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CHAPTER 1

Welcome to the world of secondary

teaching and pedagogy

Tania L Aspland

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After reading this chapter you should be able to:

• Understand the attributes of a quality teacher and the centrality of pedagogy

in becoming one
• Begin to understand the complexity of pedagogical expertise and how it is
acquired through teacher preparation
• Consider how to develop a repertoire of professional pedagogical practices as
you simultaneously learn to become a secondary teacher.

Key terms
Content knowledge
Expert teachers’ behaviours
Pedagogical content knowledge
Pedagogical knowledge
Pedagogical skills
Pedagogy
Quality teaching
Reflection
Teacher attributes
Teacher preparation

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2 Learning to Teach in the Secondary School

Introduction
Pedagogy: The art and This chapter introduces you to the world of pedagogy and the com-
science of teaching and plex process of becoming a teacher with recognition for pedagogical
instruction; the knowl-
edge and principles of expertise in secondary education. The first section of this chapter chal-
teaching and learning. lenges you to think about the attributes of a quality teacher and the
centrality of pedagogy. The second section defines pedagogy and how
it is acquired, and argues that the essence of good secondary teaching
is pedagogical expertise. The final section provides advice on how you might go
about developing a repertoire of professional pedagogical practices while simulta-
neously becoming a teacher.

What are the attributes of a secondary

school teacher?
In a very early educational text, Highet (1951) claimed that ‘we all teach’ suggesting
that anybody who influences the life of another can be called a teacher. In Australia, as
in the United Kingdom and the United States, teaching for many years lacked recogni-
tion as a profession – ‘the learned callings all agree are physics, law, divinity … [with]
teaching [perceived to be] an ungrateful trade’ (Highet 1951 cited in Lester Smith 1957,
p. 150). In contrast, during an even earlier period of western history a headmaster
named Thring asked a key question: ‘How can those who have never taught a child
be an authority on teaching?’ And further, ‘Is teaching the only subject in which igno-
rance is knowledge?’ (Thring, 1899, p. 17). While these questions were posed in the past
they are still relevant today When the teaching profession is criticised or undermined
by members of the government or the public, there appears to be a lack of recognition
for the skills and knowledge required by professionals in the field.

APPLIED LEARNING ACTIVITY 1.1

Welcome to the world of secondary education. Your first questions may

well be:

• Do I have what it takes to become a secondary teacher?

• Do I demonstrate the attributes of a good secondary teacher?

Before you read on, you may like to list what you think these attributes are.
Discuss these ideas with your peers.

At the outset it must be said that there is no clear answer to these two questions.
It is the process of becoming a teacher that is far more important and should

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Chapter 1: Welcome to secondary teaching and pedagogy 3

be central to your thinking during your teacher preparation pro- Teacher preparation: The pro-
gram. You should be auditing your growth and development over cesses and experiences that
prepare individuals for the role
time. How to do so will be explained later. While there is no sin- of ‘teacher’.
gle or clear definition of a good teacher, there have been many
semi-empirical attempts over the past 50 years to articulate the
attributes of a good one. Lewis et al. (1999) note that ‘teacher quality is a complex
phenomenon, and there is little consensus on what it is or how to measure it’ (p. 7).
Nevertheless, many papers have been published suggesting an array of qualities
that underpin the concept of a good teacher. There are certainly no comprehen-
sive or conclusive findings on this topic throughout the Western world; however,
there are many reports and research publications that provide further data for
you to think about. The House of Commons in the United KIngdom (2012) refer to
the passion for teaching and learning as paramount to success as a teacher, along
with the qualities of resilience, communication and relational skills. Stronge et al.
(2011), and Chong and Cheah (2009) offer lists of attributes that may be of interest
to novice teachers in preparation programs. These attributes include those with a
cognitive focus (for example, specialised knowledge, ability to think creatively), as
well as sensitivity to diversity, enthusiasm, empathy, being responsible and caring.
They also include communication and organisational skills. How do these compare
to those that you listed earlier?
The research into the qualities required for the teaching profession includes:
Adams and Singh, 1998; Agne, 1992; Collinson et al., 1999; McBer, 2000). Strong
et al. (2011) make the point that when we refer to teacher
effectiveness it is not clear whether we should be focussing on Teacher effectiveness: The
teacher inputs (for example, qualifications), teaching process ability of a teacher to cultivate
thinking skills, stimulate interest
(for example, instructional practices), the product of teaching in the subject and motivate
(for example, effects on student learning), or a composite of students to learn.
these elements (Strong et al., 2011, p. 340). Despite this lack of
clarity, there are some particular teacher attributes that, accord- Teacher attributes: The
ing to the research, do have a strong correlation with student qualities or characteristics of a
teacher.
learning and these can be nurtured and developed throughout
teacher preparation programs. There is a general consensus
that quality teachers have developed:

