A friend and I are planning a book, probably an e-book which we can get out directly, and at a reasonable price. It will probably be aimed at the relatively new teacher in higher, adult, or post-compulsory education.
For me this is an opportunity to collaborate with a colleague with whom I have worked closely for about fifteen years, and whose areas of interest are fairly complementary to mine, although we also overlap. What he is hoping to get out of it, however, I'm not sure!
Clearly one of the important considerations has to do with the distinctiveness of the material and its arguments. When one does a proposal for a publisher, one of the standard questions is about how the proposed book compares with others on the market, and what it can offer which the others can't.
There are of course now dozens of "text-books" about teaching in post-compulsory education, most of them clearly focused on the standards laid down by the various bodies with fingers in the pie. They are almost all deadly boring, of course. I only say "almost" because I haven't read them all, but I have not yet found one which conveys anything of the excitement and fun of teaching in this sector--although some of the more thoughtful and less didactic "para-textbooks" manage that. That is the kind of book we want to produce.
So the strap-line could be, "what your Cert Ed/PGCE/DTTLS never taught you..."
The working title is Teaching Off-road, which calls for some explanation. Driving (or cycling) in the UK is heavily oriented towards reliance on the systemic infrastructure including metaled roads, signs, traffic lights, and rules. Similarly, much teaching is merely about getting from A to B within the rules--and it is deadly boring. But... (you can fill in the rest)
So we are planning to put it out initially as an e-book which we can revise in the light of comments; but your input to the planning would be much appreciated, and whatever makes it to the final version would of course earn at least a free copy as well as an acknowledgement. So do let us know what you would like to see addressed!
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Hi
ReplyDeleteI came across your blog through one of those random Google search and would like to identify some missing gaps in the Teacher Training manuals. Namely, that there is very little material which is attractive to vocational tutors within the Construction Industry. When asked, many of the tutors I have met, still describe themselves through their trade and not as teachers or educators. I wonder whether this is yet another example of the gulf between practical skills and academic ability?
I liked your Off-Road title, and had visions of quad-racing across fields or nipping down a side-street to avoid all the traffic
Having previously been employed as a Brickwork lecturer, I am now 'helping' OSAT Assessors develop learning material for experienced workers and I have yet to find anything that doesn't bore their socks off, or raise the prickly issue of class.
So what I'd like to see addressed is some kind of bridge, path or sat-nav code for workers in Construction to become fully engaged with teaching and learning.
*Spoiler Alert* This might prove to be impossible, given the educational divide
Cheers
Anne