Novice to expert teachers

I really do not believe in "expert" teacher. Teachers of all ages, learn different teachniques often. During Professional development and inservice days or even from new teachers who have fresh ideas and a new perspective. I have only been teaching for two years and of course I learn so much from the more experienced teachers, but they learn from me too! I think we all can learn from one another if we take the time to do so.

I agree with you Kate. The more I thought about it, I do learn a lot from the "veteran" teahers I work with, but like you said, they learn a lot from me too being a second year teacher. They may bring the years of experience, but I bring the new generation perspective. They self-efficacy just may be a little higher than mine in the profession, but I too will have that same feeling after many years under my belt. You make a very valid point!

You might only be in first year, however, after reading your conception of what it takes to move from novice to expert. I believe that you are well on your way. I doubt that I was as insightful when I was in first year. I was more like wondering Why am I in this profession. However, as I trialed and errored with the concepts taught to me and the reality, each success was a motivation for me to stay!

I really do not agree with you Kate. There is something, call it our drive, dedication or natural aptitude that determines whether we attain the level of an expert or remain a novice. when I was at Teacher's College, there were students that could not make the grades when it came to test taking and passing examinations. However if you placed them in front of the classroom to demonstrate a lesson,you could see that they were in their element. These persons were not allaround expert but they had the natural ability to become experts. Then there were other students like myself that had to flounder, fall down, get scraped and bruised before I was able to attain the level of competency that I now have. Yes the workshops and seminars helped, however, their are those who are never able to use or transfer what ever they learn and employ it in the classroom.
I believe that the idea of the continuum is to show that there are different levels of attainment and development and it helps educators in the profession to be cognizant that we have a criteria to meet. This knowledge motivates us to always excell, and self-analysis is the key to knowing whether or not we are achieving this. Being an expert of a novice does not mean that you do not have anything to bring to the profession it simply means that there needs to be development and improvement, that you need to move from stage to stage. Remember teaching is not stagnant and if I am in the profession for years and unaware of the current changes or trends in the profession and teach using outdated strategies and content then I am not an expert and I think novice would also be too good a word to describe me too. Remember that a novice is someone who is new to a field or activity, not someone without ideas or professional "know-how".

I agree with you Barbara and Kate. Does anyone ever really feel like an expert in this profession with the ever changing curriculum, student needs, and changing strategies? I only taight four years and I started to feel more comfortable with certain aspects of teaching, but I still worked to improve on those areas. I taught with a woman who had been teaching thirty-five years and said she rarely did the exact same lesson year-to-year because the students responded in different ways or she tried to improve upon a lesson each year. It just showed me that even after 35 years, good teachers are still trying to better themselves.

I am so happy to read the responses of such deticated teachers who want to learn more and be great teachers. I taught for 6 years and am now a stay at home mom. My oldest child in in K this year and I am seeing a lot of teachers who are happy where they are and with the knowledge they have. I think to get past the novice stage you have to want to learn more, teachers are life long learners. You have to take it upon your self to learn the newest stradgies even if your school isn't "making you". I think learning and putting your knowlege into action gets you to the next step of teaching. I also you beleive that you will keep taking these steps the more you learn. You may never be an expert because of all the changes in education but you will be a master teacher.

There are developmental stages from novice to expert. It takes the dedication to students as well as a commitment to continue developing professionally. Without the dedication and commitment, teachers move from novice to competent. Being an expert teacher is much more than knowing your content area. Expert teachers have a wealth of content knowledge as well as the strategies to teach. They know their students and how they learn. Expert teachers are conscious about their educational values and morals.

I do not think that a teacher ever reaches the stage of expert. It is a continuous journey. Teachers who believe they are experts at anything should probably reevaluate their effectiveness. Education is always changing, therefore we should be changing with it. It is deffinatly important to know your content knowledge, to understand how your students learn, and to reflect on your teaching and students daily. I think when most people refer to an "expert" teacher, they are refering to someone who is experienced and very knowledgeable.

I am also a student at Walden and agree that I am not sure if I want to become an "expert teacher". When you're already at the top, where do you go from there?? However, one does need to continue their efforts and studies in order to remain at that status. I get annoyed when I see colleagues become complacent in their position. I think all educators should try different things and keep abreast of new ideologies within the field.

Do we dare ever to declare ourselves an expert teacher?

To me an expert teacher is one who has a mastery of their content area, are effective communicators in the classroom, are willing to collaborate with their colleagues, use best practices in their instruction, and above all do not consider themselves an expert who no longer needs to grow professionally.

As we strive to be the best that we can be, we can never be content with where we are. I agree with Janet that I would not want to think of myself as an expert as I would no longer have greater heights to aspire to.

JW