• Strong affective skills. Students demonstrate higher levels of achievement

when their teachers show that they care about their students.
• Fairness and respect as demonstrated when teachers have positive
relationships with their students.
• Commitment to lifelong learning. Teachers who are passionate and
knowledgeable about the subjects they teach are admired and respected.
Their passion inspires a thirst for knowledge and love of learning in their
students.
• Ethical dispositions.
• Capacity to be responsive to changing contexts.
• Strong, high-order interpersonal skills. (Adapted from Stronge et al., 2011).

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4 Learning to Teach in the Secondary School

One of the more recent research reports by Hattie (2003)

Expert teachers’ behaviours: identifies three dimensions of expert teachers’ behaviours
Manifestation of special skill
as the following: challenge, deep representation, and mon-
and knowledge that lead to
itoring and feedback. While the earlier research is contest-
successful learning and
teaching.able in terms of its validity, the more recent works of Hattie
(2009) offer reliable research that partially represents the
challenge of characterising the type of teachers who have a
positive impact on student learning. In a later publication Hattie (2012) claims
that ‘Expert teachers and experienced teachers do not differ in the amount of
knowledge that they have about curriculum matters or knowledge about teach-
ing strategies – but expert teachers do differ in how they organise and use this
content knowledge’ (p. 25). You could reflect on this characterisation from the
recent literature as you go through your training and when you become a begin-
ning teacher after graduation.

Are there professional standards that

shape a teacher?
The government in Australia, as in most countries of the devel-
Quality of teaching: Consid- oped world, has been so interested in the quality of teaching,
eration of what teachers do that they have developed a set of professional standards for
(task focus) and their students’
graduate teachers. The AITSL Standards (2011) outline the
learning outcomes (achieve-
ment focus) through their man- knowledge, attributes, capacities and dispositions that under-
ner of behaviour or conduct, pin quality teaching – all of which you should aim to develop as
actions and activities. you train to be a teacher. They include valuing learning, appre-
ciating diversity, demonstrating skills in organisation, planning
and communication.

The AITSL Professional Standards for Teachers can be accessed via www.
cambridge.edu.au/academic/secondaryschool

APPLIED LEARNING ACTIVITY 1.2

Obtain a copy of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (AITSL,

2011) and peruse the attributes that are listed as indicators of a quality teacher.
You may already have some of these attributes as a result of your life experi-
ences and/or previous occupations. The Standards are the ‘blueprint’ for your
development as a teacher so it is essential to read them carefully.

This is a useful task to engage in at the beginning of your program, and one you
will revisit many times as the program unfolds. The Standards serve as the foun-
dation and guiding framework – and as the ‘conversation piece’ – of the forma-
tion of who you become as a secondary teacher. You will find more information

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Chapter 1: Welcome to secondary teaching and pedagogy 5

about the Standards in Chapter 14, which also outlines resources available for you
through the Australian Institute of Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL). You
should maintain a focus on the Standards and demonstrate your understanding of
them in all units of your course. It is the joint responsibility of program providers,
mentor teachers, and industry partners to assist you in providing evidence that the
Standards have been met by the time you graduate and when you transition into
the profession. The Standards provide the blueprint for secondary teacher gradu-
ates to develop the desired qualities of their profession.
As you go through your program the Standards will provide a self-auditing tool
for you to monitor your growth and development across university lectures and
school-based field experiences. By allowing these Standards to provide a platform
for learning and critical discussion, you will build evidence of your learning jour-
ney and the development of required attributes. On graduation, you will need to
provide a portfolio (or equivalent) that demonstrates that these Standards have
been met and to what degree. The development of the portfolio will be discussed in
greater depth in Chapter 15. For now, early in your program, it is useful for you to
think about establishing a framework for the portfolio. You will then store evidence
of your growth and development as you go through your program. A tool such as
the following may be a helpful beginning, or you may like to store this framework
for later use as your teacher preparation program unfolds.

