Going
into his fourth year, he was moved from an isolated classroom to a
commons area where nine other teachers taught their students (yes, one
large, open space where he said showing video was taboo due to its
distractive nature in such a setting). He discusses the challenges and
advantages of this open atmosphere and remarks on the impact it had on
his teaching practice. This unusual classroom layout allowed him to
observe other teachers planning and teaching; likewise, his peers could
observe him. Because he welcomed feedback and was so open to
self-improvement, he made this relocation – that which many might consider to be disruptive and unfortunate – into a powerful learning experience that promoted a more reflective and adaptive teaching practice.
SO???
It takes one to know and understand one – a teacher, that is.
www.wordle.com |
Employed
at a small, rural school, I didn’t have another teacher in my
department to collaborate with...I was the department. And I certainly
didn’t have time to reflect – so I thought, and what did it mean to
improve? At one time as the high school language-arts teacher, I was
planning five to six different lessons per day, grading over 400 papers
per week, and writing tests AFTER
I taught the lesson…always just in the nick of time. As you can see, I
had it all wrong. I was spinning my wheels but racing backwards. Though I
did many of the following steps naturally, it wasn’t about helping each
student, differentiating instruction, collaborating with my peers, or
creating assessments that matched my objectives… it wasn’t about
improving my practice. Though I had an excellent principal and took
advantage of her expertise often, in a sense, I was still just trying to
get by and did not want anyone to know that I was really sinking. It
was about surviving, and in the back of my mind hopefully making a
difference in my students’ lives.
One particular quote by Dr. Beach caught my attention, “Trying to figure out what I was doing tomorrow and trying to get materials ready was my first priority; frankly there was no time to give serious thought to the actual practice of teaching.” This statement is what I think of as the epitome of struggling teachers (new and veteran alike).
But what about practiced teachers? Beach references the book, Why Don’t Students Like School?.
The author, Daniel T. Willingham, “defines teaching practice as an
activity in which you are engaged but also an activity you are
continuously trying to improve.” Seeking constructive feedback from
knowledgeable people is an important component for instructional
improvement according to Willingham. Furthermore, Beach mentions the
concept of building professional trust between your teaching peers
through observation, focusing on teaching behaviors, and providing
suggestions (only) upon request. Other ways to actively work towards
improvement in practice include videotaping followed by peer and
self-reflection as well as editing video (from several teachers’
lessons) highlighting specific teaching strategies… all strategies
followed by discussion and more reflection.
The most important point of Dr. Beach’s article, to me, was at the end,
“Schools have a responsibility to remove barriers which may inhibit
[this] growth, but ultimately teachers must choose to improve their
teaching practice." Isn't that the truth?
A phrase to remember from “How’s Your Teaching Practice?”
is the concept of “the invisible barriers which limit and sometimes
prohibit the development of our teaching practice.” This concept is
complex and holds different meaning for each teacher. Barriers in regard
to providing/receiving feedback: for some it is a personality conflict
between teacher and administrator; for some it is the fear of being
evaluated negatively by peers; for some it is an anxiety that one might
lose his/her job; and for some it is a school culture problem. And
barriers in regard to the self-initiation of professional development:
for some it is a matter of being in teaching for the wrong reasons
(don’t care, care more about sports, want summer vacations and long
breaks, etc.); for some it is the mistaken belief that one does not need
to change; and for some, it again could be a matter of school culture
and organization.
If only Twitter, Classroom 2.0, and The Educator’s PLN
would have been around when I was in my first few years of teaching (or
if only I had been aware of these types of resources). I am confident
that if access to professional learning communities and resources
(including those shared via Twitter and other PLN's) was closer to my
reach, then one of the invisible barriers (that which prevents teachers
from reaching out, collaborating and sharing, and making strides in
instructional performance) would have been minimized and I would have
been a more efficient and reflective teacher. I cannot believe how much
my knowledge base has expanded in the past few months due to my activity
in professional learning communities!
What
does this mean for me as a principal? It’s simple: my role is to
organize the schedule in a way that promotes teacher collaboration; to
set the atmosphere up for constructive peer-to-peer observation,
debriefing, discussion, and planning; and to support teachers with
guidance, resources, and encouragement as they work toward improving
their practice. My mission is to remember what it was like to be a
teacher.
...And for teachers, don't be afraid to reach out. Hopefully, you have the freedom to observe your peer teachers, and hopefully you are willing to allow them to observe you with a follow-up of constructive feedback.
...And for teachers, don't be afraid to reach out. Hopefully, you have the freedom to observe your peer teachers, and hopefully you are willing to allow them to observe you with a follow-up of constructive feedback.
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