Teaching Overview - Concepedia

Principles

Definition

Teaching is the complex process and academic field concerned with the systematic facilitation of learning and knowledge acquisition through instruction, guidance, and interaction. As a research domain, it investigates pedagogical theories, instructional methodologies, curriculum design, assessment strategies, and the dynamics of teacher-learner relationships within various educational contexts. Key characteristics include its intentionality, relational nature, and goal-orientation towards fostering understanding and development, highlighting its significance as a fundamental pillar of education and human capacity building.

Ontological type

Pedagogical Theories

Core Methods

Classroom Interaction

Key developments

Key Figures

Professional Knowledge Emergence era

Lee S. Shulman [1] emerges as a leading figure in the Professional Knowledge Emergence era, with affiliations at Stanford University [2] and Michigan State University [3] during this period. His key contributions in this era center on reframing teacher knowledge as an integration of subject matter and instructional method, a perspective crystallized in Knowledge and Teaching:Foundations of the New Reform [4], which helped legitimize reflective, situated practice in teacher development. This framework helped shift the field toward professional standards, curricula, and authentic classroom tasks as core mechanisms for teacher development during the era. This emphasis on linking content with pedagogy and fostering reflective inquiry laid a lasting foundation for practitioner-focused research and policy reform in professional teacher education.

Deliberate Pedagogical Design era

Matthew J. Koehler [1] is a key figure in the Deliberate Pedagogical Design era, with ties to University of Wisconsin–Madison [3] and Michigan State University [4]. His influential contribution centers on the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge: A Framework for Teacher Knowledge [6], which integrates technology with pedagogy and content to shape teacher knowledge and practice. Punya Mishra [2] is a collaborator with University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign [5] and Michigan State University [4] who, during this era, helped co-develop the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge framework [6]. This work by Mishra contributed to teacher education reforms by providing a coherent design logic that linked content, pedagogy, and technology through the TPACK framework [6].

Practice-Based Digital Learning era

Peter Goodyear [1] is a central figure in practice-based digital learning during this era, with affiliations at Monash University [3] and The University of Sydney [4]. Goodyear [1]'s key contribution, exemplified by the 2020 paper Online University Teaching During and After the Covid-19 Crisis: Refocusing Teacher Presence and Learning Activity [7], reframes online teaching around teacher presence and learning activity, a foundational advance for practice-based digital learning. David Pedder [2] is a key contributor in this era, with affiliations at University of Cambridge [5] and University of Leicester [6]. Pedder [2]'s influential work, notably the 2011 paper Conceptualizing Teacher Professional Learning [8], helped define teacher professional learning as a process of development within complex educational systems, underscoring the role of conceptual frameworks in practice-based professional growth.