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According to the Teaching Perspectives Inventory, I score 33 on Transmission, Apprenticeship, Developmental, and Social Reform. My results favour Nurturing at 36 points.
So what does this tell me (and others) about my teaching perspective and my style as a teacher? As my scores suggest, my teaching perspective is balanced, each category being tempered by factors such as situational context, student needs, and subjects being taught. While I score slightly higher on Nurturing as opposed to other categories, there are moments where I tap into other teaching perspectives in order to meet specific needs. Reflecting on my experience as an educator, I do find that I have vacillated between different frames of teaching with relative ease.
It would be interesting to take this test again in a year, or even in a few months to see if anything changes. I am cognizant of the fact that my understanding of particular things will change, and I’ve come to be at peace with that.
Great post, you really unpacked the TPA and revealed its value as a reflective tool but also its limitations. The TPI can be a powerful reflective tool for teachers but as you noted “situational context, students needs and the subject area also work to define teaching practice.”
Thanks, Lucas!