Post blog entry #8 in reaction to "Teacher Learning"

Practice what you teach?

Much like Bransford, I found it quite ironic that teachers have such a tough time trying to find the time and resources they need to expand their own knowledge and learn new things. Teacher learning is clearly important and builds upon everything we have been learning so far. During one of our classes, I recall a discussion about what teachers do all summer. Someone commented that summer time is spent attending workshops, training session, etc to get ready for the next year. Is this really the best approach for teachers to be learning? I see a couple holes in this scenario. The first is that you only have one chance to make an impact on a student. Does it really help to learn about something that would have helped a student from last year? The timing of it all really doesn't make much sense to me. The second hole is that there is typically no requirement to attend such things during the summers. Only those motivated by some factor, such as additional pay, attend such sessions. What about those teachers that don't take this opportunity to grow, and more importantly, what effect does this have on their students?

I wonder if changing the school year layout, by extending school to be year round, would impact this issue in a beneficial way. While this may seem counter intuitive, and result in teachers having less time to learn and grow, I think the exact opposite would happen. The additional time throughout the year would allow teachers to grow and expand their knowledge as well as their students. Currently, most teachers are forced to maintain a very structured course outline with little leeway to stray from the path. There are 180 days to get from point A to point B. There is little to no time in between for teachers to spend completing training and helping them to get from one step to the next. Teachers are also obligated make sure each student is excelling to the best of their ability. It seems as if there are a lot of expectations placed on teachers with few options to accomplish the tasks at hand.

Perhaps if the 180 day year was spaced more evenly through the year, the course outline could be a bit more dynamic. The shorter spaces of time available throughout the year could give the teachers the opportunity to take the issues they are identifying with current students, and attend training directed toward those issues. Once they are equipped with the tools they need, teachers could make adjustments to the course outline to facilitate learning in a more effective way. With more opportunity to attend these training sessions, I think it would also be beneficial to require teachers to attend or take part in a certain percentage of training sessions made available each year. By implementing these changes, it would hopefully have a positive effect on teaching and learning.