I’ve just completed the Teaching Perspectives Inventory – for the second time. The first time through, I tried to balance what I felt about teaching in three aspects: with my grade 6/7 class, with teaching English 11 in the summer, and with being an advisor for student teachers. The second time through I just concentrated on teaching my 6/7 students. (The five perspectives are transmission, apprenticeship, developmental, nurturing, and social reform, and are summarized here.)
The results for my two tests weren’t so different from each other, although when just considering my 6/7 class, the Developmental perspective was my dominant perspective, and the Transmission perspective was recessive. When considering all, the five perspectives were more equal across the board.
What surprised me most of all, however, is that when considering all forms of teaching, I scored higher in the Nurturing perspective than when considering just elementary students. This surprised me mostly because this perspective, along with the Developmental perspective, is what I most associate with myself. It was my actions, as opposed to my beliefs and intentions, that were weaker in the Nurturing perspective.
On reflection, I think this relates to my last post – avoiding the creepy treehouse – journaling & blogging. I don’t require students to share their feelings and emotions, but let that occur naturally, when students want to share. I do set up opportunities for students to do this (e.g., working side-by-side with students while working on art activities), but I think, if anything, the wording of the questions that related to actions associated with the Nurturing perspective affected my profile there.
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