Pedagogy: The essence of becoming a

teacher
We will turn now to pedagogy – the essence of becoming a secondary teacher.
Casey and Childs (2007) quote from the relevant literature to
discuss the knowledge and skills that beginning teachers need to Content knowledge: Substan-
have in order to succeed in the classroom. They include content tive information that is taught
or learned, such as facts, con-
knowledge, pedagogical knowledge and pedagogical skills. This
cepts, theories and principles.
takes us away from attributes to an understanding of knowledge
components and is an important consideration in the secondary Pedagogical knowledge:
teaching profession. Deep knowledge about the
processes and practices or
Some authors argue that pedagogy is the art of teaching. Others
methods of teaching and
take a standpoint that it is the science of teaching. You may think learning.
of it as the interplay between both: pedagogy is the art and science
Pedagogical skills: Teachers
of teaching (Bennett & Rolheiser, 2001). This topic is always up for use these to convey relevant
discussion. ‘Pedagogy’ originally meant ‘the teaching of children’ knowledge to learners in such
but through common usage it now refers to the act of teaching a way that they understand,
remember and apply.
all age groups. However, in 1984 Knowles (1984) claimed the term
‘andragogy’ to describe the teaching of adults, arguing that this is
shaped by very different theories of learning. For this context, we will adopt the
common understanding in the profession that pedagogy refers to the engagement
of students in learning through the act of teaching, and the selection of teaching
strategies that are most appropriate for the context.

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Table 1.1 Self-auditing of your learning

Edited by Noelene L Weatherby-Fell

At several points throughout the program you may find it useful to complete the following matrix to assist you in the process of self-auditing your growth and development.
This could happen at least once each semester. Make sure you clearly label each matrix with the date and the semester so that your growth can be audited over time. As
each semester unfolds, begin your conversations by reflecting back on the previous semester and conclude by setting some goals for the following semester. You should
also use your curriculum artefacts as evidence of your assessments and self-auditing. Each time you report on your growth and development, add your presentation to your
evolving portfolio.

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PROFESSIONAL Not Beginning to Consolidating Confident in Comment Evidence Stored
STANDARDS applicable at comprehend and exploring application
this stage options
STANDARD ONE:
STANDARD TWO:
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STANDARD THREE:
STANDARD FOUR:
STANDARD FIVE:
STANDARD SIX:
STANDARD SEVEN:

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Chapter 1: Welcome to secondary teaching and pedagogy 7

The origins of pedagogy (Bernstein, 1996) are important for you to consider in
the process of becoming a pedagogical expert – after all, that is what a teacher
actually is. Teachers have the responsibility to make ‘rational and defensible pro-
fessional judgements’ (Hirst, 1979, p. 16) at three levels: in preparation for teaching,
in the act of teaching, and when reflecting on teaching. The European definition of
pedagogy is ‘instructive’. The best interpretation of the term is that of Alexander
(2004) who captures the complexity of pedagogy holistically as ‘the act of teaching
and the body of knowledge, argument and evidence in which (teaching) is embed-
ded and by which classroom practices are justified’ (Alexander, 2004, p. 10). Some
educators have condensed his definition to ‘subject knowledge and subject appli-
cation’. More importantly, Shulman (1987) determines pedagogy as the coming
together of ‘content and pedagogical content’ (p. 8).
In simple terms, pedagogy is not only the what and the how of teaching, but more
comprehensively the why. The rationale for the uniqueness of the content and the
strategies used in a particular context encompasses not only the students in the
classroom but all of the historical, cultural, and political complexities implicit in
their presence. Welcome to the complex world of pedagogy and of becoming a
teacher in the secondary context. It is so much more than content knowledge! The
big question we must always ask is:

Why am I teaching this particular content to this particular group in this particular
way at this particular moment?

