Does Learning Stop?

*some rights reserved. Copyright Mushon, via Flickr

Does one ever get to a point and say, “Okay, this is good, I don’t need to know anything else.”

I'm sure it’s easy to read this and assume that I’m just being funny, or even trite, but trust me, some of the behaviors I’ve been seeing lately are very difficult to even smile about, much less laugh at.

My frame for teaching, my context for everything I do has always been about doing what’s best for kids. There have been days when I’ve made better decisions than other days, but I still find that I’m motivated, in part, by reflection and determining how I can best do the job at hand with the tools and resources at my disposal. Meaning that when an opportunity comes along to help me grow as a professional, I participate and many times seek out those opportunities.

I understand that I am not like everyone, and that what matters to me may not matter to anybody else. But, I find it astonishingly hard to believe that some teachers absolutely resist the opportunity for professional development. For LEARNING. For doing the thing that they are teaching students to do.

Sure, we’ve all been to workshops that could have been taught better. We’ve sat in on district driven initiatives that may not have fit into our style. That’s not necessarily what I’m talking about. I’m talking about staying on top of your field. I’m talking about finding opportunities to grow in areas that interest you. I’m talking about stepping out of your classroom and joining the majority of teachers who DO value that which is beyond the four walls of a traditional learning space.

I’m surprised when a teacher’s first question about the possibility of an upcoming workshop is about whether or not it’s been “mandated.” I’m surprised at the animosity of teachers who are asked to participate in professional development, and refuse to let anything penetrate the veneer of professionalism that they think they exude. I’m surprised to hear a teaching professional, whose entire livelihood is based on learning, refuse to actually continue to learn themselves.

If you don’t practice what you preach, should you be preaching at all?

Don’t misunderstand, though, I’m talking about a small group here. Most teachers I encounter are excited about the possibilities of learning something new that will impact student achievement in their classrooms, or perhaps make their jobs easier. I’m talking about that small group of teachers who put forth the effort of showing up everyday, but pretty much stop there.

Learning does not stop. In fact, I believe that the easiest way to become an ineffective teacher is to stop learning, to stop participating in professional development, to believe that you can’t grow.

If that is your mindset, are you doing what’s best for kids, or what’s best for you?

This is the end of my rant. I just pray that when my child enters school that she has teachers that believe in the power of learning so much that they continue to learn themselves.

Dec. 30th Storytlr

Have you used Storytlr before? It aggregates the different places you post things on the web and pulls them together into a "story" of what you are doing online. While the messages don't included responses and remove the conversation equation from things, I still think it has merit for giving an overview of what you are thinking at a particular moment. I'm posting my stream from December 30th, during a conversation with other Professional Developers on Twitter about student roles and being an expert. It goes along with the post I just did in answer to Drew's comment on ClifMim's weblog. Almost all of the following is from a Twitter conversation.

December 30, 2008

22:14

@cristama Which is why I'll always have a job!

22:12

@AngelaStockman That was the ending line of the "SURFACE" TV series a couple of years ago...that I really enjoyed...

22:12

@eduguy101 This is something we just did at the office. Every organization needs to identify their "go to" people AND use them!

22:11

@AngelaStockman @cristama @datadiva @eduguy101 Not that I'd be out of a job, but collaborative teams within schools make big differences...

22:10

@eduguy101 @cristama @AngelaStockman @datadiva And how awesome that ZPD could be extended with "in house" PD-schools pooling own resources!

22:05

@AngelaStockman & I would bet that "air" of expert is inversely proportionate to said expert being part of the continent rather than island

22:04

@AngelaStockman Well, there's the shift! There are no experts...there is only more or less experience and the willingness to share.

21:58

@eduguy101 You know, there's another issue...the delineation of the teacher/student roles. They are more fluid now, or should be.

21:51

@eduguy101 Well-that's a whole nother issue--seeing things as constant improvement versus constant attack. Some will never learn difference.

21:49

Bookmarked the page Dangerously Irrelevant: Beware outside consultants? - Part 3, me (and others)

Tags: consultants

21:35

@AngelaStockman @cristama I love twitter. I seem to think better in 140 characters at a time. Focused response! Awesome!

