Tom McGreal made some interesting points in his discussion of Professional Development. The first thing he said that really grabbed my attention was that teachers around 45 years old resist change. Since I am around that age I started to feel a bit offended, but it is true. Most of us know teachers who have done the same thing for 20 years and have no intention of changing. Then McGreal added to that thought the words “unless it makes sense.” For me this put a whole new spin on the idea of “newer is better” vs. “the way I learned is the way it should be.” If proposed changes make sense, then resistance to those changes should be minimal.
The practice of teachers lecturing in front of a class no longer makes sense. Students don’t want to sit still and listen when they’re used to non-stop entertainment and instant gratification. Students practicing what they are learning makes much more sense. They can be doing things that they will remember much longer than a teacher’s speech. Teachers are no longer the only source on information in the classroom. Students have a wide variety on ways to get information and they are learning while they are searching for it.
Two of the new basic skills for teachers that McGreal mentioned fit right in with the idea of students learning while doing. The first skill teachers must develop is planning for engaged learning. It had never occurred to me how confining traditional lesson plans can be. In order for students to become engaged in their own learning we have to give them time to explore. This requires more long-range planning than the traditional day-to-day lesson plans. The other basic skill teachers need to develop that fits right in with engaged learning is using technology. Not only do students learn by gathering information, they learn even more during the processes they use to create something using that information. Technology is a perfect tool to use for all kinds of learning.
The other basic tools that McGreal talked about also make sense in today’s world. Learning how to deal with diversity is essential. Diversity in our society is a fact of life. Teachers have to learn to understand and make necessary accommodations for students who have different cultural backgrounds. Even teachers who are resistant to change can’t argue the necessity of developing that skill.
The final basic skill, working with parents, is another fact of life. Teachers are asked to do more and more all the time, but they can’t do it all. Nobody likes confrontation, but in order to meet the needs of students, teachers and parents have to develop a good working relationship. Working together makes everyone’s load lighter.
The new basic skills that McGreal pointed out made sense to me. I guess that is why I’m not as resistant to change as other teachers my age.
Much of what these speakers said reinforced the kind of school reforms we have been reading about. One comment that particularly spoke to me was that teachers should learn from others and offer to share their own skills and that being needed is a great incentive to do this. I agree with that wholeheartedly. I have found in my own experience that I have frequently volunteered my services to others simply because I knew I was needed and that was a very gratifying feeling to me. I'm sure that most people respond to being needed in the same way.