Teacher Training Course

The question of what knowledge, attitudes, behaviours and skills teachers should possess is the subject of much debate in many cultures, like India. Generally, Diploma in Teacher Training curricula can be broken down into these blocks:

• Foundational knowledge and skills—usually this area is about education-related aspects of philosophy of education, history of education, educational psychology, and sociology of education.

• Content-area and methods knowledge—often also includes ways of teaching and assessing a specific subject, in which case this area may overlap with the first ("foundational") area. There is increasing debate about this aspect; because it is no longer possible to know in advance what kind of knowledge and skill pupils will need when they enter adult life, it becomes harder to know what kinds of knowledge and skill teachers should have. Increasingly, emphasis is placed upon 'transversal' or 'horizontal' skills (such as 'learning to learn' or 'social competences', which cut across traditional subject boundaries, and therefore call into question traditional ways of designing the Teacher Education curriculum (and traditional school curricula and ways of working in the classroom).

• Practice at classroom teaching or at some other form of educational practice. Practice can take the form of field observations, student teaching, or an internship

Supervised Field Experiences

Field observations—include observation and limited participation within a classroom under the supervision of the classroom teacher

Student teaching—includes a number of weeks teaching in an assigned classroom under the supervision of the classroom teacher and a supervisor (e.g. from the university)

Internship-teaching candidate is supervised within his or her own classroom

This conventional organization has sometimes also been criticized, however, as artificial and unrepresentative of how teachers actually experience their work. Problems of practice frequently (perhaps usually) concern foundational issues, curriculum, and practical knowledge simultaneously, and separating them during teacher education may therefore not be helpful.

Teaching involves the use of a wide body of knowledge about the subject being taught, and another set of knowledge about the most effective ways to teach that subject to different kinds of learner; it therefore requires teachers to undertake a complex set of tasks every minute. Many teachers experience their first years in the profession as stressful. The proportion of teachers who either do not enter the profession after completing initial training, or who leave the profession after their first teaching post, is high.

A distinction is sometimes made between inducting a teacher into a new school (explaining the school's vision, procedures etc.), and inducting a new teacher into the teaching profession (providing the support necessary to help the beginning teacher develop a professional identity, and to further develop the basic competences that were acquired in college.)

A number of countries and states have put in place comprehensive systems of support to help beginning teachers during their first years in the profession.

Elements of such a program can include:

Mentoring: the allocation to each beginning teacher of an experienced teacher, specifically trained as a mentor.

A peer network: for mutual support but also for peer learning.

Input from educational experts (e.g. to help the beginning teacher relate what she learned in college with classroom reality). Support for the process of self-reflection that all teachers engage in (e.g. through the keeping of a journal).

No initial course of teacher education can be sufficient to prepare a teacher for a career of 30 or 40 years. Continuous Professional Development (CPD) is the process by which teachers (like other professionals) reflect upon their competences, maintain them up to date, and develop them further.

The extent to which education authorities support this process varies, as does the effectiveness of the different approaches. A growing research base suggests that to be most effective, CPD activities should:

• Be spread over time
• Be collaborative
• Use active learning
• Be delivered to groups of teachers
• Include periods of practice, coaching, and follow-up
• Promote reflective practice
• Encourage experimentation, and
• Respond to teachers’ needs.

For more details- Contact- IIPS(9212441844,9990053412)

http://www.nurseryteachertraining.co.in/