Tuesday, February 10, 2015
A Collaborative Learning Culture for Professional Development
We've got lots of good stuff happening at CA. I am interested in exploring ways for teachers to learn from each other in a collaborative learning culture.
Take a look at these videos from Teachingchannel.org for some examples:
The Learning Walk
Learning Among Teachers
And from ASCD, a video about developing a culture of responsible risk taking for students and teachers:
Make it a Habit of Mind
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I think we have been somewhat successful with teachers sharing and collaborating in the area of technology. However, our sharing is typically much more formal than what is portrayed in these videos. Our tech sessions are part of a professional development day - ideas, successes, and specific technologies are presented. Students are nowhere in sight, so it is a bit artificial. In The Learning Walk video they referred to an "open culture" but I am not sure we are there yet. It is certainly a goal, but right now I think teachers are a bit intimidated when their peers visit their classroom.I love the idea of "building expertise from within out school" and I hope we can get to the point where we accept and embrace the view that "teaching is a public act." Free-up Fridays would certainly help with this. I know that I am supposed to visit two classrooms for my current professional development cycle, but I am having trouble scheduling my visits. It is hard to get away from my own classroom for these observations. Also - I really want to see what is happening in my colleagues' classrooms and I know there is much to learn, but I know that some peers have expressed trepidation at the thought of a colleague observing.
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