Case Studies

Case 1

You have received several complaints about the instructional methods of a veteran teacher on your staff. To satisfy yourself about the validity of the claims, you decide to observe the teacher. Here is the instructional routine:

Students are called on to read material from the text. All students read at least a paragraph one after another around the room. After this is done, a handout is given to students who work on it until they are finished or until the end of class. Students who finish early start on homework, usually questions from the textbook. During this independent practice time, the teacher reads magazines or books stopping only to give students the “look” or to verbally warn miscreants.

Comments from the teacher:

I only have six years to retirement

My teaching is OK; these kids can’t learn anything anyway

I don’t want to learn anything new

From the supervisor:

Seatwork and homework is not returned or graded

Hands on science program unused in the closet

Teacher is untrained in the program and chose not to attend the training

Current strategies are unsuccessful and need to be changed

Calls from parents are not acceptable

What would a “developmental” approach be?

Case 2

You have assigned a veteran teacher as a “mentor” for a new teacher in your middle school. Your mentor reports that although the rookie is eager to try out what was learned in college there seems to be considerable trouble in the area of classroom management and control. In fact, after only a few weeks on the job, the new teacher is considering leaving at Thanksgiving because of the problems. The mentor reports that on several observations the classroom has been disruptive and chaotic. Teacher responses to the problems have been to try to talk over student noise and to yell at students who are disruptive. There seem to be no classroom rules or procedures present. It is not clear if the new teacher knows what to expect from middle school students.

You are eager to step in but you want your mentor program to work. What advice would you give your mentor about how to proceed? What steps would you suggest the mentor use for a “developmental” approach?

Case 3

Part of your school improvement plan was to diversify teaching styles and methods in your school. Many teachers decided to try to use cooperative learning as a new strategy for the school year. One of your best teachers has come to you with a problem. Most of the teachers trying to use cooperative learning have had little training in the area and are “winging it” with little success. Your star reports that some folks are talking about abandoning the strategy because it “does not work”. “I can stop this if we can train them” she explains. You know this is probably true because this teacher has many hours of training in using cooperative learning. Your concern is how the other teachers will respond if you let this teacher do the training. You want to center discussion with this teacher on developmental approaches. “Easy”, she responds, “we just let them volunteer. That way there is no conflict”. Your response is simple. “It is not that easy. Choosing the training is not the answer here. We have to think of another way”.

What to do? What would a developmental approach be? For your star volunteer? For the rest of the faculty?