actively construct and re-construct their knowledge by maintaining or revising their existential mental representations of the ‘reality’; The ‘reality’ of teachers is chiefly constructed through their experience of teaching; Different teachers will have different understandings of the same ‘reality’.

b) Teacher and knowledge The way how teacher’s knowledge is constructed depends on how the teacher interprets the ‘reality’; Once the interpretations are internalized into the existential framework of teachers, it will surely change the content of their knowledge.

c) Teacher and the changing context The ‘reality’ is changing; Teacher learns only when their reflection induces them to change their understanding of the ‘reality’; The new understanding invites them to modify their behavior in their interaction with the ‘reality’.

3. Teacher learning in the New Educational Context: Evidence from Chinese EFL Teachers

3.1 The Emergence of a New Educational Context in China

The changes in the educational context 1) The social and economic status of teachers has been greatly upgraded in the past decade;

2) The movement of Professionalism presents new questions to teacher education;

3) Curriculum innovation;

4) The spurt of technology.

3.2 The Survey Study

Method The subjects The instrument Categorizing the questionnaire The administration

1) sensitivity to educational reforms; 2) awareness of institutional changes; 3) use of new teaching technologies; 4) perceptions about contextual changes; 5) motivation to professional learning; 6) preferences to the means of learning.

Table 1: personal information Teaching age 1-10 years 10-20 years 20 years above number 51 26 15 Professional title Assistant teacher lecturer Associate professor professor 30 34 2 Academic degree doctor master bachelor College graduate or other 56 36

Findings (1) Most of the subjects are well aware of the reforms concerning college English teaching.

Findings (2) English teaching time has been reduced in the past several years; The textbooks they use have been changed more frequently than before; The students they teach are more motivated and autonomous than before in their English learning.

Findings (3) New electronic techniques are not much employed by this cohort of teachers, indicating quite a lot of teachers are sticking to the traditional “chalk-and-blackboard” way of teaching.

Findings (4) Most teachers (85 /92) believe that contextual changes are affecting their professional activities; The most affected aspect is that they are facing more serious challenges in their professional knowledge and abilities; The next one is that they are forced to change their traditional teaching methods.

Findings (5) Pressure mainly comes from heavy teaching load (59) and incompetence in scientific research （51）; Half of the subjects (49, 53%) claim that they are professionally knowledgeable, while the other half (43) thinking they are not; 91 of the subjects in the answer to Question 14 expressed the hope to continue their professional learning through a certain way.

Findings (6) Only half of the subjects have got chances of learning before; These teachers improve their teaching competence mainly through self-study and reflection. They chose off-site advanced studies as the most preferred way to continue their professional learning .

Implications Both the society and the institutions should help teacher get adjusted to the changing context by providing them with as many as possible learning chances and supports.

4. Conclusion

Any changes in the societal context will inevitably affect teachers’ beliefs about their professional status and prospect;

Any alterations in the institutional factors will also affect teachers’ professional beliefs and decisions;

Teacher learning is by nature a process deserving plan, design, and execution in the interaction with both the societal and the institutional contexts.

High awareness of the contextual changes and effort in actively constructing new knowledge are valued; inertia will be a threat to the professional development of teachers.

Thank you !