Professional Development
Posted by nmccann on June 27, 2007
This post is designed for staff to comment on their professional development experiences. It provides an opportunity for staff to reflect on their experiences, read of others experiences and make comments. All staff who attend inservices or conferences can write a report to allow others to access the knowledge gained and allow feedback.
Please feel free to add to this post.
Other PD information will also appear on this post.
August 1st, 2007 at 10:47 pm
Go to the professional reading section to see Kate’s feedback from her recent conference in Melbourne.
August 2nd, 2007 at 9:55 am
I recently undertook a 3 day Apple training course in Mac OS X Help Desk essentials with 12 other technical people from Catholic schools. The course went over the security and diagnostic features of the 10.4 as well as well as some basic networking and OS troubleshooting techniques.
Most of the content was fairly familiar to me, however there were a lot of tips that I found helpful. It was great to be able to discuss matters with the other techos and gather some insight into how technology is being used around the diocese. Although I wished the course would have went into more advanced territory, I enjoyed the time away from the usual routines of IT support.
August 13th, 2007 at 9:19 pm
Kate thanks for that fantastic feedback from your melbourne conference. attention span just 8 minutes?!??!!! I’m going to have to buy a stop watch. I agree with what you said about us needing a bigger bag of tricks – Deb and I have been grappling with this on our TEACHnology course. One of the tricks that is perhaps untapped at the moment is gaming – which can be an engaging form of learning – but we need an expertise in making them. Maybe Kahootz is something that might help us with this certainly exciting potential here.
TEACHnology is a course that I have attended now for 3 days throughout the year so far. Its intended that it be for schools implementing a 1to1 laptop programme, but since we already have one in place, I think Deb and my own inclusion had an additional purpose besides skilling us up on Tech – primarily networking and sharing our experiences with colleagues form other schools. I did get the opportunity to show a group of teachers around the school, which I’ve never done before, and it was a really good professional development for me – I know I will be better at it next time. Leading a tour of CCCHS is a really good way to get a step back and look at the whole school, it was pretty funny actually, as the laptops were not being used in a single session at the time. From Pinch Pot making whilst listening to traditional Japanese music to World Game viewing & playing soccer to conducting Fieldwork around the Dam whilst making maths calculations – the way we were making meaningful connections had a profound impact on our visitors (and myself!).
I’ve learnt quite a lot on this TEACHnology course, the least of which has been a range of online resources that have many applications in classes. Deb and I have discussed the best ways we can share our knowledge with the whole staff and we’ve come up with this – feed://prolinx.edublogs.org/feed/ and http://prolinx.edublogs.org/ You really should bookmark both sites. The first link is an RSS feed, which will automatically alert you when a new site is added to the Database, the second is the webpage – where you can select from sites by category, like “History”, “Games” or “Professional Development”. The more links that get sent around on our group-teaching email, the more sites we will add to this list. Eventually I hope to set it up so we can all ad links to the blog. Alternatively we could all use “delicious”, but our Prolinx blog has the advantage of a description and classification by multiple categories. Prolinx by the way, is shortened version of Professional Links.
Simon.
September 3rd, 2007 at 2:29 pm
TEACHnology
I recently attended the TEACHnology course – which had an interesting part of the day devoted to the Catholic Schools at a Cross Roads document and the NSW/Diocesan Learning and Teaching framework which is to sit inside that. Cynthia McCammon presented this part of the Day.
We looked at the Dimensions and Elements of Quality Teaching (NSW DET, 2003). The framework that the Diocese will be working on identifies three main dimensions/elements of quality teaching in learning spaces, these include:
➢ Intellectual quality – which is further broken down into: Deep knowledge, Deep understanding; Problematic knowledge; Higher Order thinking; Meta-language &; Substantive communication.
➢ Significance – which is further broken down into: Cultural knowledge; Background knowledge; Knowledge integration; Inclusivity; Connectedness &; Narrative.
