Rethinking Isolated Professional Learning
The educational research has consistently reported that whether students are learning vocabulary, new skills, or appropriate behaviors, their new skills must be embedded in the general education context in order for students to grow the brain connections with prior knowledge.
Using Alternative Teaching (one of the 7 Collaborative Teaching Structures), teachers may isolate a small group of students for short term focused concentration on a targeted skill set. But then those students need to practice and expand their cognitive connections within their peer community if we want those new competencies to be generalized.
I believe this it true for teachers too. Too often, we pull teachers out of their classrooms to give them a new strategy or instructional framework. Then we expect them to return to their classroom settings and figure out how it would work in their own instructional situations.
Let me use an exaggerated analogy to make my point. Suppose we decided to teach your faculty how to ski. Picture this:
Learning Activity 1: We’ll bring your faculty into the library after school (when they are already tired). I’ll begin with a motivational video that shows scenes of the different levels of ski trails (green circle, blue square, black diamond). Then I’ll demonstrate parts of ski equipment while they label diagrams. Finally, teachers will complete a formative assessment so we can check that they know the key terms. What about those who are already proficient skiers? Well, the review won’t hurt them, and they can always help others who are new.
Learning Activity 2: The next week, they’ll work in jigsaw groups to use provided resources and brainstorm solutions for typical ski issues (going too fast, avoiding other skiers, exiting from ski lifts, recovering from a fall). I’ll show them a video about proper ski posture for skiing on ice, on light snow, and in deep powder. I’ll have them stand and practice leaning into the front of their imaginary boots and shifting their balance from the left to right foot as they traverse the trail. I will give them a checklist so they can evaluate whether their partner is following proper ski protocol. Then I will give them a multiple choice test to evaluate how they would handle typical ski slope scenarios.
What do you think? Will these teachers be ready to hit the slopes next week?
Of course not. This is a silly example. Nobody would use this approach for teaching ski skills. Everybody knows that novice skiers must practice on the slopes. Yes – they need some background knowledge, but simply knowing terminology and protocols are insufficient for mastery.
I remember that when I was a novice skier, I benefited the most from one-on-one coaching. I arranged a private lesson with a ski instructor who accompanied me on the lift, watched my amateur attempts and gave me personalized feedback. Then I spent the rest of the day practicing the two or three new pointers that I gained from that lesson. Some of my friends gave up on skiing after a few tries when they were left to their own experimentation.
I’m excited to share another approach!
This year, I am working in a district that understands the importance of supporting teachers as they practice in their classrooms.
I created a set of video clips and tools to introduce (or review) key vocabulary, approaches and strategies needed for inclusive collaborative teaching. Within each module, teachers choose an “opportunity option” for their own learning that is consistent with their own professional journey. But the best part is the informal structure of focused coaching. On my scheduled days in the building, I work with teachers individually or in teams in response to THEIR invitation to give them feedback and a few pointers so they can grow in their competencies as collaborating teachers, meeting the needs of their diverse student body.
