A Crisis of Understanding

Dr. Bonnstetter is the Secondary Science Education Coordinator at the University of Nebraska. His award winning program has been recognized by the National Science Teachers Association and Dr. Bonnstetter was honored as the first recipient of the Outstanding National Science Teacher Education by the Association for Science Teacher Education.

Abstract

The following message sent to a recent methods class speaks to all of us, as we struggle to prepare our future teachers of today for the schools of tomorrow. The message is intended to not only help preservice teachers better understand their own developmental phase, but to give voice to all methods instructors who struggle to communicate a vision of what could be, to a group of students whose only reference is past personal experience.

A Crisis of Understanding

“Personally, have no idea what's going on...Thursdays class made no sense to me, and all these terms and methods for teaching mean absolutely nothing to me. Am I behind the rest of the class and if so how can I catch up? Ron, no offense, but for me you make no sense and have no consistency from class to class. So everyday I walk in not sure what we accomplished last time and no idea where we are going that day.
Help”

Dear Methods Students:
I am sure this email message speaks for many of you. In the past my response at this point in the course was to convince each of you that “things will come together and will make sense soon”. In fact I sent a portion of Jen’s note to a couple of former students, and here is one immediate response. “Well, here we go again. Remember, the first five to eight weeks of methods are so full of anxiety...keep reminding them that it really does all comes together.”

But rather than simply saying, “trust me”, I think I will try another approach this time. Because I am trying to figure out the process myself, I should be willing to share both my insights and my frustrations with the process of helping each of you to become the best teacher possible. So here goes.

I find that most of us, at least in parts of our lives, are walking down a road facing backwards. In other words, we are moving forward, but only looking backward at past experiences and past beliefs to formulate our response to each new life encounter along the road. Consequently, many of us continue to make the same mistakes and respond to new events using old solutions.

Then you run into a roadblock, this course as an example. I am requesting that each of you reexamine this thing called teaching and learning, and in the process, begin to confront your own assumptions about how educating our future generations should be done. As I read Jen’s note, I hear a person who recognizes that I am not giving answers and is frustrated with “things not being the same as other classes”. This is good. She is starting to feel the discomfort that comes from no longer assuming that the past will open the doors to the future. As a friend of mine recently said, “You must be lost to realize that you need to find a new path”. In fact, I would go so far as to say that until you admit that you are lost, you can not truly learn to be a great teacher. Sadly, I have learned that some students, and some practicing teachers for that matter, who see no problem with the status quo, also see no reason to examine their beliefs about effective practice. They are doomed to a future that only used the past for direction. But I find that others who at least attempt to deal with new insights into practice appear to go through various stages of development.

In an effort to create a model for these stages, I would like to consider the literature on death and dying. Our family has had to recently face the issue of terminal illness and I have learned a great deal from this experience. For example, this body of knowledge suggests that many people move through 5 stages when faced with their own impending death. If we replace the word “death” with “the word loss” We might be able to find ourselves somewhere on this continuum as we face other life changing events as well.

So first, there must be a reason for change. Facing ones own mortality certainly qualifies, but as I previously stated, “you must be lost to realize that you need to find a new path. In effect, within this course, I must take something away from you that creates, at least for some of you, “a loss”. For example, you are being asked to face the fact that schools do not work for many of our students. For many of our teachers, teaching is not a profession that they find fulfilling. And having a course that offers more questions than answers leaves many with no ideas what to do or how to learn from the experience. At this point I must add that not everyone in our class is at the same point on this continuum nor do all students go through every stage. During any given semester, I will have students who have spent years thinking about nagging questions concerning effective teaching, while others simply have not given any of this much thought until now. Still others just want to be told what is expected so they can continue to continue with no real thought or personal anguish. They have been successful up to this point by gathering simple answers verse seeking understanding. By the way, this is the only group that really worries me as a teacher educator. They are so happy with the present that they have no clue of the numerous lost opportunities they have missed and will continue to miss. They truly believe that the past holds all the answers to the future.

Let’s examine the stages and see if we each can place ourselves on this continuum.