➢ Quality Learning Environment – which is composed by: Explicit quality criteria; Engagement; High Expectations; Social support; Students’ self-regulation &; Student direction.
One of the things that come out of our discussions was that really, most of the things listed above – are attempted in a genuine way at CCCHS. However, it remains a question of extent as to how well we are achieving these things.
September 3rd, 2007 at 2:29 pm
Managing Challenging Behaviours.
I have read the feedback on blue slips from Monday’s meeting. I must agree with many of the points that have been reported back. However some I must take exception too.
I think, in some ways , the discussion about blue slips is a red-herring. We’ve also really just had similar discussions about playground duty – the need for consistency and clear rules was raised then. I get the sense that people really want to talk about discipline and behavioural standards, not blue slips or playground duty. A discussion about Behaviour for learning is a healthy thing to do in the life of a school. It is also something that will have to happen anyway as the school gets larger. An outcome for a discussion of Behaviour for Learning could be a BFL policy – but the real value in the process would be the conversation we have as a staff.
I have experience in a school where behavioural standards were so low that no amount of rules, routines, or even consistency was able to breakdown the behavioural problems faced in that school. What was the important turning point in changing that, was the conversation we had about what we find acceptable as a staff – and the purpose of having behaviour standards.
This combined previous professional experience, the discussion about Blue Slips and the ‘Managing Challenging Behaviours’ conference with Lori Newcomer from last Tuesday 28 August have caused me to reflect on Behaviour for Learning at CCCHS.
Lori Newcomer advocates a Positive Bahaviour System (BPS), it almost identically mirrors the Behaviour for Learning policy implemented at Park View Academy in North London, and has been implemented in some Western Sydney DET schools as Positive Bahavioural Learning.
The way I’d see a BFL conversation occur at CCCHS would be to take the remainder of the year to consider various points on the following questions, with a view to developing a policy for implementation by Day 1 of Term 1 2008. Its not the sort of thing we’d want to rush.
> How and Why we use prevention strategies including rules & routines.
> How and Why we track behaviour, and the types of behaviour we need to track.
> Processes for reviewing behaviour monitoring
> The need for universal consequences/interventions for stepping outside acceptable behavioural norms.
> How and Why we use affective questioning and restorative practice as a universal intervention.
> The need for secondary and tertiary consequences
> What would the consequences be?
> What would the secondary interventions for students that universal interventions are ineffective or become rewards – e.g. if a student likes an internal suspension, it is no longer is an effective consequence, so what then should our secondary level and tertiary level consequences look like?
Obviously these are just the first questions that I have considered, and are, I’m sure, not a comprehensive list. We’ll all have our own points.
September 17th, 2007 at 11:00 pm
Spot on Simon…and you have offered a way forward. I would like to learn more about this area and get a clear understand of our standards of behaviour. (mind you we have problems just trying to get a clear standards in asssessment grades across disciplines and CLEs) but this one I believe can be achieved quickly. Judging by the experience amongst the staff.
I believe going further with the bahaviours of learning would take a us to new levels of behavioural managment that we would not be able to do as easily as compare to other established schools. and use material like Newcomer to help shape our direction.
After today’s staff meeting, my concern is the increased administrative workload on staff to be able to fulfill the role at CCCHS . While I value the close contact with the parents in my LC and share in the vision of building a strong learning commuity that includes the parents and place some more responsibility back onto parents in sharing our commitment to their child’s well-being and education (and I would not like to see this eroded), in the back of my mind, in other schools, it is the year advisor.coordinator who takes on some of these difficult behavioral problems , with pay and time allowance, we do not. So a small fraction of the year coordinator’s job is divided up and shared amongst the LA.
That is not a problem to me, as long as adequate support is given to staff to undertake this vision for our school. What we need is support structures to allow us to do this job, without increasing the intensification of our job. Dialogues is a structure that does allow us to do part of this. But we need other forms of support. Coming up with an agreed standards of behaviour is a start. Clear guidelines and common practises is another. and more. I’m open to expolraing new ways to doing things.
