Teacher Knowledge & the Process of Student Learning

Making sense of just how teaching and learning coagulate together has been a long drawn out attempt of educational stakeholders for time immemorial. In fact, many books and articles have been written in an attempt to explain how students learn as well as articulate how teacher knowledge can positively influence the process of student learning. This review of literature on the knowledge, along with the sharing of my own ideas, about teacher knowledge and the process of student learning will reveal how these two distinct elements of education can be viewed to go "hand-in-hand". I will discuss the importance of subject matter and pedagogical knowledge of teachers, teacher knowledge of their students, how students learn, and the role that teachers can play in facilitating the process of student learning.

SUBJECT MATTER COMPETENCY

Subject matter competency is essential for teachers to possess when they enter the classroom as educators. There is no question that teachers must know their subject matter (Tharpe & Gallimore, 1988). I believe knowledge of subject matter includes the following: 1) Understanding its nature, structure, and application; 2) Articulating subject matter knowledge verbally in a way that non-subject matter experts can understand it; and 3) Representing what one knows and understands about the subject in various ways. I think competency in subject matter is important for teachers to have because it would be quite difficult for them to attempt to explain certain concepts if they do not understand these concepts themselves. One way to maintain or sustain subject matter competency is to stay abreast on reading literature in one's own field and avoid becoming a "non-reading professional" (Sarason, 1993). There are various subject-specific journals, textbooks, and research literature that are available for teachers to immerse themselves in to either refresh their memory of (or deepen their understanding of) their subjects of specialty. If teachers update and maintain their understanding of ideas and concepts in their field, then they can effectively share these subject-specific concepts and ideas with their students.

PEDAGOGICAL COMPETENCY

As stated earlier, subject matter competency is important "...but knowing the subject matter is not sufficient for teachers...pedagogical expertise is also required..." (Tharpe & Gallimore, 1988). Teachers must be well versed in how they deliver their subject matter to the students in their respective classrooms. Pedagogy includes (but is not limited to) classroom management techniques, lesson planning, scaffolding techniques, instructional strategies, assessment mechanisms, and transitional routines. So, how can teachers develop their practice of teaching? One way to do this is to engage in "developing a discourse around practice". Magdalene Lampert (1999) suggests that teachers should dialogue with each other to investigate instructional strategies, assess their effectiveness, and generate various ways of making sense of what is happening in their classroom. Robert Fecho (1993), in Reading as a Teacher, asserts that reading as a teacher means reading to translate theory into practice. In other words, another way teachers can engage in reflective, inquiry-based research into their own practice is to read more about their pedagogical practice. Hence, teachers can develop their pedagogy through discourse and reading by taking additional college courses, participating in on-line e-mail conversations, attending conferences, and participating in professional development seminars.

TEACHER INQUIRY & STUDENT LEARNING

Teacher inquiry is not just limited to studying one's own pedagogical techniques, but it also includes an attempt to know more about the students they teach. Gallas (1994), in The Languages of Learning: How Children Talk, Write, Dance, Draw, and Sing Their Understanding of the World, couldn't have summed this up any better. She says:

As a teacher-researcher using ethnographic techniques to study classroom life, I find myself in a peculiar
position. By using an ethnographic approach, I combine both dynamic and synoptic perspectives on the
children I study. As the teacher, I stand inside each classroom event, witnessing and participating as it
unfolds. As a researcher, I collect and analyze data, some of which has been directly influenced by my
participation in the classroom I am studying. (p. 7)

Teachers can also learn about their students' social/cultural background in order for their observations to be more holistic. Danielle Johnson, a high school teacher, discussed one of her encounters with a student in a narrative titled Trade Mark. Johnson (2002) explained how she had gained some insight about a student by meeting with his mother and discovering that he had low self-esteem. After acquiring some additional information about one of her students, Johnson was able to understand and identify one of the barriers to the student's performance in class. Vygotsky is credited with an argument that asserts a child's development cannot be understood by a study of the individual; one must also examine the external social world in which that individual's life has developed (Tharpe & Gallimore, 1988). Lynne Bertram discovered the value of acquiring contextual information about one of her students also. She was struggling with dealing with a student's behavioral issues in class as well. Here is a teacher who was able to gain an understanding of this particular student's behavioral issues in class after engaging in several conversations with the student's mother (Bertram, 2002). Thus, learning about students in their act of learning, along with becoming familiar with the context in which they learn (social-cultural, family, school, etc.), can provide teachers with some very valuable information about their students learning modalities and behavioral tendencies.

STUDENTS' WAY OF KNOWING

Many educational professionals and researchers have written about how students actually learn. The process by which the social becomes the psychological is called internalization (Tharpe & Gallimore, 1988). So how do students actually learn or what can occur during this process of internalization? Vygotsky, Bruner, Piaget, and others believe that children are not "merely passive recipients of adult guidance and assistance", but they reorganize and reconstruct experiences as a collaborative process involving themselves and the environment (Tharpe & Gallimore, 1988). Through my own inquiry into how students learn as an educator, I believe students engage in constructing their own learning in various ways. For instance, I think there are four ways that students can become active participators in constructing their own learning which are: 1) Seeking real-life application of their subject matter; 2) Dialoguing with their peers and the teacher 3) Participating in project-based activities; and 4) Indulging in independently, reflective processing of information in the classroom. One could conclude that students actually learn by becoming active constructors (or co-constructors) of their own knowledge.

