EPISODE TEACHING--A RATIONALE FOR INDUCTING STUDENT TEACHERS INTO THE TEACHING ACT.

EPISODE TEACHING IS THE PRACTICE OF INITIATING STUDENT TEACHERS INTO TEACHING THROUGH THEIR OWN PERFORMANCE OF THE TEACHING ACT AS COPROFESSIONALS RATHER THAN AS DEPENDENTS. AN EPISODE IS DEFINED AS A SELF-CONTAINED EVENT, NOT PART OF AN ONGOING PROGRAM, BUT APPROPRIATE TO THE AGE LEVEL AND GENERAL INTEREST OF THE CHILDREN IN QUESTION. THE STUDENT TEACHER DOES NOT APPEAR IN THE CLASSROOM UNTIL HE IS TO DIRECT AN EPISODE, AT WHICH TIME HE IS INTRODUCED AS A RESOURCE PERSON, WITH THE MASTER TEACHER SERVING AS AN OBSERVER. IN THE EVENT OF FAILURE, THE STUDENT TEACHER'S INITIATION INTO TEACHING CAN BE INTERRUPTED WITHOUT UPSETTING THE ONGOING CLASSROOM PROGRAM, SINCE HIS WORK IS SELF-CONTAINED. IN THE EVENT OF SUCCESS, OTHER EPISODES CAN FOLLOW UNTIL THEIR CUMULATIVE EFFECT IS TO ESTABLISH THE STUDENT TEACHER AS TEACHER OF ONE SUBJECT. THE SEQUENCE IS FROM ENRICHMENT TEACHING AS A RESOURCE PERSON TO FINAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE TEACHING IN THAT SUBJECT. ULTIMATELY, THE JUSTIFICATION FOR EPISODE TEACHING AS A WAY OF INDUCTION IS THAT IT CENTERS ALL THE EFFORT AND ATTENTION UPON THE TEACHING ACT. (AF)