Comprehensive Examination Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Comprehensive Examination Questions - Essay Example These are the consecutive model and the concurrent model. In the case of consecutive model, a teacher would first obtain a certain qualification in one or more than one subjects (which can be a first university degree) and then she/he would study for an extended period of time to obtain an extra qualification in teaching. In certain systems, it is a postgraduate degree. In the case of concurrent model, the student would concurrently study one or more than one academic subject together with the techniques of teaching that subject, which would eventually lead to the eligibility to be a teacher in that subject. Through the above discussion, we understand the beginning of the process of teacher development. Stage theories develop from this very process of ‘making’ a teacher. In this process of teacher development, illustrations, examples, explanations, and demonstrations are crucial. In a word, the ways of representing and formulating the subject that makes it comprehensible to others †¦ (it) also includes an understanding of what makes the learning of specific topics easy or difficult: the conceptions and preconceptions that students of different ages and backgrounds bring them to the learning (Craft et al, 2001). Hence, teacher development would be a stage-wise process that would enable the teacher to handle the various needs of this demanding profession in today’s complex environment. In this context, one of the two current stage theories that would be discussed here is given by R. Fessler and J. Christiansen. According to them, an individual teacher would go across eight life-long stages of career. More or less time would be spent in a given stage according as the organizational and personal environment influencers. These eight stages in the Fessler and Christiansen Teacher Career Cycle can be defined as Preservice, Induction, Competency Building, Enthusiastic and Growing, Career Frustration, Stability, Career Wind-Down, and