EDU 6600 final reflection

When I began this course I did not see the title, “Communication and Collaboration,” as reflecting the emphasis placed on professional development. I was surprised by how much of the course was about professional development, and not necessarily in a positive way. My previous experience with professional development has generally been negative, especially when such activities were organized by the school district. My initial reflection and most of my initial discussion group posts were about my dissatisfaction with my experiences in professional development.

“I have taught at two different schools and I have seen two different models, neither of which has been particularly effective, of delivering professional learning. I have experienced an overabundance of professional learning with no common theme, and I have experienced too little professional learning.”

As I progressed through the course and developed an understanding of adult learning, I began to see why my previous experiences had not worked: I had never been in charge of my own learning. Dalellew and Martinez (1988), as cited in Zepeda (2013) state that adult learning is more self-directed, but I did not direct any of my own professional development until recently. My districts have required trainings for a variety of reasons: to introduce new programs, to reinforce old programs, or to satisfy the union contract. I may have found some of the sessions interesting, but those were rarely followed up on with practical classroom applications; the needs of the classroom have always been so great that I rarely found time to follow up myself.

The examination of different learning models brought attention to my limited and poor experience with professional learning. Honestly, one area where I wish I would have done more with was my experience as an academic coach early in my career. I spent two years sitting in an office because I did not know any better. Had I known the benefit of coaching, and had I been coached on how to coach, I could have taken advantage of this valuable opportunity to learn. My problems were not unique; Johnson and Donaldson (2016) reported a study that found that second-stage teachers in these leadership roles had challenges that discouraged teacher leadership. What was missing in my experience was leadership at my school; I had two principals during my coaching tenure, one of whom was transferred midway through his first year, the other who was coasting toward retirement. I did not know how I fit into the school’s plan, and according to J. C. Maxwell (2008), “one way to add significance to the lives of the people you lead is to show them the big picture and let them know how they contribute to it” (p. 86-87).

Another aspect of my professional learning has been through professional learning communities, both in California and Washington state. Neither has been an ideal situation, but then I never viewed them as vehicles for professional learning. In California we were prescribed by administration to accomplish certain tasks (take minutes, discuss data, etc.) and in Washington the groups were more for planning curriculum than looking at data. Some of my PLCs were more collaborative than others, and those I found more beneficial to me as a teacher, regardless of the tasks we accomplished. What I strive for is the collaboration cited by Angelle (2016) when she writes that “to ensure success for these teacher leaders, the school culture must value their work, the school principal must support their work, and their teacher colleagues must be willing to work alongside them as they strive for a more effective school” (p. 107).

By looking at my own practice through the lens of professional development, I now see where collaboration and communication come in. My previous experiences lacked those components, and when I reflect on my more positive professional learning, collaboration and communication are the highlights. My best training sessions have been Advanced Placement summer institutes, and those have been highly collaborative. In the Seattle Pacific teacher leadership program, I have collaborated and communicated with my cohort and have found it highly rewarding.

As I move forward into larger roles of teacher leadership in my career, I will keep those two aspects of professional learning foremost in my mind. I must be willing to collaborate with my colleagues and keep open all lines of communication. I must keep the door open, literally and figuratively. That will do the most to bring up myself as a teacher and my colleagues as well.

References

Angelle, P. S. (2016). Teachers as leaders: Collaborative leadership for learning communities. In E. Blair (Ed.). Teacher leadership: The “new” foundations of teacher education (p. 101-108). New York: Peter Lang.

Johnson, S. M., & Donaldson, M. L. (2016). Overcoming the obstacles to leadership. In E. Blair (Ed.). Teacher leadership: The “new” foundations of teacher education (pp. 157-162). New York: Peter Lang.

Maxwell, J. C. (2008). Mentoring 101: What every leader needs to know. Nashville, TN; Thomas Nelson.

Zepeda, S. J. (2013). Professional development: What works. New York: Routledge.

Most teachers start their careers after a period of training that includes student teaching or an internship. As students they take classes, observe other educators, then gradually work themselves into their student teaching role, always under the guidance of a master teacher. Eventually, they move into the workplace with that little bit of experience.

Not me. I had a year of substitute teaching, with no training, and they threw me into an English classroom with an understanding that I would start my classes in a year. It’s a wonder that 14 years later I’m still in the profession. Somehow I learned the skills necessary to not only survive as a teacher, but to thrive as an educator and professional. As I read about adult theories of learning, I realized that most of my education did not come from the classroom. I learned how to be a teacher informally, within the context of my particular assignment that first year, which included three different preps, an intervention class among them. I had colleagues who listened and offered suggestions. I had a paraprofessional who guided me through that intervention class, giving me tips on how to handle different students and situations. I had a wife who was a new teacher in her own right, albeit one who had the standard training before she got her first job. I learned how to be a teacher through self-directed instruction, informally, and in the context of my work experience.

Hansman (2001) relates a similar experience in which she learned how to be a writing teacher “in the unplanned intersection of people, culture, tools, and context” (p. 44). Teachers in these situations often live day-to-day, and we learn what we need to get through that day’s situation. We do not plan these experiences; they happen when other teachers stop in our classrooms after school and ask how we’re doing. Through those conversations we get ideas that we can use to implement the next day’s lesson. As time goes by, we slowly add skills to our multilayered toolbox: classroom management, lesson planning, curriculum development. This context-based learning happens in other ways. I joined the National Council of Teachers of Education shortly after getting my job; Hansman (2001) notes that membership in such organizations “can also provide adults with the cultural context, tools, and social learning to progress in their fields or professions” (p. 49).

My formal teacher training eventually gave me the background necessary to succeed, but I constantly sought training in different areas of practice that I felt I needed to excel. This self-directed training involved mostly learning through books and texts that I sought, but the application of that learning gave me the biggest gain. At one point, I researched whatever I could about teaching The Crucible just so I could make my unit more engaging. I sought out colleagues, I consulted online forums, and I read reviews of plays. I was able to apply the knowledge to my unit immediately, and the results showed more students involved and discussing the themes presented in the play. This action matches what Merriam (2001) describes as characteristics of a self-directed learner.

My most important learning has happened informally. In the fifth year of my career, I was given an assignment as an English-language arts coach, and while the two-year assignment came with little direction or objectives, I learned greatly simply from observing and talking with other teachers. Through these discussions and conversations we reflected on our practice, and my style of coaching developed to one of asking questions, rather than providing answers (as a fifth-year teacher, I often wondered whether I had any answers). Marsick and Watkins (2001) refer to research being done on informal learning that studies “how teachers learn informally through reflection and action” (p. 26), and my work as a coach followed that model consistently.

Even today, much of my learning is informal. I sit at my desk and wonder how to better teach a particular skill, turning toward my bookshelf and pulling out resources until I find something that will work in my context. I teach, I reflect, and I change my practice as necessary. No classroom lecture taught me how to do this.