I would like to see the staff undertake a common study and training in the area of behavioural management. This would start to establish a professional standard of practice for us at CCCHS. let us not forget that we are teachers of behaviours not the content and we teach our students what behaviours to use for learning and for being with each other.
What continues to amaze me is the way schools cope and respond so well to the demands (just read the number of reports published since 2000). Much is achieved through the erstwhile generosity of LAs charged with the responsibility of being changed agnets at various levels within the school context. teachers, are in my experience, pretty good at just getting on with the job. Patience does have its limit.
let us n ot forget the importance of the student relationship with the teacher and evoke in them not a fear of punishment but inspie them to do better. That is not dreaming. bad behaviour occurs because of boredom or the lack of a relatinship with their teacher. (lack of relationship with self and parents as well). We are dealing with a moral education here … but I have said enough
i hope that our generous staff dont burn out and stop giving and giving. I like the way we are evolving and learning as we grow, and seeing more LAs having an imput in these matters
Gabrielle
PS: As discussed at the staff meeting this afternoon: I believe it is uneccessary to inform the student body why a student was expelled. The student body needs to know that the student was not able to uphold the school rules, or broke a series of rules, etc and was asked to leave/given the option to start a fresh at a new school. That has had sufficent effect on the students. The student and the family should be given a fresh start and not have the problem or ‘the stain’ follow them to their next school. And we have seen this happen too many times at other schools. The privacy of the student needs to be respect. let them more on.
September 20th, 2007 at 12:03 am
Hi All,
Boy what a staff meeting to miss!
The atmosphere in the staffroom was pretty palpable today, and I gather from conversations I’ve had and from reading the minutes of the meeting on staff com, that the reason for this is that so many of the complexities and difficulties that we face daily were brought to the fore in that one meeting.
Without being at the meeting, I am reluctant to comment on proceedings. Please forgive my cheek in doing so, as I do so because I can so strongly feel the impact of the meeting in the atmosphere of the staffroom, and hear it in conversations that are still ongoing around me. And more, because I feel so passionately about so many of the issues that were raised.
My question is: how much of what was said at the staff meeting reflects our learning and teaching principles?
For example, “the relational and transformational nature of learning grounded in quality relationships amongst all members of the school”. i.e., if we want respect, we have to show respect. We get what we give. (As Gabrielle points out above). This is the basis of all successful behaviour management approaches, and it’s common sense.
And further: “An active, inquiry approach to learning fostering enjoyment, engagement and responsibility…” .(Not entertaining, not informative, but active inquiry). I know that I don’t do this all of the time. In fact I will even admit that lately I don’t even do this most of the time. And, in my own practice, I can see the direct correlation between this and student engagement, and therefore behaviour. After all, 85% of behaviour management issues have as their root poor instruction. That’s how Glasser made his millions!
And “Value and support of individual differences and diversity”. Note that we have included the word “value” not just tolerance. This is a challenge that requires commitment and courage to meet. I don’t do enough to make the daily life of students with special needs fruitful and hopeful. I can do a lot more in terms of curriculum adjustments and pedagogy. I will commit to do this and much more before I even talk about other options. I am frankly appalled that we are talking about a “unit”. If true inclusion can’t work at Corpus Christi, then it can’t work anywhere. I know that LG1 isn’t working, but I will look at my own practice before I look anywhere else, ever mindful of my own professional accountabilities.
And the big one: “staff professionalism modelled on Jesus the teacher and characterised by continuous collaborative learning, reflection, passion and personal growth” and to that I would add courage. It takes real courage to reflect deeply enough to see my own role in the imperfection that confronts me. I don’t often talk about my previous life in higher ed, but the final assignment I gave to my final year secondary teaching students was always the same. The essay question went something like: “You have taken up your first appointment. After a tough first term with year 9 during which you have endured the gammut of our least favourite misbehaviours daily, you sit down to reflect. List and describe, IN ORDER OF IMPORTANCE, the factors contributing to this poor behaviour, that you consider in your reflection”. It was the students who listed aspects of their own practice first on the list who got distinctions.
