| Your feedback is important to us. Click here to email us your feedback. |
| ASCD Special Report |
| February 26, 2009 |
ASCD Special Report: How Teachers Learn (Part II)
Successful teachers never stop learning. Effective training strategies -- such as professional learning communities -- can encourage teachers to improve their techniques, inspire educators and ultimately help students.
This two-part ASCD SmartBrief Special Report, "How Teachers Learn," aims to help busy educators find ways to keep learning on their own and together with their colleagues through professional learning communities and other strategies.
Below you will find Part II of this special report, which delves into successful practices schools use to help teachers learn, explores how school leaders can encourage teacher learning and examines how technology can also help teachers learn. Part I, published Tuesday, surveyed different perspectives on professional development, delved into best practices on teacher training and summarized research on teacher learning.
If you don't receive ASCD SmartBrief on a daily basis and find our report on teacher learning useful, we urge you to sign up for our timely e-newsletter. ASCD SmartBrief delivers the stories making news in your profession directly to your inbox -- for FREE.
How learning communities can change schools
To move beyond mere talk, effective learning communities need to block time out to work collaboratively toward specific tasks with the help of facilitators, write Debra Smith, Lesley University's director of program evaluation and research, and independent education researchers Bruce Wilson and Dick Corbett. Administrative support in the form of appreciation and collaborative planning are more important than mere cheerleading, they found. Educational Leadership (2/2009)
Iowa schools struggle to find time for training
Weekly professional development in some Iowa school districts is meant to improve teaching, but some parents fear the regular early releases or late starts rob children of valuable learning time. "What happens most often is, you steal that time, and you steal it from students. That wouldn't be schools' first choice. The reality is, that's the affordable choice," said David Wilkerson, superintendent of a district where efforts to add more professional development have stalled. The Des Moines Register (Iowa) (2/1)
|
Advertisement |
Book clubs may inspire teachers
Discussing educational books may remind teachers why they entered the profession and help spur real changes in classrooms, writes Thomas R. Hoerr, the head of St. Louis' New City School, where educators have been meeting to discuss books for more than 20 years. Good book groups must be teacher-led and voluntary, he writes. Educational Leadership (2/2009)
Entire elementary school seeks national certification
Every teacher at a California elementary school is working toward National Board Certification, and five out of 43 have earned the distinction. Student performance already has improved at Julius Corsini Elementary School, where test scores in 2008 met federal standards for the first time in five-plus years. "I think everyone who went through the process is a better teacher, whether they passed or not," said Edna Byers, who is now National Board Certified. The Desert Sun (Palm Springs, Calif.) (2/13)
Unusual teacher training includes top students
Professional development for some 200 science teachers in one San Diego-area program trains students alongside their teachers in the hopes that they will become "peer tutors." Junior Katie Talmadge, 17, helped her biology teacher, Jessica L. McSwain, set up equipment and aided classmates who were having trouble. Education Week (premium article access compliments of EdWeek.org) (1/21)
|
Advertisement |
How principals can support professional learning communities
Principals can effectively support professional learning communities by showing confidence in teachers' expertise and their ability to work collaboratively, write author Shirley M. Hord, a scholar laureate with the National Staff Development Council, and author Stephanie A. Hirsh, executive director of the National Staff Development Council. Trusting learning communities to govern themselves but supporting them with relevant data and research as well as lessons in data analysis, dialogue and decision making, they write. Educational Leadership (2/2009)
Top teachers can model effective techniques
Teachers can be powerful models for their colleagues, writes Douglas B. Reeves, founder of the Leadership and Learning Center. Effective teachers can provide examples of how theoretical methods can be applied in the classroom, help shape model lesson plans and bank effective teaching strategies, he writes. Educational Leadership (2/2009)
Rhee aims to reform D.C. professional development
Washington, D.C., schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee wants to overhaul teachers' professional development, according to her five-year plan. Rhee has already dropped district support for teachers seeking national certification and plans to replace workshop-based continuing education with mentorship and coaching. The Washington Post (1/5)
|
Advertisement |
Technology opens doors for collaborative learning
Blogs and wikis can help teachers work collaboratively even with those outside of their own school or district, writes sixth-grade teacher Bill Ferriter, who writes a blog and is a senior fellow in the Teacher Leaders Network. He offers tips to help educators get started and make the most of this professional-learning opportunity. Educational Leadership (2/2009)
ASCD resources
Online resources
Email: ascd@smartbrief.com
Mailing Address: SmartBrief, Inc.®, 555 11th ST NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20004
Legal and Privacy information at
http://www.smartbrief.com/legal.jsp
Unsubscribe
