A Good Teacher Can Teach Anything?
Document Type
Conference Proceeding
Publication Date
10-1-2001
Abstract
This paper examines issues fundamental to educating thoughtful, competent, intelligent teachers by highlighting arguments against out-of-field teaching in physical education teacher education programs. It discusses the inaccurate notion among some people that a good teacher can teach anything, noting what actually constitutes a good teacher in physical education teacher preparation. The paper explains that physical education teacher education programs have the potential to fall under the guise of out-of-field teaching. Teacher preparation programs house an array of courses from the applied sciences and allied fields of physical education, which can stand alone as separate fields of study yet are possible out-of-field teaching assignments. People who are pursuing employment in predominantly undergraduate institutions within physical education teacher education programs must be able to teach within several content areas, yet more than half of the doctoral degree granting programs in physical education-pedagogy offer only specialized curriculums. When teachers are assigned to courses outside their area of study, the curriculum is weakened by fragmented content knowledge. Departments should make every effort to help faculty develop the content knowledge necessary to suitably teach out-of-field assignments.
Publication Information
Shimon, Jane M. and Brawdy, Paul. (2001). "A Good Teacher Can Teach Anything?". Annual Meeting of the Western College Physical Education Society, .