Sites and sources of teachers’ learning

The policy community seldom makes problematic the question of what teachers need to know in order to improve their practice. Reformers and publics impatient with disappointing student outcomes cast requirements for teachers’ learning in relatively simple terms – more or different content knowledge. For instance, we hear: Teachers need technical skills to work effectively with their students in the information age. Teachers need to be upto-date in their subject area. Teachers at all levels and across disciplines need to be able to teach reading. In policy circles, ‘knowing more’ often is treated synonymously with ‘teaching better’. (Cochran-Smith and Lytle, 1999).