I think we all do this every day, and we’re pretty tough on ourselves. We are more than persistent, we are relentless, in our quest to connect with students through positive learning relationships, through curriculum and through the way we model positive adulthood to them. I can’t really understand how we managed to channel “Disenganged, Disenchanted, Pissed off and Put Upon Outer Western Suburban High School” so effectively on Monday.
What ever I can do to help… I’d love to work with Simon on developing a process to decide the most appropriate management approach for our setting and our L&T Principles. A consistent and calm approach is definitely essential.
Love youse all
Kate
September 20th, 2007 at 11:58 pm
I have not read the minutes from the staff meeting
1. inspite of us LA’s acting in respectful ways to students, too many act disrespectfully to their LAs (some seemingly enjoy the thrill).
2. “Get what you give” – but at the same time there are plenty of LAs who give very well to our students, who are polite, caring and offer engaging learning material but students are still rude and worst. The LA does not deserve what the student gives. See point 4 a
3. Students need clear strong guidelines from adults. they need to know they are valued and that the wrong behaviour has social consequences (it does out in the real world). Withdrawing a child from the class (suspension) only causes additional stress for the student (and parent) and teacher to thenhas to help the student catch up on missed work.
4. the essentail thing is the relationship with us and themselves. The latter is lacking.
Your comments are encouraging Kate. Self and staff development is key to our development. (although reading the works by Alfred Wallace, Eco and others, true self development of the individual rarely occurs in the modern workforce because people spend some much time focused on their work, career, working long hours, etc), that few have time to develop into fully matured, social, people – scary stuff)
A philosophical approach that we will get there will help, we are still evolving, working it out, that is fine. We cant develop everything about this school at an even pace. More calvary will be arriving over the next few years.
On a much lighter note…has anyone booked the (PDD) Staff Christmas Party venue?
Christmas decoration are out in the shops.
Cheers…Gabrielle
September 21st, 2007 at 10:38 am
Hi All,
Just found this article. Have a read! I will alos try to put it as an attachment somewhere.
Letters to Gracia: Learning About Teaching and Writing Instruction
by Gary S. O’Malley — May 14, 2007
This personal reflection describes the transition from young student of writing to veteran teacher of writing. Written as a tribute to a former teacher, the author chronicles four decades of experiences on how writing instruction supports learning, leadership, and teacher education.
We all have favorite teachers. For me, I remember last names: Halvarson, Torasson, Oncken, McDougal, Plocinek, Pittman, Kallenbach, Butler, Foley, Ansley, and Marshall. Each welcomed me into their classroom: high school choir, sophomore speech, junior high English, high school physical education, third grade, sophomore biology, sixth grade, music theory, educational leadership, educational measurement, and language and literacy. I remember their poise, energy, confidence, wit, patience and conviction. The best of the best, though, has a first name: Gracia, a college English professor who still influences my thinking about teaching and writing instruction thirty years later. Gracia would be embarrassed by any notoriety; yet, recognition of her work provides a tribute to the many educators who impact, unknowingly, the future work of their students. The body of this narrative, four letters written to Gracia but never sent, chronicles four decades of experiences and insights on how writing instruction supports learning, leadership, and teacher education. This opportunity to reminisce tells the story of changing perspectives as a reluctant young learner transitions from a student of teaching and writing instruction to a veteran educator using writing instruction to inform teaching practice. This article begins with a description of Gracia and her classroom and concludes with a postscript summary of lessons learned.
GRACIA AND HER CLASSROOM: DECEMBER 1972
The room is cold, as usual, and the six of us wait without speaking at the oak table that covers most of the floor in the upstairs classroom of Old Main. I look down from the only window and catch sight of her laughing as she walks, bundled up with our papers across her chest, and that scarf twisted twice around her neck. She walks in late, as usual, smiles, and huddles us together. As she talks about herself, her life, and her writing, the six of us become one listener and the room warms.
