Laura and Jim and what they taught me about the gap between educational theory and practice / Dona M. Kagan, with James R. Chesnut ... [et al.].

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kagan, Dona M., 1946-

Contributor:

Chesnut, James R.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

High school teachers--United States--Case studies.

High school teachers.

College teachers--United States--Case studies.

College teachers.

Teaching--Political aspects.

Teaching.

Teachers--Training of--Political aspects--United States.

Teachers.

Education--United States--Philosophy.

Education.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (ix, 165 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Albany, N.Y. : State University of New York Press, c1993.

Summary:

Many teachers do not conform to the views of teaching espoused by professors of education. Yet these teachers are often judged as outstanding by colleagues, students, parents, and administrators. This thoughtful, timely book is a qualitative inquiry that addresses this contradiction. It focuses on two outstanding high school teachers, Laura and Jim, who were observed and interviewed by Kagan over a five month period. Two education professors who teach methods courses in corresponding fields (English, social studies) were also interviewed. Kagan juxtaposes the two entirely different views of teaching that emerged from her observations and examines the functional value of each. This book then is ultimately about the politics of teaching: the power to define 'good' teaching and determine how novices will be prepared for the classroom. Laura and Jim represent a silent underground of practitioners who have lost the right to legislate their own profession. This is their story. Dona M. Kagan is Professor of Education at the University of Alabama.

Contents:

Intro

Contents

Tables

Introduction

1. Motivation and Method

Method and Overview

The Utility of This Project

Acknowledgments

How This is a Different Kind of Educational Research

The School Context

2. What I Saw in Laura's Classroom

The Cognition Underlying Laura's Practice

3. Beth's Course on Methods of Teaching Seconding English

Beth Evaluates My Description of Laura's Practice

4. Laura's Response to Beth

5. What I Saw in Jim's Classroom

The Cognition Underlying Jim's Practice

6. Liza's Course on Methods of Teaching Secondary Social Studies

Liza Evaluates My Description of Jim's Classroom Practice

7. Jim's Response to Liza

8. Where and Why the Professors and the Teachers Disagreed

Points of Difference: Comparing the Two Perspectives

Interviews with the Student Teachers

Echoes in the Literature of Teaching and Teacher Education: The Functional Value of Each Perspective

Inferences and Implications

Where We Might Go from Here: The Moral of the Story

References

Index

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

W

Y

Z.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (p. 153-161) and index.

ISBN:

1-4384-0815-3

0-585-09189-7

OCLC:

42628683