| Two beginning and two experienced teachers were observed teaching ESL for two weeks of instruction and were interviewed prior to observation and following the lessons. Analyses of the data reveal that the beginning teachers showed little knowledge of the students in class and were unaware of the role knowledge of the students played in teaching. Unlike the experienced teachers, the beginning teachers were less selective in their use of the information when planning and were less able to design appropriate strategies to facilitate student learning. They encountered difficulty when they attempted to modify their instruction instantly and reported more varied, less selective postlesson reflections. Data from the study suggest that the beginning teachers had not developed their knowledge of the students and their pedagogical content knowledge. Therefore, they were less able to use their pedagogical reasoning skills and action to transform "subject matter knowledge into forms that are pedagogically powerful and yet adaptive to the variations in ability and background presented by the students" (Shulman, 1987, p.15). Findings of this study were consistent with studies of novice/expert differences in other subject matter areas (e.g., Berliner, 1986; Borko & Livingston, 1989). (Abstract shortened by UMI.)... |