Born in “Min-nee-so-dah,” Gracia spoke proudly of her father, a Lutheran minister, and of the Scandinavian heritage that influenced her writing. Gray-blond hair fell straight past her face to just above her large shoulders. Gracia was sturdy like the oak table in our classroom, strong enough to support each of us as we talked about things that seemed, at that time, so very important. By sharing her life, she encouraged us to think out loud about our own lives.
She challenged our writing seminar to battle with significant questions that deserved attention. Gracia encouraged us to discover revision strategies that emphasized paragraphs and ideas rather than sentences and words. Reminders like “too much preaching, not enough proof,” or “sloppy attention to conventions detracts from your message” or “more here” became sage advice for students working to demonstrate an understanding of how good writing could become better. She helped separate self-editing from self-criticism and she redirected passion toward purpose. We were expected to know our audience and know our subjects. We learned to write with precision and accuracy about important topics.
Our work extended beyond writing instruction and composition theory. Gracia expected us to read Moffet, Macrorie, Ong, Winterowd, Booth, Gibson, Becker, Guth, and Weaver. We studied oral cultures, literary criticism, and language development. We were intimidated by this diverse and complicated curriculum, yet Gracia’s instruction appeared simple and practical. She insisted we suspend judgment, consider other perspectives and embrace unresolved contradictions. We were asked to identify priorities within our content area and engage in conversations as if we were connected to a larger community having similar discussions elsewhere. Gracia brought us together as a group, demanding clear thinking and quality work; later, she promoted individual identities, expecting us to share our knowledge with others.
SAYING GOODBYE: MAY 1974
Dear Gracia,
I send my best wishes as I graduate next week from college. Your classroom was a forum for challenging and clarifying ideas. Somehow, you helped direct emotion into insights and self interest into community service. You were incredible. You helped me begin to share my own thinking with the confidence that my opinions mattered. For that, I will be forever grateful. I will always remember you.
I start my first real job this fall teaching English. I wonder if I have the stamina to manage a classroom, especially one where students are asked to think about their writing. Am I smart enough? Will my students like and respect me? Will my colleagues support me? Will I be successful? Teaching looks like a very difficult and demanding job with so many things to consider all at the same time. Thank you for the suggestion to read more Piaget, Dewey and Bruner—you remembered I have a minor in psychology! Wish me luck on my journey to discover if I am made for this thing they call teaching. I promise to keep you informed of my progress. Sometimes I wish I could be a student the rest of my life.
TEACHING AS WRITING: AUGUST 1984
Dear Gracia,
This is my tenth year in the classroom and I am still teaching high school students lessons I learned from you. I have 156 students though, not six, so I must manage groups before I can assist individuals. I wonder how you would individualize instruction in a large group setting and what strategies you would use to bring a sense of community to this diverse and unique collection of adolescents.
Teaching is about relationships among people and writing is about relationships among ideas. Teaching is like writing: the organizing and managing of lessons; the nuisance of moving conversation forward without dictating destination; the handling of twists and turns of spontaneity and serendipity; and the building of rapport and respect among students and between students and instructor. My lessons are like short stories: I balance content, context and individuals as if they were plot, setting and characters, hoping my students will agree to participate completely, confident enough to make mistakes. Maybe classroom management is like writing instruction: navigating the starting and stopping, adding new information, summarizing, making judgments and moving forward. Maybe the discipline of learning is like the discipline of writing: chaos to clarity, rethinking priorities, measuring influence and changing perspectives. Teaching my students to think is the most difficult thing I do.
It is difficult to provide a predictable, secure and safe classroom environment where students can participate in classroom discussions. Participation changes unexpectedly and frequently. One day students are warriors fighting over ideas as if they were sacred ground. The next day, students are competing siblings trying to monopolize an adult’s attention. A third day no one says anything to anyone. A fourth day everyone is talking about anything but the subject at hand. Dialogue within the classroom influences learning. Sometimes students hold fast to the majority view, distrustful of their own ideas and unable to suggest alternatives. Other times, students question everything, distrustful of others and unwilling to admit to the obvious. Ironically, speech gets in the way of expression. Oral arguments are invisible, temporal and fleeting. Writing provides another opportunity to engage students by asking them to write down their ideas before, during and after discussions.
