Process of Learning

Kelly Girtz

November 22, 2005

EDUL 6017 Reflection Paper

Process of Learning

There has not been a linear path in my process of learning about professional development in this course. A few paragraphs of literature might be followed by a ten minute daydream about hopes for my school and my students. Some of the concepts presented in the primary text are repetitious from other leadership coursework, but other elements have had new and powerful meaning for me. Developing regular dialogue among staff members is an example of the latter. Every day I yearn for opportunity to discuss the dynamics of the classroom with colleagues, but so rarely is there opportunity for this. Reading Roberts’ and Pruitt’s advocacy for this reinforced my own desire to make it happen with greater regularity.

The text offered easy to digest concepts throughout, and the web-based resources were appropriately supportive to the topics. In particular, some of the articles on the National Staff Development Council website were informative, and the knowledge of this resource is welcome. In many cases, the web resources are not immediately applicable to my current teaching practice, but the syllabus as a whole provides a good collection of reference materials.

The informal assignments that served as part of the course might have been the most valuable activities. This is so true that I would recommend expanding them to become formal written assignments. Particularly helpful was the assignment accompanying chapter two to interview parents and teachers about how the leadership functions should be carried out. In discussing this with fellow teachers, it is clear that people want to have regular, ongoing input into several significant aspects of school administration: curriculum, staff development, program direction and more. However, so often teachers are given such a wealth of tasks that it is near impossible to accomplish all they would like. Sadly, this seems intentional on the part of some leaders who would prefer their decisions be made in solitary fashion. Unfortunately, this weakens opportunity for everyone: staff, administration, and most importantly, students.

Critique of My School’s Professional Development Program

Above all, my school attempts to follow only the pattern developed by others, not forge a path of its own. In addition to responsibility for responding to school district mandates, it is also part of a network of schools that receive funding through an Atlanta-based nonprofit organization. Whenever either of these entities require the presence of school employees, they are present. When there are new standards to be conveyed or regularly scheduled meetings, the staff is present, and generally ready to contribute. However, the school has unique needs that are not being addressed either by the district or by the funding source. This is where someone needs to step in, identify needs, search for opportunities and build new skills in staff members.

Even in the area of curriculum, the efforts that the district makes do not meet the needs of colleagues who are teaching a curriculum new to them in their current positions. Here, there are enormous training opportunities that would be of great benefit to the students. However, teachers are so ensconced in daily survival (grading, planning lessons, advisory responsibities) that they may not be able to identify for themselves that they need support. At the same time, the principal is not doing the outreach necessary to discover that teaching staff have particular needs in the area of curriculum.

A helpful approach would be first asking teachers to gather some data and reflect on students’ difficulties. Then, there could be discussion of how students’ learning could be improved. In the area of mathematics, students often struggle with some basic concepts such as percent and fractions. Knowing this, it is possible to find out what approaches have been successful in teaching this material in a robust, durable way, so that students do not leave us with the same deficits they had when they entered. It needs to be a collective responsibility to identify broad areas such as this that staff are struggling with, then bring in the resources necessary for improvement. This might mean new materials, but in many cases, it would be helpful for teachers to have an opportunity to see successful teachers model what they have done, or collaborate on implementing changes in the classes that are struggling.

A necessary shift in the staff development in my school is the need to focus on instructional outcomes. Staff development often focuses aspects of the school that could provide improvements in students’ learning, but does not go the entire distance toward developing these changes. For example, at one training session last summer for social studies teachers, there was much discussion of finding resources online. However, many present seemed only interested in either finding a way to fill class or in having something that would “cover” the material. What these pursuits leave out is a discussion of students’ learning needs in the classroom and how to meet students where they are, not simply provide ourselves with an opportunity to check one more standard off our list.

Far beyond the standards and textbooks, students that I work with have acute and particular difficulties outside the school that hamper their own best efforts to make the grade. Better transportation and birth control are huge needs among my students that teachers are aware of, but areas where there is the feeling that things are so bad that there are no reasonable solutions. It would be easy to collectively identify and prioritize these issues that create the need for support among students. Then, we could contact professionals who could help us develop strategies to handle our students’ pregnancy prevention needs, their violent social lives, and their lack of preparedness for employment.

Critical Insights

A key insight that has grown in me over recent years is that even if there are not resources and support that are provided by others to address needs, it is up to me to develop plans and advocate for them. There are often times when I would like to wait for the great train of truth and justice to welcome me aboard, for some great leader to propose the programs that will bring fulfillment to our students. With as clearly as some needs shine in the bright light of day, it would seem only logical that anything I can perceive in my little classroom will be identified by those smarter, more capable, or closer to the sources of power than I. However, I have come to the understanding that there is no educational savior waiting around the bend. If I would like to see something addressed, it is up to me to make sure it happens. This has always been true in my classroom. If materials do not exist on a topic important for my classes, I am more than happy to put something together that does the trick. This same initiative has to accompany me as I head into positions of leadership, whether formal or assumed. If there is need for an improvement in the technology my school uses for instruction, I must pursue it. If there is need for a pregnancy prevention program for teens in the county, I must help develop it. If there is a change necessary in state requirements to benefit students, I must advocate for it.