Denial (There is NO problem)
This is the first step. They view teaching as something they have experienced for years and fully intends to employ this model for the rest of their professional life. They can be heard saying, “It was good enough for me, it’s good enough for my students”. Some programs are built on this philosophy and when this is the case, both student and teacher educators are at peace. Even in a progressive program, a few students, behind closed doors, whisper to themselves, “All I need to do is put up with this B…S… and I can get my certification and teach as I please.” “They can’t “fix” me, because there is nothing wrong.” Many pre-service and present teachers successfully practice this passive aggressive behavior. Until this group sees that there is a problem, no amount of convincing will change their behavior.

Therefore, a methods program that is proactive must recognize this stage and help these students see problems where they presently perceive none. But a warning must be given concerning this group. With continued pressure to address problems within the present system, some will move to the next phase. A program with one or two such students may be helped with time and care, but if the number reaches a critical mass, the instructor can loss the battle for learning and have outright rebellion in a methods class. Let’s examine the characteristics of this next stage.

Anger (No ownership of problem)
“I CAME INTO THIS PROGRAM TO BE TAUGHT HOW TO BE A TEACHER!” What this really means is “I already know how to teach and all you are supposed to do is bless my ideas and then get out of my way and YOU ARE NOT HELPING!!” “WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, TELLING ME I HAVE TO CHANGE MY IDEAS ABOUT TEACHING!”

The focus of this anger is many times directed at either the methods instructor, the University supervisor or the cooperating teacher. It is absolutely amazing that an “n” of one perspective for these students out weighs any and all research supported logic.

Both preservice and classroom teachers, who are in the anger phase, must be allowed to voice their emotion in a loving and caring environment. The goal is to help them understand both the need to change and then to help them take ownership of the problem and their role in it.

Bargaining (I will only look and act like I am complying)
This phase involves students who become wolfs in sheep’s clothing. They play the game and appear to be on board. But down deep they are only playing a role. They are masters at displaying the right skills, but still have no understanding of the reasons for the skills. No real understanding of the problems facing teachers each day and no rationale for their actions. They bargain away true understanding and replace it with noncommittal and passionless actions. “Just tell me how to do it and I will comply, but don’t expect anything else of me.”

4. Depression (I see the problems and it is simply too much for me to handle)
These students can show clinical signs of depression and withdrawal and hopelessness. They begin to grasp the problem and are terrified of not being able to meet the challenge and teach to meet the needs of their students. Actually all of us fall back into this phase from time to time and from one day to the next. This group sees the problem and without help can be consumed by it. This is where colleagues, family, and friends must be ready to join forces to help each of us see the problem clearly and develop plans of action that confront the problem in a proactive manner.

5. Acceptance (This group accepts the challenge and rejoices at new dilemmas.
For these teachers, everyday is a new opportunity to learn and grow professionally. They thrive on new experiences and seek understanding. They share their new insights and actively seek new questions. They can be described as “life long learners”

After a recent class, a student locked firming in the Anger stage, let go with both barrels stating that “it” worked for her and it was high time that students learned to cope and not expect the teacher to meet a student’s every need or teach to different learning styles or offer any choice” and on and on and on. As the class left the room, a preservice teacher from the Acceptance Stage, whispered to me, “People coming into this program should be requested to sign a contract that states that they are willing and able to 1. Listen, 2. Consider options, and 3. Rejoice at new ideas and challenges”.

Reflection
I hope some of this helps explain why I cannot “give” you the answers to MY problems. Answers are only useful for YOUR problems. So the first step is to help each of you clearly understand and articulate the problems you will face as an educator. Once you are armed with the question, I am convinced each of us will attack the problem with a vengeance. I might add that for you to see the problem, you must not depend on past experiences for your vision of education. You must gather as many experiences with children as possible. Only then will you start to gain new insights into both the problem and possible solutions.

I challenge each of us to consider that we are walking down a road facing backwards. We need to be open to new ways of thinking and new ways of having students learn. Using the same approaches that have worked in the past may not be the answer for the future.

My responsibility is to listen to each of you and be prepared to communicate based on your needs and where you are on your continuum of growth and development. This requires that I maintain a working relationship with each of you and keep the lines of communication open. While this internal struggle is going on, every effort will be made to maintain an environment where we can disagree without being disagreeable and allow social constructivism to lead all of us to new insights.

So we are both faced with a challenge. It is up to each of us to decide how we will face it.