Influencing the work of another is far more difficult than completing a task yourself. Certainly, experience is helping me improve my craft, but conditions outside my control impact my work. I complain about too much time on task, too tight a schedule, too many students, too much paperwork and too much committee work. Yes, the kids have so much energy and the adults seem so tired. My colleagues are battle weary, distrustful and cynical. Few talk about the future unless they are talking about retirement. Everyone outside of the school has an idea of what should happen inside the classroom. More mandates appear to be inevitable, our last two school referenda failed and I have worked for four principals in ten years. Where is the joy in our struggle?
Yet, I am invigorated by the efforts of my students. Attendance is taken, the door is closed and we simply expect the best from each other. Despite the difficulties, I tell my students we are “one big happy family.” I can’t admit this to my colleagues for many have lost a connection to their students, choosing instead to express their loyalties to their content by stressing coverage, materials and information. They remain good teachers in many respects, but they are empty of joy and jaded by repetition, eager to blame students, parents, administrators, school board policies and MTV when student performance is judged insufficient.
I read Elbow, Graves, Rodriquez, Heath, Wells, Rosenblatt, Vygotsky, and Murray. I surround myself with those who will encourage me to use writing as a tool for thinking. My hope is that my classroom will embrace the outside world so that content has a context which connects elsewhere. Extending the walls of the classroom brings a treasure of outside resources and recognition of participation in a larger community. Last semester we wrote biographies and sent greetings to those outside our classroom. Sometimes the outside world responded generously in return. Scott received a handwritten note from John Wooden, Curt received a signed color photo of George Carlin and Tim received two LP records from B.B. King’s press agent. Yes, the outside world remains worlds away, but we can accept responsibility for using our writing to shorten the distance. Everyday is an opportunity for my students to consider their place in the larger scheme of life, moving gradually past individual needs toward the promise of a collective good.
I wonder if this profession will provide me the professional development necessary to meet these challenges. Graduate work appears to be an option to secure additional certification and leave the classroom. Perhaps I am responsible for my own professional development. Maybe I have a responsibility to model my learning as an example of how adults deal with the difficulties of teaching. Gracia, how do you do it? Until next time, stay well and stay strong. I know somewhere you are singing a joyful song to celebrate the burden of good teaching, good writing and more learning.
WRITING AS LEADERSHIP: OCTOBER 1994
Dear Gracia,
Has it really been twenty years? Time changes everything. I am now a Ph.D. in a business suit who directs curriculum and instruction priorities from the central office of a large school district. My classroom has become 9 schools, 5,000 students, and 700 teachers. I assist the superintendent, principals, and school board in defining instructional strategies, providing professional development opportunities and documenting compliance of district, state and federal requirements. I speak to legislators about funding sources, service clubs about public relations, and the media about student performance on state assessments.
Sometimes I miss my classroom.
I just received an email from Heather, one of my former students, telling me her fifth grade classroom is “one big happy family.” She mentions that her students groan whenever she reminds them about this, just like she did in my class. Perhaps that mantra is more than a silly joke. Maybe we stumbled onto a sense of community without realizing it. Perhaps we knew, but would not admit, that supportive relationships were a critical component for creating learning opportunities.
Writing you today reminds me of the importance of individual success in a group setting. I have come to believe that the success of a community of learners compliments the growth of the individual. In the best classes, roles are interchangeable as students become teachers and teachers become students. Learning in these classrooms is tangible and authentic, taking shape in large and small group settings, through curriculum differentiated by need, interest, and expertise using literacy strategies that encourage conversations about interdependence (community) and independence (individual). These students are well served with multiple opportunities to become problem solvers, effective communicators and analytical thinkers. I worry that all kids do not receive this same opportunity because so much is dependent on who is organizing the instruction. Many teachers argue the opposite: they believe academic success is more dependent on what their students do.
