Education Around the World

Effective Teaching and What That Looks Like

Presented by Bianca Elliott, Doctoral Student

1. Personal Background
   1. Bianca Elliott has traveled to nine countries (Colombia, England, Spain, France, Romania, Russia, China, Mongolia, and Ukraine) and will be going to another this summer (Guatemala). As such, she has had the opportunity to work with indigenous students in Colombia (Chimila), take United States students to European countries, and work with teachers in other countries. She has enjoyed and learned so much in each of these venues.
   2. While working with students and teachers in the respective countries Bianca became interested in what was to become her dissertation topic that is overall regarding the essence of teaching and whether it differs internationally and/or cross culturally.
2. Introduction
   1. What is teaching?
   2. What is necessary to the essence of teaching?
   3. Is the essence of teaching quantifiable?
3. Questions
   1. Is teaching an art, science, training, skill, or something one is born with? Something not listed?
   2. What are the requisites of teaching?
   3. Do the elements of teaching vary from geographic location? From political persuasion? From gender perception? From age? From level of education?
   4. Are the elements of teaching transferable to other cultural, ethnic, geographic, political entities, or is it bound to specific localities and/or situations?
   5. Is the essence of teaching the same as being an effective teacher?
   6. Is the essence of teaching measurable? If so, how? If not, why not?
   7. Is effective teaching measurable? If so, how? If not, why not?
   8. Does globalization and marketization of education influence this topic in any way?
4. Definition
   1. Teaching may or may not have to do with curriculum or disciplines so this discussion will not be limited to the “traditional” definition of teaching and will leave teaching as an open-ended response.
   2. Bianca considers essence as that which is necessary and required of the teacher to teach. However, this word too is open to interpretation in this discussion.
5. Evaluating Your Personal Responses
   1. Please consider responding to either individual questions (please tell us the letter you are responding to) or holistically.
   2. Please provide a succinct and yet detailed rationale for your position. Experience(s) in different cultures and environments will help each of us to learn from this activity.

