The flipped classroom, maker movement, project-based learning, blended learning, student centered learning, hour of code, collaboration, direct instruction, and lecture, there are passionate teacher advocates supporting each of these methods as the best way for kids to learn. I am sure that there are some additional methods or movements that I have not mentioned.
Each of these methods to teach can be effective with many groups of students. The burning question should be however, which is the best way to affect the greatest education reform? The focus for change in education seems to be in finding a way to best teach our students. The focus is targeting student learning. That assumes that once that method is found all will be right with the world of education and PISA be damned.
I think that may be the wrong focus for reform. I believe that if we want to affect the greatest number of students by the way they are taught, we need to better educate their educators about the way they teach. A combination of several methods might be the best path for students to learn. This would require a teacher to have knowledge in several methods. The focus should target on what and how we teach teachers not students. There are hundreds of thousands of educators who are familiar with many of these, if not all of the mentioned strategies here. Many are aware through their social media connections. The problem is that there are millions of educators who are far less connected, informed, or educated in these methods. Many of the uninformed educators may be far less connected to communities where discussions and collaboration with these topics go on daily.
I am becoming more of the belief that, at this point in time, we are not going to get all educators connecting, collaborating and creating through digital connections with other educators around the world. We do need to look at the benefits of these digital connections and find a way to create that resulting collaboration within the schools in which our teachers work without digitally connecting, those who will not connect.
Collaboration has become an integral part of professional development. We need to not only endorse collaboration, but we need to support it. It is a key to adult learning and teachers are adults. We must approach all PD through Andragogy, an adult’s learning, and not pedagogy, a child’s learning. Teach adults as adults. https://tomwhitby.wordpress.com/2015/04/13/the-importance-of-andragogy-in-education/
There is not a college or university in the world that can graduate teachers with all that they will need to know to carry them through a thirty-year career as a teacher. The world and everything in it changes too rapidly for that to happen. Learning has to be ongoing. The term life long learner does not only apply as a goal for kids. It is essential for anyone wanting to exist, strive, survive, compete, and flourish in a modern tech-driven society. This especially applies to those who teach others who will need to do the same.
If standards have to be drawn up for education, why not have standards for PD? The biggest problem with the implementation of common core, beyond the testing aspect, was the fact that there was no support for PD. Each school was left to its own devices. Some schools did well with it, others not so much. This was another example of a non-funded mandate gone awry. Any national initiative in education it would seem would need its teachers on board and fully aware of their goal.
Until we recognize that the greatest effect that we can have on education is by continually educating our educators to the constant and continual changes occurring in their profession, there will be little change in the progress we hope to make in education. We have now and will continue to have 20th Century educators trying to teach kids to live and learn in a 21st Century world.
Professional Development must be part of a teacher’s job description. It should not be solely on the backs of teachers to find it. Schools on a regular basis, and not just one, or two PD Days a year should deliver PD on a regular basis each week. Faculty and Department meetings should be more than a mandatory gathering to talk about schedules and policies. Teachers must be given collaboration time to connect with colleagues to implement changes. The best people need to be placed in supportive coaching positions to help facilitate, and reinforce these changes.
Change is difficult and uncomfortable for everyone. People need help to accomplish it. Comfort zones are the biggest obstacles to change. If change is what we need and want for our education system, then we need to put things in place to make that happen. Doing PD as we have done for the last two centuries doesn’t seem to be working. This is the one thing that most educators agree with. If we are to better educate our kids, we need first to better educate their educators.
One reason I like Project Lead the Way (PLTW) for STEM is that their program includes offsite PD. Teachers not only get outstanding training by PLTW certified teacher/trainers, they also get to work with other teachers and build a network of support for the future. Thank you Tom for another great “Call to Action”!
Tom, thank you for writing an inspiring and thought provoking post on PD. I have to agree that much has been said about trends and methods, but little attention has been given to how they should be implemented. As you mentioned, there is no right or wrong, there isn’t such thing as the best or ideal solution. Maybe a combination of methods is the most appropriate choice. If the teacher is not aware of the pros and cons of each method, then he cannot make an educated decision on which to pick and why. I live in Brazil and many teachers here believe that being an expert on the area is enough. When something goes wrong and a student fails, it’s a natural tendency to blame the student and the poor learning strategies employed, but nobody questions if the teaching was done properly. I really believe you have a point and we should talk more about the importance of investing in professional development. Teachers should always reflect on their teaching practice.
Tom. A great blog. Until we get a profession that takes professional learning as their own responsibility we will never have true profession. No one can do the learning for you and if you wait you wait for others to provide it you become increasingly irrelevant
After thirty years and a variety of learning environments have yet to meet any teacher truly comfortable with staying “the same” – instead every teacher met enjoyed any challenge to demonstrate fresher understanding, and to explore new ways to convey his/her curriculuum… Now- being given credit for that personal amount of reflection has been a different story…
Tom raises many good points about ways to improve K12 education. I’d only add that we should first find ways to group our learners by needs instead of by age. It would not only increase the learning success of each student, it would reduce the Professional Development burden of our teachers.
The quickest way to help already over-burdened teachers is online collaboration with other teachers….Facebook, Twitter, columnists like Tom Whitby, Vicky David, Scott McLeod, Kyle Pace and many other experienced educators who can truly help. Form teacher circles. Use Skype, FaceTime, Google Rooms, whatever works best for a busy teacher.
Another major catalyst would be the lengthening of the school year to provide both more instructional time and more professional develpment time. Yes, it would cost more, but it makes far more sense than all the senseless spending on standarized testing thaat standardizes nothing. Nor should it.
Yes, teachers leave their colleges with grad and undergrad degrees, and just like doctors, enter into a practice that will teach them many more new and needed skills that their previous training ever could.
Let’s find more ways for our teachers to show, share and learn from each other.
[…] The flipped classroom, maker movement, project-based learning, blended learning, student centered learning, hour of code, collaboration, direct instruction, and lecture, there are passionate teacher advocates supporting each of these methods as the best way for kids to learn. I am sure that there are some additional methods or movements that I have not mentioned. Each… […]
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[…] by giving his talent and uniqueness to the world. If we want a high quality education, we need to “continually educate our educators” says Tom Whitby. I would add more to that: We need to […]