Teaching from the student's point-of-view : a developmental perspective

This study was an exploratory study of how teachers, when faced with classroom problems which are ill-defined problems, identify and interpret the student's point-of-view. The extent to which the concept of "teacher as problem finder" may describe those teachers who have the structures and strategies necessary for teaching from a developmental perspective was also examined. The non-random sample consisted of 27 primary and intermediate level teachers who participated in district-sponsored in-service courses designed to introduce them to a developmental perspective on education. Participants were asked to complete 'The Student Anecdotes Task' and a questionnaire on their background and experience. Teachers' responses to four questions which accompanied each anecdotal task were rated according to cognitive process variables associated with problem finding and subsequent problem solving. These included: problem formulation, integrative complexity, quality of point-of-view and developmental teaching strategies. Additional variables of interest to the study included, concern for problem finding and several demographic variables. The results suggested that the variables of problem formulation, integrative complexity and quality of point-of-view as well as the developmental teaching strategies may affect how teachers identify and interpret the student's point-of-view in ill-defined problem situations. Implications for teacher education and studies of teacher thinking were discussed. The need for clinical interviews augmented by classroom observations was emphasized for future studies. Several research questions, related to the cognitive process variables identified in this study to affect the teacher's ability to teach from a developmental perspective, were generated.Education, Faculty ofEducational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department ofGraduat