Understanding Philip W. Jackson's Phases of Teaching

Philip W. Jackson, in his influential work on the hidden curriculum and classroom life, described teaching as a process that occurs in distinct phases. These phases help us understand the complex activities a teacher engages in before, during, and after interacting with students.

According to Jackson, the teaching process can be broadly divided into three phases:

• Pre-active Phase: This phase occurs before the teacher enters the classroom or begins instruction. It is primarily a planning and preparation phase.
• Interactive Phase: This phase occurs when the teacher is actively engaged with students in the classroom. It involves real-time actions, reactions, and interactions.
• Post-active Phase: This phase occurs after the teaching interaction has finished. It involves evaluation, reflection, and analysis of the teaching and learning process.

Activities in the Pre-active Phase of Teaching

The pre-active phase is crucial for effective teaching. It involves making decisions and planning how to facilitate learning. Key operations performed during this phase include:

• Formulating objectives for the lesson or unit.
• Deciding upon the content to be taught.
• Selecting and organizing instructional materials.
• Choosing appropriate teaching strategies and methods.
• Planning classroom management techniques.
• Considering the needs and characteristics of the learners (though detailed diagnosis might also happen before this phase, the *decision* on *how* to address them through strategy falls here).

Essentially, the pre-active phase is where the teacher makes informed decisions about what to teach and how to teach it.

Analyzing the Given Operations

Let's examine each of the provided options in the context of Philip W. Jackson's phases of teaching:

1. Diagnosis of the learners: While understanding learners is vital before teaching, detailed diagnosis might be considered an activity that informs the planning, potentially happening before or as part of the initial stages of the pre-active phase. However, it's more about gathering information than the core decision-making process about *how* to teach.
2. Decision about the strategies: This directly aligns with the core activities of the pre-active phase. Choosing the teaching methods, approaches, and procedures to achieve the lesson objectives is a fundamental planning decision made before instruction begins.
3. Actions and reactions: This refers to the dynamic, spontaneous interactions that occur in the classroom while teaching is underway. This clearly falls under the interactive phase, not the pre-active phase.
4. Selecting appropriate testing devices: Deciding how to assess learning is part of planning, which occurs in the pre-active phase. However, evaluating the results and reflecting on them is part of the post-active phase. The *decision* to select testing devices fits into the planning aspect, but "Decision about the strategies" is a more central and encompassing activity of the pre-active phase as described by Jackson.

Conclusion on Pre-active Phase Operation

Comparing the options with the characteristics of the pre-active phase, making decisions about teaching strategies is a defining operation of this stage. It is the phase where the teacher plans the course of action for the upcoming lesson or teaching session.

Based on Philip W. Jackson's model, the operation that clearly falls under the pre-active phase is the process of making decisions about how to teach, i.e., the strategies to employ.

Revision Table: Philip W. Jackson Teaching Phases

Additional Information: Jackson's View on Teaching

Philip W. Jackson's analysis of teaching is notable for focusing on the realities and nuances of classroom life, including the "hidden curriculum" – the implicit lessons students learn from the school environment. His work highlights that teaching is not just about delivering content but involves complex decision-making processes both inside and outside the classroom. The pre-active phase underscores the importance of thoughtful planning as a foundation for effective instruction, acknowledging that classroom interactions are often too rapid for complex decision-making on the spot. Teachers make critical choices about approach and strategy before they ever face their students, setting the stage for the learning experience.