What teachers don't know and why they aren't learning it: addressing the need for content and pedagogy in teacher education

Abstract

This article discusses the lingering problem of poor and inappropriate preparation of professional teachers of reading and learning disabilities – why it exists and what we can do about it. Because most students classified as having learning disabilities experience primary difficulties with language-based learning, teachers must know how to teach the forms and processes of language on which literacy depends, but most teacher preparation programs fail to teach this content at a level that supports teachers' implementation of effective instruction. The evidence suggests that teachers may cling to unproductive philosophies of teaching not only because science-based instruction is neglected in many teacher training programs, but also because the requisite insights are elusive and the content is difficult for many to grasp, even with some exposure. While ideologies can be blamed for much resistance to explicit, systematic methodologies, we must ask why they develop in the first place. Although there is a substantial body of research on the relationship between teacher knowledge, practice, and student outcomes in reading on which to build reform in teacher training and mentoring, more thought should be given to how prospective teachers are taught. First, the disciplinary knowledge base required to teach students with reading and related difficulties must be unambiguously explained in the standards by which teachers are educated and evaluated, and then programs must be set up to build teachers' insight as well as their knowledge of basic reading psychology, language structure, and pedagogy. Those who teach teachers in university settings or who provide professional development must be included in a supportive educational process, as wars of ideology are having only limited positive effects.