My interests are moving beyond the classroom toward district concerns. My principals laugh when I tell them I favor high school classrooms that look more like elementary classrooms and general education classrooms that look more like special education classrooms. Department chairs scoff when I suggest that every teacher should be a writing teacher. I argue that good schools parallel effective writing instruction: the individual is significant, hard work is expected and accomplishments are acknowledged. Could it be that simple? My administrative position gives me authority, a forum for change, multiple resources, and the time to think critically about my work. Yet, many of my colleagues seem uncomfortable with flexibility – they want the right answer—and unwilling to work through problems—they want to predict all consequences. To them, a leader takes charge and makes decisions. To me, a leader promotes others to make decisions. I will not do this job well if I do this job alone. For support, I read Deal, Drucker, Barth, Senge, Perkins, Sizer, Fullan, and Sergiovanni.
What does it mean to be a professional? Teachers across our district are working to determine how curriculum influences instruction. We find our most successful professional development opportunities develop through commitment rather than compliance — when questions reveal solutions to practical problems. Yet, we struggle sharing responsibility. Who is responsible inside the classroom when students do not learn? Who is responsible for induction programs, mentoring programs, staff development opportunities and professional growth? Who is responsible for a unified instructional program, school improvement activities, mission statements, strategic planning and district test scores? Unfortunately, the answer to ‘who” becomes an opportunity to relinquish responsibility and place blame elsewhere. Years ago the word “accountability” meant accepting responsibility for improving the situation. Recently, accountability has come to mean defining responsibility for others to document compliance. Such advice, often well-intended, comes from those far removed from the problem. Credibility becomes an issue when confidence and competence are questioned.
A professional accepts responsibility for being both teacher and learner, asking and answering questions about what should be. A professional is a teacher who honors the work and understands the work environment yet initiates activities that ultimately reshape it. A professional is a learner who travels through this changing landscape believing that benefits exist. Both teacher and learner suffer the aggravation of uncertainty in the hope that wisdom will prevail.
Thanks to you, Gracia, I am a reader and a writer, wiser because of the joy found in constructing meaning. I continue to shape and structure ideas: cutting back, starting and stopping, unwrapping and uncovering, reworking and rethinking until ideas emerge as significant. Later, I distance myself from the work only to rewrite everything all over again anyway. Nevertheless, my writing transforms me, taking me to places I never realized existed. I suggest the following to my colleagues in writing classrooms: share with your students why revision is individual and how revision is possible. Ask your students to consider the value in these learning opportunities–like the young student in your classroom, Gracia, who did not understand that writing is learning, entered and exited at different times for different reasons–and like the older student writing these words right now and learning from them.
WRITING AS TEACHER EDUCATION: MARCH 2004
Dear Gracia,
I am sorry to hear that you are ill. Thirty years later I spend my days in a college classroom, teaching in the College of Education at a major university. We are miles removed from our college classroom yet closer in spirit than you might imagine. I still appreciate how you took the time to help a shy young man feel significant, and I am pleased to say that this lesson has repeated itself many times over, with roles reversed, as I reach out to those with unexpressed potential. The circle is unbroken; I encourage my college students to think out loud about their work as future teachers, challenging them to battle significant questions that deserve attention.
Yes, I ask my students to write.
My students are prospective high school teachers, taking my language and literacy course as part of the required Secondary Education sequence. My students are desperate to make sense of pedagogy, yet they see very little connection to how their writing might help them develop as a teacher. Instead, my college students speak of the chore of writing, experts at playing the guessing game of “Is this what you want?” and “How long should it be?” and “Did I get this right?” No amount of reassurance consoles students who wonder what to say and worry how to say it. My capable college students, only a point and click away from an endless stream of electronic resources, appear clueless about conventions, style, and organization. In many ways, these college students are my high school writers of twenty years ago, unsure of how to write with confidence about subjects of their own choosing. Certainly, many of my students connect with me, their classmates, their work and their writing and they do their best to comply with writing assignments. My students tell me they want someone to care about what they write, yet, they admit they don’t always care about what they write. Sadly, only a few express the joy in writing I remember when writing for you, Gracia.
