Monday, December 13, 2010

From Within


I have been engaged recently in numerous conversations regarding teacher effectiveness, motivation, peer mentoring, and pride in student achievement.  As many professional educators I can come up with a variety of strategies to employ with the ultimate goal of improving and building upon these areas.  This is not the point of my post however. 

Shortly after one lengthy discussion on the above topics took place I was fortunate enough to have a conversation with one of my teachers where he presented the single most important influential factor necessary for change in those listed areas.  Our brief conversation in the hallway centered on how proud I was to witness his growth this year as an educator.  This teacher is one of New Milford High School’s best and has been for many years.  He expects a great deal from all of his students and they deliver (I wish I had him as a teacher in high school).
 This year saw him gradually move away from his comfort zone and begin to embrace the vision that has been set forth and modeled by my Administrative team.  He is still a fantastic teacher, but he has begun to integrate technology in subtle ways using Google Sites to spark student discussion, reflection, and inquiry outside of the classroom.   I was so impressed by his growth that I asked him to present to the staff why he decided to embark on this journey as I figured it would leave a more lasting impact coming from a direct peer.  He humbly replied that it doesn’t matter what he or anyone else for that matter says and that each individual must genuinely want to change from within.  A point that we all must remember and do our best to foster in our schools. 

So my question to all of you is how do we promote a change from within approach in order to improve teaching and learning?

10 comments:

  1. This is a great example Eric. I think that we need to keep putting the examples of tech integration out there. Demonstrate its worth by showing student work and progress. Create a buzz about all the successful adaptations that we see yet not minimize the efforts of those teachers that are just starting or are yet to take steps towards our goals. It is a delicate balance between pushing and pulling that is making a difference in creating that engaging learning environment we are looking for. Great post!

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  2. I also think it helps to get the students excited and have them become part of the buzz. Even if another teacher will not persuade, sometimes words from students and examples will.

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  3. I think by doing exactly what you did Eric. Only so much can come from administrators, even when they are leading by example. Teachers need to model the change and we need to give them opportunities to influence other teachers. Great example of moving things forward and giving your staff leadership as learners.

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  4. Excellent post! I think that we really need to try to spark people's interests and create a sense of urgency amongst our staff. No amount of training or inservice can replace that intrinsic motivation that comes when some one feels the want and the need to learn something.

    Personally, I have received zero training on Web 2.0 tools. What it took was a compelling speaker who lit a fire inside of me to devote time to learning different applications. What I found was that the time it took to learn different applications and tools experientially was significantly less than inservicing and much more rewarding.

    Lighting the fire is a key to motivating, regardless of the tool, prgoram, application or initiative.

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  5. Getting teachers motivated to change or do something better is tough. Most of the time when it comes from an administrator a teacher automatically rights it off as something they were "told" to do. Instead it must come from within the ranks of the teachers. Sometimes it is good for an administrator to spark individual teachers or small groups. Those poeple then serve as models in the building and can pave the way. Every person gets "fired up" over different things so throwing a huge net out there will have the best chance of success.

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  6. I agree with the posts above. Modeling is incredibly powerful but the challenge remains to get the teachers who need to see it in the classrooms where it is taking place. Teachers are reluctant to go visit so we must provide them with the opportunities and time to do so.

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  7. Feeling the excitement of the fire within is also dependent on the feeling that you have room to add something new. If your job feels inherently overwhelming (lack of support for behaviour issues, technology that must be used doesn't work when needed, timetable or curricular changes that require adaptation time)it's tough to feel enthusiastic about building something new into instructional practice (risk-taking). If I feel supported and recognized for the good things I already do, then I have less fear and more energy to try new things.

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  8. Motivating teachers to find that "change from within" factor is a challenge for both highly motivated teachers and administrators. This isn't something you learn from a book or one-hour workshops. Only time and experience can tell. Modeling innovative student-centered instructional strategies, immersing students in engaging learning experiences, putting the technology into the hands of the students, and capturing these teachable moments as exemplars is a start. This mentality of ".....because my administrator/principal told me to do so..." that many teachers have needs to be thrown out the window. It is no longer 1980 or 1990. We are approaching 2011 and out-dated teacher-centered instructional strategies just don't work, mostly, with today's learners and there is a body of literature that indicates this.

    Data/curriculum-driven professional development, motivational keynotes, progressive administrators and teachers, etc. are important and need to be in place. However, at the end of the day the teacher has to be willing to take risks as an agent of change.

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  9. I think that acknowledging any movement toward change is also important. While we may consider making a teacher website a basic characteristic of teaching today, if a teacher who doesn't know how to text makes one, that person is really stretching beyond their comfort zone. I think technology is scary until it isn't and that shift is really fast once the person learns a little bit. I forgot to teach my cousin how to point his skies together to slow down the first time I took him skiing. He raced down the slope on his first, and last, attempt at skiing. Those early forays into what we might see as outdated technology might be just want that person needs to try more.

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  10. I think when teachers feel valued, just like students, then and only then are they willing to be risk-takers and change from within. Change can be hard and intimidating at times and many adults don't have a risk-taking-jump-on-in personalities even with others modeling and admin nudging. Treat teachers how we try to treat students, value them, encourage them , and provide opportunities for them so that they have the environment that is safe to change. Idk, just a thought early on a Saturday.

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