Paths to Professional Growth for Teachers: 30 Cases of Outstanding Teachers

Author: Zhang Wanshang, edited by Wan Wei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-10-01
Features: How to achieve teachers' professional development, or how to reconstruct the role and image of teachers, may not have fixed models or routines, nor a uniform evolutionary path. However, there are at least some common characteristics involved. The Pathways of Teacher Professional Development—Cases of 30 Outstanding Teachers presents these characteristics to us through case studies, helping us understand the current role of teachers and how they progress from competent to excellent, and from excellent to outstanding. Improvement comes through reflection. Some say education is a field heavily influenced by experience, and those involved in it are often tied by past practices. Growth comes through research. Former teachers did not necessarily need to see themselves as researchers, as conventional practices and accumulated experience could usually address challenges from teaching or students. Their task was simply to integrate students into the teaching routine and convey knowledge within a given time frame. Sublimation comes through refinement. Progress comes through exploration. "Accumulating knowledge leads to wisdom." The 30 teachers featured in this book share their journeys during the new curriculum reform—where confusion arises, problems emerge, methods develop, joy unfolds, and wisdom is gained—allowing us to better understand the principle of "accumulating knowledge to cultivate wisdom."