Friday, November 14, 2008
Embrace Change-Technology is only getting better
I thought about yesterdays class in the computer lab and realized that the technological possibilities in education are endless. I think that it is all up to the educator to try and learn the technology and embrace change. I really feel as a teacher that if you don't, you will be less dynamic in the classroom. I'm not saying that there is no use for traditional methods. I do feel that there are times that you have to lecture and be the "center" of the classroom. However, I believe that your classroom can be much more creative if you make it interactive. In my opinion from what I saw yesterday, web 2.0 has brought this interaction to the forefront and what you can do in education is really in the creative hands of the teacher. As we talked about in class, there are possibilities of online discussions, online tutoring, and even class online. I am wondering if teachers are starting to use these after school hours online resources and what some of the feedback is or would be. I would imagine that most gifted students would embrace this methodology, but most other students would reject the notion of conducting class after hours. However, if the teacher was creative in the way they handled these type of assignments, I think it could work. For example, a teacher might call online discussions for homework or project based assignments or presentations. In these instances, I believe that the students would enjoy the methodology instead of doing traditional "ditto sheets" or "page 24 odd numbers only in your textbooks". It is all very exciting to think about and as for me, I'm ready to embrace change!
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Results now
Setting: Faculty Meeting
Role: Principal
As your building principal, I want to welcome you back for the start of a new school year. With each new year, we can look to set new goals for ourselves and for our school. It is a time where both students and teachers can start fresh and look to make a difference. I have thought long and hard this summer about ways of improving our school. This cannot be done alone. I need you all, the teachers, the most important piece in this process to take ownership and try to embrace change. There are certain practices that have gone on in the past that quite frankly have not been effective from both an administrative and teacher standpoint. I am going to read you quotes that I believe have happened in this district and I am going to address the changes that should be made.
1. p.24 "...isolation marks the starkly different results achieved by different teachers. Without any point of comparison, the isolated teacher never has to confront the fact that (1) the teacher next door has three times as effective as I am, or (2) much of my teaching is inferior.
We need to share ideas as teachers to promote what we are doing in our classrooms rather than keeping our methodology private. We can help each other better than any workshop or outside source can in my opinion. Within each department, there needs to be harmony and collaboration rather than privacy and isolation. We can embrace feedback and constructive criticism which will in essence improve every department in our school.
2. p.24 "...isolation ensures that highly unprofessional practices are tolerated and thus proliferate in the name of...professionalism..." what works " morphs easily into what feels good, or keeps kids occupied or, "what I've always done and gotten good evaluations for."
This deals with both our teachers and supervisors. We need to supervise with a purpose and give the necessary feedback in order to improve our teacher's methods. If we as supervisors say nothing and keep teachers in isolation than we are doing a disservice to both the teacher, the student, and the school district. We are in the business of teaching students to think critically instead of trying to teach with the sole purpose of keeping them occupied.
3. p.24 "We have created a system in which generations of talented, hard-working teachers have engaged in inferior practices without receiving feedback that would alert them to this fact."
Once again it comes down to feedback and proper supervision. If I am a teacher that has been giving ditto sheets for my students to work on and stay occupied and have never been talked to about this during supervision, then the teacher is going to continue this ineffective classroom practice. We have isolated ourselves as both teachers and administrators for too long. We need to communicate and know what practices should and should not be used in our school district. There must be leadership and guidance for our teachers. Teachers need to embrace change and take ownership of the process. They should want to share, communicate, and be dynamic for their students.
Role: Principal
As your building principal, I want to welcome you back for the start of a new school year. With each new year, we can look to set new goals for ourselves and for our school. It is a time where both students and teachers can start fresh and look to make a difference. I have thought long and hard this summer about ways of improving our school. This cannot be done alone. I need you all, the teachers, the most important piece in this process to take ownership and try to embrace change. There are certain practices that have gone on in the past that quite frankly have not been effective from both an administrative and teacher standpoint. I am going to read you quotes that I believe have happened in this district and I am going to address the changes that should be made.
1. p.24 "...isolation marks the starkly different results achieved by different teachers. Without any point of comparison, the isolated teacher never has to confront the fact that (1) the teacher next door has three times as effective as I am, or (2) much of my teaching is inferior.
We need to share ideas as teachers to promote what we are doing in our classrooms rather than keeping our methodology private. We can help each other better than any workshop or outside source can in my opinion. Within each department, there needs to be harmony and collaboration rather than privacy and isolation. We can embrace feedback and constructive criticism which will in essence improve every department in our school.
2. p.24 "...isolation ensures that highly unprofessional practices are tolerated and thus proliferate in the name of...professionalism..." what works " morphs easily into what feels good, or keeps kids occupied or, "what I've always done and gotten good evaluations for."
This deals with both our teachers and supervisors. We need to supervise with a purpose and give the necessary feedback in order to improve our teacher's methods. If we as supervisors say nothing and keep teachers in isolation than we are doing a disservice to both the teacher, the student, and the school district. We are in the business of teaching students to think critically instead of trying to teach with the sole purpose of keeping them occupied.
3. p.24 "We have created a system in which generations of talented, hard-working teachers have engaged in inferior practices without receiving feedback that would alert them to this fact."
Once again it comes down to feedback and proper supervision. If I am a teacher that has been giving ditto sheets for my students to work on and stay occupied and have never been talked to about this during supervision, then the teacher is going to continue this ineffective classroom practice. We have isolated ourselves as both teachers and administrators for too long. We need to communicate and know what practices should and should not be used in our school district. There must be leadership and guidance for our teachers. Teachers need to embrace change and take ownership of the process. They should want to share, communicate, and be dynamic for their students.
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