David Gliessman

Variables Influencing the Acquisition of a Generic Teaching Skill

In an initial attempt to identify the variables influencing the acquisition of teaching skills, the results of 26 studies addressing acquisition of the generic skill of questioning were synthesized through meta-analysis. The variables considered were general effect of training, training method, length of training period, specific training time, number of practice sessions, teaching experience of trainees, academic and certification levels of trainees, practice setting, and students used as pupils in practice. Interactions among selected variables were also assessed. Of the preceding variables, general effect of training, academic level of trainees within training method, consistency of trainee certification level and pupils taught in practice, and consistency across practice and criterion teaching settings were found to have significant effects. The findings are discussed with reference to research-based views as well as traditional views about the variables influencing the acquisition of teaching skills. Implications of the limitations of the studies reviewed for future research are discussed.

Acquiring Teaching Skills through Concept-Based Training.

To assess the effect of concept-based training on the acquisition of teaching skills, twenty practicing teachers were assigned to either a training group or a non training group using an assignment strategy that controlled for relevant trainee variables. Posttraining evidence was collected on concept acquisition scores, incidence of use of the skills taught, and the relationship between concept acquisition scores and skill scores. Concept-based training resulted in significantly higher mean concept acquisition scores and a significantly higher mean incidence of use of the teaching skills. A positive and significant correlation was found between concept acquisition scores and skill scores in the trained group.

Conceptual variables in teacher training

A series of studies demonstrates that instruction or intervention directed at change in conceptual variables results in changes in teaching performance. Instruction directed at the acquisition of skill concepts resulted in significantly higher skill frequencies or scores. Furthermore, level of concept acquisition was significantly and positively correlated with skill measures. An intervention designed to increase clarity in defining and describing a teaching skill resulted in significantly higher performance ratings for that skill. Implications for practice and research emphasize greater attention to conceptual variables as aspects of training.

Changing Complex Teaching Skills

Abstract The study reported had as its objective assessing change in complex teaching skills under controlled training conditions. The trainee participants were 20 post‐baccalaureate, experienced teachers. Two sets of skills were addressed: (1) extending and lifting as a questioning strategy and (2) organizing an explanation for structural clarity. Conceptually‐based training resulted in significant changes in both sets of skills. The significance of the findings is delineated for both teaching effectiveness and teacher training research. The general research strategy suggests that training in the same skills be assessed next under the less controlled conditions of the classroom.

Applying a Research-Based Model to Teacher Skill Training

The purpose of this study was to imple ment and assess the effectiveness of a research-based model for training in teaching skills. We identified a complex teaching skill with a demonstrated positive relationship with student learning. A training method based on the research on concept learning was then applied to the development of that skill under training conditions that had been shown to influence applicational trans fer to the school classroom. We then assessed the effect of the training method for a group of preservice secondary teaching trainees on concept acquisition and use of the skill in peer teach ing and in the school classroom. The findings are discussed, and emergent research questions are identified.

Concept and Skill Relationships in a Teacher Training Setting.

Abstract The purpose of the study was to test a set of hypotheses relating concept learning to the use of teaching skills in training settings. Data were analyzed from 14 training studies in which both concept learning and skill use were measured. Summary evidence showed a significant relationship between the concept and skill variables. This evidence, especially when considered in light of the absence of evidence relating practice to skill use, suggests that skill acquisition in a training setting is mediated by concept learning. A descriptive model of that process is offered, and its implications for research and practice are indicated.

A Medium for Problem Solving in Teacher Education

No longer is it necessary to strive for situations in teacher preparation that will be identical or equivalent to those to be found in the real classroom. With the advent of the new media and materials, analogous or mediated situations can now be created. Such a development holds tremendous potential for the improvement of instruction in teacher preparation programs. It takes only a little leafing through a current education journal to sense the misgivings many have about the impact of teacher education courses. In two recent issues of The Journal of Teacher Education, several writers have voiced concern about undergraduate courses for teachers: James Russell’ and Walter McPhie2 contend that the content of these courses necessarily lacks significance for students who have not had actual teaching experience. To put it in psychological