Training teachers, trusting teachers, building competence - understanding teacher expertise

"The nature of teacher expertise is a contested area, with no real consensus as to what it consists of". Professor Christopher Winch of King's College London will discuss this issue, with particular reference to the implications for teacher education at this Cambridge Assessment Network seminar.

"Three archetypes of teacher expertise seem to be in play in public debates on the issue in England:

• The teacher as craftworker: teachers rely on subject knowledge, experience, character and situational judgment for their effectiveness. The preferred mode of teacher education is apprenticeship under the mentorship of an experienced craft teacher.
• The teacher as executive technician: teachers rely on lesson protocols developed by curriculum and pedagogic specialists and their effectiveness depends on their following these protocols accurately. The preferred mode of teacher education is training in the protocols and practice in their execution.
• The teacher as professional: teachers exercise professional judgement on the basis of subject knowledge, a conceptual framework for thinking about education and teaching and knowledge of empirical research about teaching and learning. The preferred mode of teacher education consists of closely integrated university-based and school-based work.

These three archetypes are an idealisation of what teachers should be like. They are rarely found in a pure form in actual schools and classrooms. However, there is confusion in the policy world about what should be the preferred model for England. I will illustrate this confusion in recent policy documents, show the relationships between the different archetypes and make a suggestion for the preferred model for England and the type of teacher education that should accompany it."