There are five main perspectives on the teaching process and style. They are different approaches, yet they contain some similarities and overlap in some of the tools and actions.
Generally, all the five perspectives have the same final goals. The differences are represented by the pedagogical beliefs of the teachers that perform various perspectives. Apprentice and transmission are two of the five approaches, all of which contain such elements as teacher, learners, content and ideas.
Transmission perspective makes the teacher believe that the knowledge is a subjective matter and it exists outside of the students. Basically, what the teacher with the transmission perspective needs to do is provide the learners with the valid and reliable sources of knowledge. Such teacher sees their main role in mastering the body of knowledge and giving this knowledge to the learners in the most effective manner.
The teacher that works through this perspective is obliged to possess deep knowledge of the subject. This is why the most important connection in this perspective is the relationship between the teacher and the content (Pecope & Shelton 2013). Only a teacher who has mastered his subject can be effective at transmission of the information, this is what stands out about their manner of dealing with the learners.
This teacher is effective working through the lecture method, although using only transmission perspective may be limiting for the teacher. This is why applying the techniques from other teaching styles can be helpful. Otherwise work of the teacher may seem too monotonous and one sided.
The challenges of the transmission perspective are based on the fact that the teacher has to take everything under control all the time and be in charge of multiple things. This approach can be quite tiring for the teacher and the learners; this is why it is important to vary the applied teaching methods and techniques within this perspective from time to time.
Apprenticeship training is based on a lot of planning. In order to become a successful apprentice a teacher has to rely on their knowledge as well as their intuition. Apprenticeship training requires the development of special pedagogical intuition that allows the teacher to sense when it is the best time to release control and provide the learners with more freedom for the development and independent work.
The teacher that works though the apprenticeship perspective has to combine the role of an instructor and the part when the teacher gives no directions or guidance at all. This perspective views teaching as a series of sequences (Pecope & Shelton 2013). The teacher needs to start with performing more guidance and delivering knowledge for the students to process.
These sessions should last longer in the beginning and then gradually become shorter letting the learners work in the “zone of development”. The apprenticeship perspective works though the method of independent learning within the environment of authentic tasks.
The learners are viewed through the development of their needs from requiring guidance to turning into more independent students able to perform research, explore, find information, apply critical thinking, form and defend personal opinions. The learners within the apprenticeship perspective are taught to evolve and to change their performance.
These perspectives are very different. Transmission perspective is based on the strong leading role of the teacher, and apprentice perspective represents a teacher intending to provide freedom for independent learning and creativity.
Reference List
Pecope, J. L. & Shelton, A. (2013). Challenging Pre-Service Students’ Teaching Perspectives in an Inquiry-Focused Program. The Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Exploration, 13, 57-77.