Effect of American Isolationism

hassiba teggar from biskra

Teacher training is the preparation of individuals enabling them to become professional teachers. It has an educational role in that it prepares future teachers to adopt all what can face them in their career and then increases the efficiency of education. Usually, any training programme should consist of two main elements: theory and practice which were highlighted first by Dewey who distinguished "reflective action" and "routine action". Yet, teacher internship has been widely discussed in terms of focus whether on theory or practice. Some researchers advocated the need for theory in a teacher education programme rather than being in favor of practice. To support this view, Smith argues that the chief difference between a teacher who is theoretically trained and one who is not is that the former will perform with a set of sophisticated concepts taking from the underlying disciplines of pedagogy as well as from the pedagogical field itself whereas the latter will interpret events and objects in terms of common sense concepts (as cited in Stones and Morris, 1973). According to this quotation a well educated teacher and an effective teaching are based mainly on good detailed theoretical knowledge.

On the other hand, there are those who argue that teachers' qualifications are best acquired through practice. These researchers work according to the Chinese proverb which says "tell me and I will forget, show me and I may remember, involve me and I will understand". Telling future teachers about teaching is not workable; it is only when they get involved that they become teachers. According to Richard Dunne and Ted Wragg (1994),"teaching is a set of craft skills, values, beliefs and practices that can be added to and improved at all stages even of a long career"(p.III), this view sees practice as the only way to acquire those skills; and words cannot help student teachers getting them . Teaching is an unconscious ability that has nothing to do with knowledge as in H.G. Widdowson's saying (2003): "teaching is common sense; it is just like putting on your trousers. So why do we stand about disputing? (p.4). Per F. Laursen (2007) argues that teacher students do not want recipes or manuals; they want freedom to develop their way of teaching.

In between, several researchers recognize the values of both theory and practice in teacher training. The theory provides the basis for trainers to perform well and practice helps them to see their level of understanding and how much they can handle teaching in real situations away from knowledge. Effective teacher possesses knowledge and understanding of the content of the subjects and topics being taught, got from theory, as well as the ability to manage a class, explain clearly, ask intelligent and appropriate questions, and monitor and assess learning, got from practice (Richard