Good teachers model the challenges that all writers face. I organize my coursework as I would organize writing instruction, constructing a variety of opportunities where students struggle, individually and collectively, to make sense of their clinical experiences. I make the following three writing expectations for the students in my classroom community: 1) Writing is your window toward uncovering your learning potential. Use this opportunity to discuss issues of importance, describing your fears, anxiety and frustration as you travel from dependent student to independent learner. 2) Writing is your mirror to reflect your teaching potential. Use this opportunity to describe the depth of experiences in your clinical work that document your progress from student of teaching to teacher of students. 3) Writing is your tool box of strategies, ideas and techniques for improving your craft. Collect, catalogue, share, practice and rethink a variety of lesson plans, grouping strategies and student activities.
Gracia, I build my college classrooms around memories of our college classroom. These memories are the promise of a community where relationships are built between student and content, among students and other students, and between student and instructor. Thinking of you reminds me to prepare a classroom to serve the student I once was. I now teach the children of my former students. Last semester, I taught the grandson of one of my favorite teachers. Maybe, just maybe, someone sitting in my classroom right now will become another student’s Gracia.
I welcome my students by name each day. I expect them to participate, and I get them up in front of their peers to share insights, questions and concerns. I establish order, structure and routine. I encourage flexibility, self-discipline, and creativity. I integrate their interests, likes and dislikes, questions, and suggestions into course content. I ask them to evaluate their work, the work of others, and our completed lessons. I expect results, use student performance to guide future work, and return written work to students within three class periods. I thank my students at the end of each class period.
We problem solve as a group. We spend much of our time in small groups on activities that are varied, interesting, and useful. We model the behavior we expect from others. We ignore whiners. We revise objectives, lesson plans, learning standards, assessments, and goals daily. We ask each other to elaborate, illustrate, explain, judge, defend, criticize, and enjoy. Each day we try to value our time together.
I am influenced by Shulman, Bryk, Baker, Goodlad, Wiggins, Stake, Stiggins and Cuban. All teachers are writing teachers, remembered for the obstacles removed rather than created. I am a better teacher than I was a writing student, wiser in constructing meaning and more confident in communicating ideas. Isn’t good writing knowing how it might become better writing? Isn’t effective instruction considering how your next lesson introduces new information to challenge old ideas? Teaching, like writing, requires recognition of audience and purpose. Writing, like teaching, requires introducing content knowledge others find valuable enough to apply in another context.
I have spent my adult life learning to make sense of teaching and writing instruction. As always, words give me pause to consider how I have matured professionally. Writing gives me opportunity to question myself, my life and my work. Thank you, Gracia, for encouraging this writer to participate in that awkward struggle to make sense out of ourselves as we make sense of the words we use.
POSTSCRIPT
Countless teachers have dedicated their lives in support of their students. Similarly, numerous students have grown into these same kinds of teachers, modeling the care and devotion once modeled for them. Maturity, personal growth, perspective and empathy are traits nurtured by experience and practiced regularly by willing students. Conversations about the transition from student to teacher appear one-sided, with the student-turned-teacher struggling to articulate how context has led to informed judgment. Such is the case with writing instruction: influence is expressed through the willingness of another to take pause and consider connections. We travel alone as learners seeking language and literacy as personal strategies for strengthening relationships we value as significant and worthwhile. The teachers of the future appear to us first as learners, struggling for identity, competence and confidence, only to be revealed later in different contexts as teachers learning how to organize similar opportunities for others. Understanding this transition makes us better students. Supporting this transformation makes us better teachers.
Cite This Article as: Teachers College Record, Date Published: May 14, 2007
http://www.tcrecord.org ID Number: 14482, Date Accessed: 9/20/2007 5:28:13 PM