| Current research on teacher thinking is attempting to describe and delineate a knowledge base for teaching. Unfortunately, little research has focused on secondary school teachers. This study focuses on the pedagogical content knowledge of six prospective English teachers from two different graduate teacher education programs. Using case study methodology, the study involves in-depth interviews with student teachers, classroom observations, and interviews with education program directors. The data were analyzed to determine the substance of the knowledge these teachers used to teach English, the sources of that knowledge, any differences between the teachers from the two programs that could be traced to their teacher education programs, and the implications of the differences for English education programs.; The results of the study indicate that student teachers from one of the programs, a M.A. Ed. program, attempted to adapt to existing conditions in the schools. They adopted traditional methods and simplified instruction to reduce the chance of student failure. In contrast, teachers from the other program, a M.A.T. program, challenged current practices. The strong methods course and Composition Workshop under the guidance of a mentor of the M.A.T. program correlated with the student teachers' pedagogical content knowledge. These teachers most often cited them as the source of their orientation toward teaching, while the teachers from the M.A. Ed. program usually cited their own memories of high school and college English courses.; A key difference between the two programs appears to be that the M.A. Ed. program lacks a knowledge base for teaching that guides it. Student teachers were unable to draw on the knowledge that they were presented in the program and were unable to move beyond teaching out of a given textbook. On the other hand, student teachers from the M.A.T. program were reflective practitioners who inspired and facilitated higher order learning in students. Their program helped them become curriculum makers and instructional innovators who take ownership of curriculum and instruction. The results of this study support calls for more teacher education programs with a strong knowledge base for teaching. |
