The Wisdom of Practice: Essays on Teaching Learning and Learning to Teach

About this book

What do teachers need to know in order to teach well? How important is the depth and quality of teachers content knowledge as a critical aspect of their ability to teach? How can teachers best be educated and how can we assess their accomplishments as teachers? In what ways is the professional preparation of teachers comparable to the preparation of physicians and other members of learned professions? What kinds of educational research can provide deeper understanding of teaching learning and the reform of education? These are just some of the many questions answered in this landmark collection of Lee Shulmans best work. A pioneer in the field of teaching and teacher research Shulmans work and thinking have long influenced teachers and researchers. But while Shulman is one of the most widely cited scholars in education his writings have been scattered among a variety of books and journalsuntil now. The Wisdom of Practice at last makes Shulmans major works on K-12 education and teacher education available in one volume. His interests in teaching of all sortsin K-12 schools in teacher education in graduate programs for educational researchers in liberal educationhave been diverse. The essays included touch on such wide-ranging topics as the psychology of school subjects medical problem solving teacher knowledge performance assessment teaching in higher education the scholarship of teaching and learning the characteristics and pedagogies of the professions the role of cases in professional education and research and the character of relevant and rigorous educational research.