I'm writing in for the first time - Joni and I work on the same project,
TEPE, of which I'm the PI. The discussion about what can be "transferred"
teacher to teacher, and how, is most apropos for us now. We are working with
teachers who have been through one of our year-long Institutes (enhancement
in pedagogy through ecology) to help them facilitate Institutes of their own.
Several models have been suggested for such teacher-teacher leadership (we
call it facilitating). I hear both Susan and Dennis saying there is need for
"explicit instruction" or "structured learning" about how-to-do professional
development. We concur - sort of. That is, we believe most teachers cannot
automatically reproduce their "enhancing experience," and that they need
facilitation to do so. We provide same by modelling the experience of
facilitator, as well as by working together with teachers to develop and
articulate collective principles and goals of the enhancement experience.
It also strikes me that expectations of teachers "being enhanced"
tend to include several things:
that participating teachers successfully be enhanced (however one defines
enhancement);
that they carry what they have seen/ experienced/ learned back into the
classroom;
that they be able to articulate those experiences, whatever they were; and
that they be able to create the same, enhancing experience for other teachers
as well as for their students.
That seems like a lot, and likely, too much.
We have tried to deal with such potential overload by explicitly
separating out at least those 4 pieces (and we have probably missed some
pieces, too).
For instance, we focused on teacher learning for our Institutes.
This meant that carry-over into the classroom was spontaneous and at the
teachers' own pace and discretion. Our hunch was that teachers who
experienced more open-ended learning, who were supported in enabling and
enriching THEMSELVES as learners, would carry that to their classes.
Fortunatately, and unambiguously, they do. As fast as they can. For
instance, one physics teacher realized, early in his Institute year, that his
students had no conceptual or other understanding of the labs he has always
used. The kids were simply following directions and neither understood nor
cared. He began replacing those labs with topics and materials which grew
out of student questions - a technique we modelled continuously in matters
large and small throughout the two week workshop with which we begin the
Institute year. Within the same academic year during which he was an
Institute participant, he replaced about half his standard labs with
student-based labs. He says this greatly improved student understanding and
interest; and it demonstrated to us that enriching the teacher is a direct
route to enhancing student learning.
We also do not expect that all our participants can themselves be
teacher enhancers. In fact, we solicited from our participants applications
to run "training programs" (which we call Daughter Institutes). Part of our
decision about the applications was, of course, based on our familiarity with
the applicants and their work across the year(s) during which we have worked
together. A few had already independently run workshops, if not whole
Institutes - while others did not even apply. Of some 40 teams (each with
3-4 teachers plus an ecologist), 11 sets applied (with none in their original
teams), and we accepted 6 sets.
A final thought - one huge advantage of teachers facilitating
teachers (once all the challenges have been met) - is the peer credibility.
This phenomenon is hardly restricted to teachers - anyone will more likely
believe a peer. But it seems especially important in the case of
"enhancement." How does an "other" really know what it's like to be in the
classroom? Can an "other" properly respect and value the peer group? Having
an "other" involved in teacher enhancement can make it seem that teachers are
in a passive position, having things done to them, rather than in the active
role of learners engaged in and responsible for their own development. We
find that the more teachers are active learners, the more they can bring to
their students.
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TEECH Leadership Development Discussion
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