Another insight that I have stumbled upon is that the way we interact and perform as professionals will be reflected in our work with students. When we treat each other as colleagues, each able to contribute to learning, when we ask each other for input into our own decision making, when we seek collaboration on projects, we will move toward more powerful teaching within our own classrooms. Just as fellow professionals need input and interaction, so do our students. Students who have the opportunity to direct elements of their own learning buy into the process and will get more from their experience. As we think about their needs in a democratic society, we must encourage students to be advocates for their own success. Unfortunately, students rarely are given any real decision making experience in their classes. They grow into adulthood thinking of themselves as passive players, when it is activism in their own lives that will allow them to pursue their dreams and seek opportunities.

Questions for Future Exploration

Effective communication among staff members is a topic that Roberts and Pruitt explore as a foundation for learning communities. Certainly, before any initiative can be proposed, honed and implemented, there must be clear understanding from all staff members. In my current job, we are not at the lowest end of the communication spectrum, but there are vast strides that we need to make to work together more effectively.

There are some tactics that we have already taken as a staff. At a point when there was a major rift between the teachers and the principal regarding details of our contracts, we had an administrator from another department facilitate a series of meetings designed to give us some common direction again. As well as that process worked, we did not develop any more permanent structures to communicate with one another.

A major issue that arises when seeking to develop a forum for more active communication is time management. There is only six hours a week of planning time, and while this is shared by all staff members, the demands of teachers’ classrooms take much of this time. The kind of active listening advised by Roberts and Pruitt requires that staff members spend time proposing ideas, sharing concerns, and actively listening to one another. If we are to truly involve all staff members as more than just passive listeners, it is essential that we have more than two hours a week to meet.

Currently, there are some tasks that the teachers I work with assume for the school district that are not directly related to the needs of our students. One such task is serving as an evening school for other high school students in the county. Staff members rotate responsibility for supervising the evening shift (students work from “independent study” packets and computer modules). In the coming months, I am going to encourage the staff I work with to seek to eliminate this responsibility. This would provide two more hours each week when we could pursue shared efforts.

This is only part of the struggle to enhance communication, however. The other element is the need to develop “forward leaning” communication. By this, I mean the communication that provides direction to the school, rather than simply asking us to discuss minutia. A major element of this is the creation of a meeting agenda. At best, the principal of my school comes to staff meetings with a mental list of topics to discuss, occasionally those suggested by the staff. Often, though, there is not agenda developed ahead of time. This leaves essential topics unadvertised prior to meetings, so staff members do not have sufficient time to think about the issues we will be discussing. Furthermore, without an agenda, it is easy to lose focus on the task at hand, and it is difficult to have a sense of momentum. I will ask this week that when we have weekly staff meetings, there is a formal agenda. It needs to be developed in advance with input from the staff if it is to get us further down the road of success.

A related area of need in my current school is the creation of a formal decision making structure. There is never any clear sense of how decisions are going to be made. We have used consensus, voting and the good old dictatorship process at various points. These can all be techniques that are debated and defended, but it must be obvious to all how any decision will be made. Unfortunately, the method of decision making is chosen based on the whims of the moment. As there is limited time to work together (as discussed earlier), it would benefit everyone if staff members knew how a decision would be made going in to a discussion.

Certainly, there are administrators who have no notion of democracy and would be willing to have regular staff turnover and generate constant opposition rather than seek the input of others. My current principal is not so intractable, he is just not very focused. Among other colleagues, there is a range of interest in decision making. Building a process will doubtless be a bumpy road, but will be a process that I will encourage among my colleagues. It may result in a series of processes, varying based on the kind of decision that is to be made. However, that would be much better than the current “whichever way the wind blows” method.

The final area for future exploration is developing mechanisms to increase parental involvement. In my current teaching practice, my involvement with parents is much less frequent than I would prefer. Parents are invited to informational meetings every couple months, and those who are able attend; report cards are sent home with pre-formatted comments attached to students’ grades; when students are absent, I routinely call homes, which sometimes allows me to speak with parents. However, my colleagues and I have not developed any comprehensive way to discuss students’ progress and needs with parents, or to enlist their support in pursuing these needs.

The approach I am going to take to this problem is to raise the issue with fellow teachers and determine what approaches are being taken already. This will likely produce some great ideas that could be more widely employed. In discussion, I hope we can develop some comprehensive way to communicate with parents. Even if this does not materialize, we will at least share things that have produced results in supporting learning in our classes. I have always found that parents are supportive of their children’s education, it is just that they are rarely given a formal role or opportunity to collaborate. The bum rap they get arises not out of any malice on their part, but results from their lack of knowledge, which must be initiated by schools. When this is done, everyone will benefit: parents will have a better sense of their children’s direction, teachers will have another active ally, and students will have a greater network assisting them, weaving a web of support.