A World of Monica Yohana

To help you consider and develop your own pedagogical style, this section examines pedagogical competencies in terms of four components: purpose, content, communication, and professional development . Th is does not represent the only way of approaching your personal pedagogical style, but at this stage in your progress toward becoming a teacher, we believe it will be useful.
Since there are many levels of teaching and many subjects that can be taught, each of these four categories can be applied in diff erent ways to diff erent people with diff erent educational responsibilities. Purpose, for example, is concerned with three topics: an individual’s personal philosophy of education, the attitude that is brought to the task, and the particular style of interaction with students.

Content, particularly for the elementary school teacher, involves a broad range of knowledge. For secondary teachers, content is more narrowly defi ned but requires considerably greater depth. Communication skills addresses the four main constituencies (students, parents, colleagues, and community members) with whom a teacher is involved. And fi nally, there is an area that you may not have thought about much: professional development. In this regard, you will fi nd that teachers are themselves learners, mentors to other teachers, and frontline researchers in their discipline.