A constructivist approach to facilitating intrapersonal change in pre-service teachers

College Student Journal, June, 2004 by Len Austin

This article establishes the need and appropriateness for teacher educators to address the intrapersonal readiness of pre-service teachers for the rigors of teaching.

It gives details of five major areas in which teacher educators can facilitate student change during a semester using a constructivist growth prospective.

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The need for budding teachers to be psychologically ready to teach is poetically expressed in the words of E. P. Jensen (1988), "Teaching is far more rigorous than it ever has been. It's a front-lines position for courageous and committed learners willing to take risks and make mistakes. It's a dangerous job because teachers must confront whatever ideas, systems or relationships are not working in their personal or professional lives, and change" (p. 16).

The idea that college of education instructors should be assisting students to make personal changes in their lives may seem beyond the mark. Yet, Schmidt (1996) said faculty should be setting goals in their classes that help students master intrapersonal problems, while assisting students to gain higher levels of independence so they can better learn to solve life's difficulties. How strange this may seem to those of us who focus most of our time on teaching content.

It is now 15 years after Jensen's seminal comment, and the need to address the intrapersonal issues of students enrolled in undergraduate teacher education programs remains all but ignored. Experienced college instructors know that many of theft students are not equipped emotionally or cognitively for the rigors of the classroom, and that intrapersonal (and interpersonal) changes are needed if these students are to be effective classroom teachers.

Since the decision to change interpersonally is a learned skill (Zunker, 1994), and one that can be fostered within a teacher preparation curriculum, or as Egan (1994) and Morgan and MacMillan (1999) would say; "within a learning process," teacher educators can be central figures in facilitating intrapersonal change in undergraduates.

GAINING A KNOWLEDGE OF THE FIVE AREAS IN WHICH PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS MAY CHANGE

Before teacher educators embark on integrating new concepts or experiences into their college lessons (or into internship supervision meetings), it is vital they first familiarize themselves with the broad areas of change in which instructors may engage students.

A pre-service student and a college instructor can jointly set goals for the pre-service student in any of the following five areas. The college course becomes the laboratory in which students experiment with new behaviors.

1. Changes in Behavior

Instructors can help pre-service teachers live more productively through focusing on their unresolved behavior problems and the possible factors that influence and maintain them (Corey, 1991). All personal behaviors that may hinder a student's ability to be hired or to be an effective classroom teacher fall into this category. Some examples could include; modeling appropriate dress and personal hygiene, discussing academic and personal concerns at appropriate times and places, being punctual, soliciting exceptions to rules only under unusual and/or legitimate circumstances, refraining from profanity and argumentation, diminishing bias, minimizing sarcasm, g the lessening domination oft class discussions, etc.).

2. Changes in Decision-Making Ability

Zunker (1994) wrote that improving one's decision-making processes is a learned skill. Following a constructivist model which says "students take what they know to figure out what they don't know," faculty can help pre-service teachers develop critical decision-making skills by assisting them in estimating the probable consequences of making a change (e.g., it will require personal sacrifice, time, money, energy, and risk-taking for change to occur). Instructors also can help pre-service teachers explore their values as they relate to making effective decisions. If their decisions are aligned with their beliefs change will be easier. If values are unclear, instructors can assist pre-service teachers in bringing their values to full consciousness before making a decision (George & Cristiani, 1986). Instructors also may focus on the modification of a student's specific belief system (Steenbarger, 1991), especially if prejudicial or unethical thinking is evident.

3. Changes in the Ability to Cope

Instructors can help pre-service teachers deal more effectively with situations that require tolerance or dealing with the inconsistencies of life, especially those inconsistencies that will be experienced in the specific grade-level they plan to teach. Changes a student may make in this category could come through an instructor giving tips on how to reduce stress and cope with the pressures of new demands (Meichenbaum, 1986). Faculty also can familiarize students with the on-campus agencies that teach coping strategies. In addition, faculty can actually model teaching methods that lower stress levels, decrease anxiety, while discussing with students the stressful situations they are likely to face during their first two years of teaching.