Professional Development and Research
Figure 2 in Joyce and Showers (1995) means (to me), that awareness and concept understanding are much more significant in specific parts of teaching (and other helping or communication professions) than skill attainment or problem solving, at least where presentation of theory and modeling are concerned. That is not to say that these other areas are not important, but only that they are not as vital as the ability to be aware and understand the concepts with which a person is working (Jasper, 2006).
However, when it comes to skill attainment in feedback and coaching, there is a strong correlation. It is more important to be both aware and skilled in those two areas, where the presentation of theory and modeling are more focused on being aware and understanding the concept, as opposed to attaining a specific level of skill. In the area of coaching and peers, application and problem solving are highly significant, because they involve working closely with people and they all work together to provide the best learning environment. In most areas of teaching, the application and problem solving abilities are not as significant as the rest of the issues.
This research is very applicable to my work setting because all teachers should be aware of the concepts they are teaching, but they must not allow their skill attainment in that area to get in the way of more important skill attainment areas, such as coaching study teams and peer visits....
Even though all of the areas of teaching are significant and they should all be used in ways that are the most effective.
In order to do that, some of the areas must be emphasized while some will not be as strong. That is true of any helping profession where communication is concerned (Golding & Gray, 2006). Not all teachers understand the importance of professional development, or the need to break down areas where they may need improvement and areas in which they excel. However, Figure 2 shows that there are, indeed, several different areas that are part of teaching, and the areas are all quite different from one another in their significance and in how they are utilized to bring the teacher and his or her pupils into a cohesive unit where maximum learning can occur.
Professional development in my work setting takes this research into account by focusing on separate subject areas and understanding that there is much more to teaching than what meets the eye. Not every teacher has the same skill set, but that does not mean that they cannot learn to teach the same kinds of subjects to the same types of pupils without a problem. All professionals who work to help others through the communication of…