STUDENT LEARNING AND THE TEACHER'S ROLE

Now, what role does the teacher play in the learning process of a student? One primary role that teachers can play is to assist students in their learning by helping them move throughout the zone of proximal development (Tharpe and Gallimore, 1988). The gap between a student's individual ability and their ability to perform is called the zone of proximal development, better known as ZPD. There are actually four stages in the ZPD (Tharpe & Gallimore, 1988). These zones are as follows:

- Stage I: Where there is Assisted Performance by more capable others (e.g. peers, parents, tutors, teachers) occurs,

- Stage II: Where Performance is Assisted by Self (e.g. reflective independent processing),

- Stage III: Where Performance is Developed and Automatized With Disdain for External Help (e.g. refusal to participate in group projects),

- Stage IV: Where De-Automatization of Performance leads to movement back through Stages I - III (e.g. movement based on need).

TEACHER KNOWLEDGE AND THE PROCESS OF STUDENT LEARNING

I believe teachers needs to know their subject matter, understand pedagogical practices, know more about their students contextual experiences (family, community, school, etc.) and become familiar with how students learn in order to help facilitate their students' process of learning. In this section, I will explain my concept of the relationship between teacher knowledge and the process of student learning. Teacher knowledge includes an understanding of subject matter, pedagogy, and an awareness of how students learn and the contexts in which they exist and learn. The process of student learning includes what students learn, how they learn it, and who's involved in facilitating their learning. Teacher knowledge influences what and how subject matter is taught. Hence, subject matter along with the way in which it is delivered, coupled with the teacher's understanding of the student as a whole influences what a student learns and how he/she learns it. Therefore, teacher knowledge has a transformational affect on what students learn, and how they learn.

In order for teachers to maximize the learning experience of students as "assisted performers", they have to develop and maintain their teacher knowledge and find ways to use it to assist students through the ZPD. Three scenarios will be considered in terms of discussing the importance of teacher knowledge in relation to the process of student learning.

Scenario 1: Subject Matter and Student Learning

Teacher A enters a math classroom to teach Algebra with a teaching a credential in math, along with a lapse in teaching math for two years. He has not had a need to reference a math textbook for two years and neither has he participated in any discourse on the subject of math with anyone. The teacher is familiar with the nature of students outside experience because he grew up in the same neighborhood where the school resides. A student asks him to explain how math operations relate to the real world. The teacher struggles with answering the student's question because he has not developed his own framework for answering such a question, studied any recent literature on this topic, and neither has he had any recent dialogue around such a math concept. The student walks away with a limited understanding of math operations and the student's learning experience in the classroom (at least for this particular day) has not been maximized.

Scenario 2: Pedagogy and Student Learning

Teacher B enters a history classroom to teach World Cultures without a teaching credential but with a B.A. in History. She is a recent college graduate who loves students, but she has no direct training in pedagogical techniques. A student expresses to her that she learns best when she works in groups with other students. The teacher frets at this issue because she has no experience in facilitating complex, group learning in a classroom. So she never accommodates this student's request for group work. This student walks away as well with a limited understanding of World Cultures because the student's learning style was not accommodated in the classroom.

Scenario 3: Knowledge of Students and Student Learning

Teacher C enters an English classroom to teach with a teaching credential in English plus 5 recent years of teaching experience. However, she does not understand the context of her students' experiences outside of the classroom. Two girls immediately begin fighting in her classroom and she calls campus security to contain the situation. The teacher requests that the students be removed from her classroom because of their disruptive behavior. (The teacher never took the time to inquire about why the two students were fighting-they were fighting because one of girl's brother shot and killed the other girl's dad two weeks ago.) Two students are removed from the English class and shifted from class to class because of their complex relationship. The development of their English skills is minimized, partially, because the teacher did not take the time to inquire about the reason for their conflict.

CONCLUSION

According to the three hypothetical scenarios briefly described, subject matter competency is not enough! Pedagogical knowledge is not enough! Knowledge of students is not enough either! I believe the convergence of the three is essential to successfully facilitating the process of student learning. In conclusion, teaching and learning go hand in hand when one is charged with the responsibility of finding ways to maximize student learning in a classroom. As assisted performers of student learning, teachers can maximize the effectiveness of their teaching (and the learning experiences of their students) by developing and maintaining their teacher knowledge. This kind of knowledge includes an awareness and understanding of subject matter, pedagogy, and the various contexts of student learning along with how students learn. I believe teachers can begin to develop, enhance, and perfect their practice of teaching (and ultimately maximize their students learning experiences) when they see the significance of developing teacher knowledge in connection with facilitating the process of student learning.

REFERENCES

Bertram, Lynne. (2002). E-mail Conversations Entry on September 11, 2002. Oakland, CA: Mills College.

Fecho, Robert. (1993). Reading as a teacher. Inside/Ourside: Teacher Research and Knowledge. New York:
Teachers College Press. pp. 265-272.

Gallas, Karen. (1994). The Languages of Learning: How Children Talk, Write, Dance, Draw and Sing Their
Understanding of the World (Language and Literacy). New York: Teachers College Press. pp. 3-35.

Johnson, Danielle. (2002). MEET Narrative: Trademark. Oakland, CA: Mills College.

Lampert, Magdalene. (1999). Knowing teaching from the inside out: Implications of inquiry in practice for teacher
education. The Education of Teachers: Ninety-eighth Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of
Education. Griffin, Gary A., Ed. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. Pp. 167-184.

Paley, V.G. (1986). On listening to what children say. Harvard Educational Review, 56: 2, May, pp. 122-131.

Sarason, S.B. (1993). The "nonreading" professional. Chapter 11 of You are Thinking of Teaching?:
Opportunities, Problems, Realities. San Francisco: Jossey Bass. pp. 129-138.

Tharpe, R.G. & Gallimore, R. (1988). The Redefinition of teaching and schooling. In Rousing minds to life:
Teaching, learning, and schooling in social context. New York: Cambridge University Press. pp. 13-43.