BLOG POST PROMPT:
Which elements of a culture for learning are present at your school, and which elements are areas of growth? Where do you see the potential to lead the shift to a culture of learning? I think that all the teachers at our school truly believe in the school and really want the best for our students. However, I think that there are many areas that require growth. So the potential to lead the shift to a culture of learning is HUGE. But time is precious and we all have very little time to be wasted. I believe that the greatest area where I can lead the shift to a culture of learning is first and foremost by transforming our faculty meetings from a culture of frontloading information (and sometimes even complaining) to a culture of learning based upon the needs, strengths and weaknesses, and most importantly, the interests of the teachers. Currently our faculty meetings are at best, where information is distributed from principal to the staff. On occasion, we work as a team on a WASC document or an in-depth study that the school is required to prepare. Wouldn’t it be better if the document was broken into parts and teams of teachers were assigned to work on each part, in Google docs, then reviewed later by the entire staff for continuity? If faculty meetings were turned into professional development, we could began to distribute the regular basic housekeeping information in an email or even a hard copy before the staff meetings. Then we could buy-back ½ hour to 1 hour of time each week. Over the course of a school year, that could be up to 40 hours that could be used for professional development. So by flipping our staff meetings, we could begin to schedule productive, teacher-led professional development back into our already scheduled weekly meetings. Therefore, no additional time is required for meetings, and we can begin to move our faculty forward into a culture of learning that will benefit all stakeholders. A well-planned faculty meeting based on the needs and suggestions of teachers could be the answer to shifting the culture of learning at our school. And the benefits are many. Teachers could lead these meetings by demonstrating and modeling strategies they are already using. Other teachers can begin to try out the tools. Teachers who are skilled in social media can volunteer to lead in-services in whatever they are doing in their classroom. Other teachers can demonstrate and suggest ways to use a favorite app. If teachers choose the topic of the meetings, chances are greater that they will buy into it. When you have a faculty that is engaged, the culture shift can be a reality.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Author
|