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Archived Discussion

Name	Comment
Jenny (Jennifer Pullman)	It is so exciting to introduce Bianca Elliot as both an international educator/researcher/presenter and as our Programs Director for the upcoming PDK term! What an honor it is to have her on board, and how fascinating and thought-provoking the topics in this program are, for all of us as educators acrss the globe. Please join me in welcoming Bianca officially, and exploring all that is here for us in this dynamic (and very beautiful!) forum!
Linda	Have Nancy and Bill seen your page? I'll be interested to hear your reflections about teaching in China.
Brenda	As a teacher, I'd like to respond to question III a. Teaching could be an art, science, innate or learned skill, all of the above, and more. Once out of the box, the horizon for effective teaching could become endless. An important ingredient is that the teacher LIKES to teach. If the teacher does not enjoy teaching, then the art work is not appreciated, the science project becomes boring, and the skills move out of reach. I believe this necessary element of teaching exists for all cultures.
Paula Dawidowicz	Bianca, Has anyone asked these questions of teachers in this country lately? It would be interesting to see the results of a study that encompasses your section II or III questions. This should be an interesting discussion to have! I do have one suggestion. Maybe you could make all of the questions open ended to encourage detailed communication. I love open ended questions! As always, your energy level amazes me! It's wonderful to have you at Walden! Paula D.
Jenny	I agree with Brenda that in regard to question III, teaching is evolving into something much more global than the profession of the past that taught certain subjects very discretely from a strictly Western perspective. People who love to help others grow in their lives will be the "talented" educators. Teachers are happily becoming learning facilitators, and will need to be equipped to help diverse students navigate the world, intellectually as well as through distance learning and actual experiences. This takes heart, enthusiasm, empathy, and research more than an inborn talent. People who care will find the skills necessary to empower their students.
Andre Elliott	My response may be related to (c), the essence of teaching and (h)globalization and marketization of education. According to Paulo Friere, education must begin with the solution of the teacher-student contradiction, by reconciling the poles of the contradiction so that both are simultaneously teachers and students. Paulo Friere speaks of teachers as the subjects and students as the objects that need to be filled with knowledge. The teacher's role is to regulate the way the world enters the students. As an alternative to the aforementioned, Paulo Friere proposes that no one teaches another, nor is anyone self-taught. People teach each other, mediated by the world, by the cognizable objects which in traditional education are "owned" by the teacher.He offers an example of what he calls "banking education." The year 1945 marks the end of the Second World War, but we do not know how that affected our lives or how it continues to affect the daily relationships we establish. We have simply memorized and retained the date. Banking education helps to fill us with knowledge, perhaps presently of globalization and marketization. Education must be dialogical, problem-posing, creative and liberating for students to discover their own reality. Therefore, the essence of teaching is problem-posing, creative, liberating, and dialogical. I believe that Paulo Freire's pedagogy of teaching positions teachers as participants in education which he proffers as the pathway to true freedom. Bianca, thanks for this opportunity to dialogue regarding the craft and art of teaching.
David Kenneth Waldman	Holistic Comment: I would not address this from the perspective of teaching as a art or a science. As both are part of the equation and neither as it is so much more. Or would I at this time discuss teacher development an important component of teaching. The focus is the education of children and not teaching of children. Educating is self-directed and child centered in the cultural, technological needs for the child to prosper and develop. It is child centered as you can not teach without the child ready and able to learn, and is a human right as noted in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, UN. To many children according to UNICEF 121 million children are not in school of which 2/3 are girls and the MDG's Millenium Development Goals are by 2015 meant to correct most of this inequality but not all. So education needs to be gender aware. "Education needs opportunity, like a water needs a dam to channel its potential." David Kenneth Waldman So education without opportunity is potential lost. The focus of dialogue among the professionals of education is not teaching in my perspective and not schools, as both are important tools but not the only ones. Homeschooling means school buildings are not needed, and Walden Univesity demonstrates online learning can occur without the bricks and mortar as well. Teachers can be parents, mentors, leaders, experience, books and other media as well as creative thinking and intutition. The role of education is to lead. How best can a teacher play that role? Education is not done in isolation but to educate and to teach are two completely different focuses. I believe to create sustainable educational development for children involves the community and like Andre discusses citing Pablo Fierre there is much to be learning in his theories.
Doris	Where would you put mandatory state assessments and NCLB? They aren't child-centered.
Steve	Doris, I think our governmental leaders would be surprised to hear your comment about NCLB and state assessments not being child centered. The very reason that these were passed (according to the proponents) by outsiders is that educators had abnegated their responsibility to all children. You obviouosly disagree -- can you tell me why?
Marion	So many wonderful questions it's hard to choose; as one at a marvelous buffet, I would love to enjoy a bit of all. I believe if one doesn't love teaching, most students learn less. I agree with Jenny's statement, the good teacher "...will find the skills necessary to empower their students." Teachers who are, as Andre says, "...both are simultaneously teachers and students..." will find their students far more open to listening to them rather than teachers who just try to stuff the info into students' minds. I always challenge my students to teach me, as everybody on this earth can teach someone something they didn't know before. The classroom environment changes for the better when all learn together as a team. David, I agree that communities are essential to education. If the community does not want their children educated beyond a certain degree, (some don't, I have experienced), college will be rare and a high grade average in school will be shunned. That can be changed by becoming a part of that community & finding out what they do want the child to know to survive and thrive; pulling them in as adult readers, helpers to the weaker ones, etc. can help change their minds. It is a many year challenge to help a community grow, but well worth it. In other communities businesses begin helping in kindergarten and collaborate with teachers & students as to what skills are needed to work in business; students are "adopted" as workers & hired summers and after graduating. It depends where one is, & the culture one is working with as to where one begins, but begin we must. Excellence & excitement in learning are caught by students who see it in teachers they love and who love them no matter where they are in this world, and there will always be those who provide it. I've seen in & heard it in too many teachers in too many states not to believe it. Bianca has seen in in too many countries no to believe it, also. I'm glad that PDK so strongly suppoorts it!
Akudo Ehirim	I am answering question II (b), What is necessary to the essence of teaching? I believe that the first essential thing for a teacher in this field of work is the ability to love what you do and how much you enjoy doing it. I am a strong believer in the place of culture in education. I believe that the first step to educating any child is the ability of the teacher to know and respect the culture from which the child comes from. We all come from different cultures with different ways of doing things and for a teacher to be an effective teacher, she or he has to understand that culture plays an important role in the way the child learns, behaves and his whole identity is grounded in his culture. Understanding and recognizing all the cultures present in your classroom as a teacher, and finding ways and strategies of incoprorating them into your teaching and classroom are the essence of teaching for me. It is essential when every person and culture in your class is given a sense of belonging. Akudo Ehirim
Theran	holistic comment: I agree that we as teachers need to love our profession, teaching. I am finding that the more I get my students to discuss topics by giving personal examples and personal reasoning for their answers or comments proves to be very effective in the learning process. I suspect that this ties into Andre's point of learning or rather regurgitating "facts" such as dates. As others have indicated in open discussion there is no limit to the culture from which the student comes from nor gender. It is amazing how much we can learn from others which may broaden our own perspective. The biggest hinderance I find in teaching is not the faculty nor the students, it is the "management". There are so many forces being placed on faculty to conform to or to address that a teacher may find it impossible to actually "teach". With constant turmoil and chaos surrounding teachers full attention to what teachers are there for becomes lost.
Randy	Are other countries having their educational systems run by the politicians as ours is?
Andre Elliott	I live in Japan. The politicians have heavy hands in Japan. However, the effect is both positive and negative. Positively, nationwide, Japanese students can expect a good education because unlike America's state and local school systems, Japan's system is funded largely at the national level. There certainly are disparities when one visits schools in different cities. My boys attend Japanese schools. About a week ago, the prime minister of Japan, Mr. Abe, announced that students who bully other students should be suspended. This is big news in Japan because students who bully others had been largely ignored. It appeared that little could be done to resolve this problem. I am delighted that the prime minister recommends some action. This may not be the best action. However, it begins to confront a national dilemma.
Bianca Elliott	I thank all of you for posting and I very much enjoy how this discussion is going. Responding to each of the posts is not possible here but a general comment or two is appropriate. Teaching is an art and holistic as has been mentioned either directly or indirectly by many. However, it is also somewhat political and geocentric in that what I am allowed to do in the classroom is monitored by the politics and geography of where I am teaching. Factor in religion, and teaching becomes a very complicated, culture-reflective entity. Having said this I still believe there is an "essence" of teaching that transcends cultural and geopolitical borders. Trying to identify and quantify this "essence" is challenging as it may involve time and gender as well as other critical aspects. These are additional reflections. What are others?
Jenny	WE INTERRUPT THIS PROGRAM TO BRING YOU THIS IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMEBNT: A WINNER HAS BEEN DRAWN FROM THE POOL OF NAMES OF ALL PARTICIPANTS IN THE WINTER '07 MEETING & DISCUSSIONS! CONGRATULATIONS TO RANDY FREEMAN, THE WINNER OF A WONDERFUL MELALEUCA GIFT BASKET OF GOODIES FROM OUR OWN PH.D/ENTREPRENEUR, KARINE CLAY!!!! Please contact Karine at kclay001@waldenu.edu to arrange for your traets to be sent to you! ENJOY!