It is not because someone has instructed you to do so; rather, it is because you are
drawing on your own knowledge as a pedagogical expert, to engage your students
in ways that you know will best facilitate their learning.

APPLIED LEARNING ACTIVITY 1.3

Think of a learning experience that was memorable for you as a student. Then
consider this question: Why did the teacher choose a particular body of knowl-
edge for me (or my particular group), and deliver it in a particular way/or ways
at that particular moment? Discuss this with a colleague or friend and compare
your responses.

We have been thinking about pedagogical experiences that you engaged in as a

student. While it may not have been clear at the time, the teacher was obviously
engaging in pedagogical complexities that were made overt in ways that you can
recall. There was a purpose and rationale designed to engage students (you) in
learning. However, there were also many complexities underpinning the overt
action of teaching and you were not privy to them at the time. The question for
you now as a teacher-in-preparation is: So what do I need to know/do to acquire
this expertise?

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8 Learning to Teach in the Secondary School

How do I develop my pedagogical

expertise?
A key aspect of your teacher preparation program is the focus on developing a
repertoire of professional pedagogical practices that can engage all students in
improved learning opportunities and outcomes. These will be across a range of
contexts, academic abilities, cultural groups, and physical, socioemotional, attitu-
dinal developmental stages.
Studies of effective teachers have concluded that they adopt a variety of peda-
gogical or teaching strategies. Key pedagogies or teaching practices include (among
others):

• Direct Instruction (Pressley, et al., 1998) – This is essentially a teacher-directed,

skills-oriented approach to teaching, involving explicit or specifically guided
teaching of particular skills or content. Direct teaching focuses mainly on
knowledge recall as a basis for deeper problem solving or higher thinking
activities.
• Individualised Instruction (Zahorik, et al., 2003) – This teaching practice
broadly involves ‘planning and conducting programs of studies and lessons
that suit them to the individual student’s learning needs, learning readiness,
and learner characteristic or “learning style”’. Central to this strategy being
effective is the use of formative feedback and the redesign of construction,
based on outcomes.
• Enquiry-based Learning and Instruction – This form of teaching uses a variety
of discovery- or exploration-based teaching techniques. Students explore
material and/or problem solve issues to develop their knowledge, skills and
experience. It requires scaffolding and strategic design at the planning level
even though it may appear open and flexible to the outside observer.
• Hands-on Learning (Wenglinsky, 2000) – In this teaching practice, students
investigate and manipulate the objects they are studying, which could
include the use of instruments or equipment. Active learning of this type
is based on substantive conversation between peers, as well as teachers
inviting students to engage in deep discussion about the subject under study,
in order to encourage deeper levels of thinking rather than surface learning.

While the studies of these practices have examined the efficacy of each specific
approach to instructional delivery, researchers have found that effective teachers
are adept at using a myriad of instructional strategies. What is important for pre-
service teachers in a teaching preparation program is the significance of develop-
ing a repertoire of professional practices. These will include the ones just listed,
and many more! Chapter 7 is specifically designed to explore the complexities of
pedagogy and the planning of learning experiences. A planning toolkit is also pro-
vided for your use.
However, knowing about a range of teaching strategies is not what pedagogical
expertise in secondary teaching is all about. These may be the tricks of the trade
but they are not enough to equip you to educate your students.

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Chapter 1: Welcome to secondary teaching and pedagogy 9

In order to develop a repertoire of professional pedagogical practices, you need

to know which learning theory underpins which strategy. Your repertoire will be
both generic and context/content-specific. You will vary your teaching and learn-
ing activities to suit different educational settings and a diverse range of learners.
While current bodies of research provide sound arguments for particular pedago-
gies in particular contexts, in order to become a pedagogical expert you need to:

(i) collect extensive empirical evidence supporting a full range of teaching

strategies for critique, development and reflection;
(ii) be able to model and critique such strategies in domain-specific or
discipline-based contexts (e.g. history or mathematics); and
(iii) through the use of a self-auditing framework of development, engage with
research, practice and reflection to ensure the comprehensive development
of a bank of teaching strategies that are aligned to the Standards and con-
temporary, evidence-based professional practices in educational settings.