21:33

@cristama But there is absolutely no being effective without reflection. That has to be understood as a foundational element.

21:30

@AngelaStockman It's something I question often,and I change what I do often in response. This is why I need an office day a week!

21:29

@AngelaStockman Just thinking out loud.

21:29

@AngelaStockman I wonder if there's an inherent trust or distrust of trainers because the rigor really isn't there, esp. in evaluation?

21:19

@AngelaStockman Show up, lecture, leave.

21:19

@AngelaStockman And the more drive by things are---the more darts there seem to be. That's a perfect metaphor.

21:18

@AngelaStockman With the economy the way it is...how do we go to complete differentiation, a la the coaching model?

21:17

@AngelaStockman That model is hard to sustain, and VERY difficult to follow up on and virtually impossible for teachers to follow through on

21:16

@AngelaStockman It still underscores the necessity for change in PD models. Liz just said that much of what we do is "drive by PD."

21:14

@Linda704 And I think "just in time" is a way better approach than "just in case."

21:11

@cristama Is there any sort of vertical alignment in place, K-12? Do you know what your colleagues are doing?

21:10

@AngelaStockman It's almost like a commercial venture--hooking folks in is the easy part...keeping them is the crutch.

21:09

@AngelaStockman Fidelity would only be as strong as the teacher was to begin with.That's why high interest matters a lot. Just like w/ kids.

21:08

@Linda704 I really like the asynchronous element combined with choice activities.The ongoing support would probably have to be human.(Kate?)

21:01

@angelastockman Could end up being more compensation than inspiration. Which could lead to constipation for staff developers. ;-).

20:58

@Cristama discussion/collaboration IS a critical piece

20:57

@Angelastockman My point was that a menu of options leads to vested interest which leads to implementation leading to impact on students.

20:43

@Linda704 If it's product based...that can be the assessment--teachers can take what they'd like from it and implement at will!

20:31

@mrsbrowndog Also: There's tons of PD that can be done w/o F2F instruction--your PLN can provide lots! You've got that to offer!

Engagement in Professional Development

This post is in response to a comment from Drew on Clif Mim's blog earlier this week. He writes:

"Great info. Thanks for sharing. In your PD what strategies have you found most effective at getting teachers to embrace this “fearless curiosity” and try to integrate technology without being an expert?"

First of all, thanks for the comment, Drew. I like the term "fearless curiosity" and wish it were the M.O. of most educators. The problem is that, as digital immigrants, there is much fear and not much curiosity. In workshops, I'm building bridges between the past and present, and asking teachers to navigate a new path.

What I don't want to do is show the entire landscape of opportunities, but show only a couple of destinations (as part of a menu of options) and let them decide what would be the most helpful. In addition, I like to leave a good chunk of time to practice in situ so that questions and issues can be addressed and frustrations averted before they leave the workshop. That's why I concentrate on finding one thing that they can use, and emphasize that expert level is not necessary.

I talk a lot about what kids can do and how nuances of technology can be fleshed out when the teacher embraces the idea of learning together rather than learning first and transferring knowledge that may have limitations or parameters that inhibit student engagement.

As an example of what I'm talking about, my Web 2.0 workshop materials are located at The Living Web Wiki. In the beginning of the workshop, I get an idea of what the teachers' backgrounds are, and what they may be most interested in learning. After I show them the wiki, and underscore that it is just a place to come and play, I start targeting specific applications related to individual teachers. I want them to leave with a working knowledge of something, not an overwhelming attitude of "never gonna happen." I want them to know that as they gain confidence with one tool, that they have a place to come back to when they want to discover something else. In that sense, the workshop is never ending, and the information is availabe 24/7.

So, in summary, to answer you question in just a sentence or two: Tech PD needs to be specific to the user, with much time to practice and with the understanding that expert level is not required to implement something new. There is much to be gained from trying things out with kids and being open to being a learner AND a teacher.

I hope this is along the lines of what you were looking for. Please feel free to leave comments or email to continue the discussion!