There’s more to teaching than instruction: seven strategies for dealing with the practical side of teaching¹

1. This paper was prepared under subcontract to the Temple University Laboratory for Student Success (LSS) as part of a grant from the United States Department of Education (Award # 31–1992–701), Institute for Educational Sciences. Their financial support does not imply their acceptance of the ideas presented in this paper.

Abstract

In this paper, we highlight the importance for teachers of having sound practical skills in interacting with students, parents, administrators and other teachers, and argue that the development of such skills is often insufficiently considered in professional training. We then present a new framework for conceptualizing practical skills in dealing with others that follows directly from Sternberg’s theory of successful intelligence. Finally, we outline and discuss an approach to measuring teachers’ preferred strategies for dealing with others that we believe has promise, both for future research into the nature and characteristics of effective teachers and schools, and for the development of teacher expertise.

Keywords:

• Practical intelligence
• Teaching strategies
• Social intelligence
• Teacher education and training
• Interpersonal competence
• Behaviour management

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to gratefully acknowledge Krista Merry for her contribution to the preliminary development of what eventually evolved into the seven strategies discussed in this paper.

Notes

1. This paper was prepared under subcontract to the Temple University Laboratory for Student Success (LSS) as part of a grant from the United States Department of Education (Award # 31–1992–701), Institute for Educational Sciences. Their financial support does not imply their acceptance of the ideas presented in this paper.