In becoming a pedagogical expert you must be able to demonstrate, through

evidence, an alignment with:

(i) Ideological thinking: Each of you – as a teacher-in-preparation – will position

yourself in an individual way. This positioning is influenced by education-
al theory, philosophy and curriculum orientations specific to your field. It
forms the rationale for your teaching and the development of your own
unique approach to teaching in your discipline (or teaching area). This is
the why and it is informed by complex theory. You do need to think deeply
about what your ideology is (or what it could be) because it forms the plat-
form of your expertise in pedagogy. When parents ask you why you teach
in the way you do, you need to have an expert answer.
(ii) Pedagogical practices: Based on such an ideology/or ideologies, you should
commit to a repertoire of professional pedagogical practices that is congru-
ent with your philosophy and your discipline constructs; e.g. constructiv-
ism in science education for adolescents. While many lay people think that
teaching is about a generic set of teaching strategies, more contemporary
research indicates that teachers argue for a specific suite of pedagogies that
are responsive to their discipline, the context in which they are teaching
and the purposes underpinning their work as teachers. It is important that
you learn about pedagogy but also that you align your pedagogy with your
ideology and your specific teaching or content area. This pedagogical align-
ment between your rationale for teaching and the strategies you adopt in
your discipline area will improve your status as a pedagogical expert.
(iii) Differentiated approaches to student engagement: It is evident from the liter-
ature that effective teaching enhances student learning outcomes when
it responds to the specific needs of students (intellectually, socially and
culturally); is focused on the alignment of proposed outcomes and learning
engagement; and provides specific feedback to students in terms of their
progress. This is the key to good pedagogy. It requires teachers to differen-
tiate or modify their modes of pedagogy and assessment, as well ensure

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10 Learning to Teach in the Secondary School

engagement and enhanced outcomes, resulting in students learning and

succeeding. This is the rationale for developing a vast array of pedagogical
practices and having the educational capital to diversify your teaching in
response to students.

There is no single way to teach all students by adopting a ‘one size fits all’
approach. Rather, a differentiated approach to pedagogical engagement and assess-
ment ensures active and successful learning for all students. This is what makes
teaching so complex and why it is important to always be shifting backwards and
forwards between three key considerations: content, pedagogy and students’ needs.
In fact, the best starting point is the following set of questions:

• What do my students (each one of them) know? What do they need

to know?
• How do they best access knowledge through learning? What ways do they
best engage in learning?
• What pedagogical expertise can I bring to the challenges of this group to
engage them in learning and take them from the known to the unknown?
• Why would I do so? What theoretical justification underpins my work as a
teacher?

The alignment of ideology, effective and responsive pedagogical practices,

including assessment, and a differentiated approach to learning engagement
ensures a coherent, meaningful and effective approach to student engagement
in learning and, consequently, successful learning outcomes for all. If you achieve
this you can be recognised as pedagogical expert.

How do I become a pedagogical

expert?
It is well recognised that effective teacher preparation involves a combination of
content knowledge and teaching practice. However, determining the appropriate
measure and level of interaction between content knowledge and teaching prac-
tice for developing teachers is currently under-researched. Shulman (1987) was
one of the first scholars to articulate the importance of graduates learning to bring
together content knowledge and pedagogy, as they become a teacher. Referred to
as pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), this phenomenon was inclusive of what
was traditionally known as the presentation of subject-based
Pedagogical content content to students through different teaching strategies. A
knowledge: The combina- full critique of the research that has unfolded around PCK is
tion of content and teaching
knowledge where the teacher
evident in the work of Park and Chen (2012) who remind us of
interprets and transforms just how difficult it is to measure, investigate and understand
subject-matter knowledge in the complexities of the meta-cognitive processes in which
the context of facilitating stu-
teachers-in-preparation engage. This is because the interplay
dent learning (Shulman, 1986).
of expert knowledge and pedagogy unfold both at the level

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