Staff Development Incentives Question
BBr...@aol.com
who maynot be so motivated due to the time, the work and the free time needed
to create the change. I had time as a single person to reflect on this as
parents got older and I had to assume some family duties and responsibilities.
<A HREF="http://www.review.com/steven/techrefusal/techrefusef.html">Hodas:
Technology Refusal and the Organizational Culture of Schools</A>
Then there is the whole culture of refusal which may make a person who is
traveling too far, and too well , a target in the school system.
Margaret Honey on the Role of Technology in Support of Teacher Collegiality
It is widely recognized that one of the most persistent challenges we confront
in K-12 education is the absence of a culture of collegiality. Opportunities
to discuss and share ideas with professionals working in the same or similar
settings happens rarely if at all in most schools. There are many reasons that
mitigate against establishing collegial practices in schools, including time
and scheduling constraints, union-based restrictions on the number of
uncompensated meetings teachers can hold or attend, and a culture that has
used observation as a punitive strategy rather than as a means of learning
from others. And, yet, there is ample evidence that suggests that the best
schools are the ones in which teachers talk regularly with each other about
the work they are doing with their students, have opportunities to observe
each other in classroom settings, work collaboratively on building and
evaluating curriculum, and exchange information about teaching strategies and
practices. Most professionals take these kinds of collegial interactions for
granted, and yet in schools they are the exception rather than the rule.
As telecommunications technologies become more accessible, they can be used in
much more deliberate ways to facilitate teacher-to-teacher collaboration. When
well designed, online professional development experiences can overcome many
of the obstacles that have stood in the way of teachers establishing collegial
practices with each other. Online courses and forums offer a number of
advantages to educators, that without the aid of the technology would be
difficult to realize, including:
Access from the teacher's choice of location (ie: home or school) eliminating
scheduling conflicts.
Access to the discussion despite geographic distance or isolation.
Access to peers who share an interest in examining teaching practice and
content.
Access to experts in a specific field.
On-going support through discussion while teachers implement new teaching
strategies in their classrooms.
A safe "space" not always allowed within school cultures, where teachers can
express concerns and discuss content and pedagogical issues with a community
of peers.
The Internet allows teachers to engage in extended discussions that focus on
day-to-day classroom experiences as they work towards changing or enhancing
aspects of their teaching. The opportunity to communicate asynchronously
allows teachers the time to consider comments and discussion topics presented
by peers and content experts and encourages reflective and thoughtful
responses that can be posted at a time and place convenient for the
individual. For some educators the web environment also offers an important
element of anonymity which frees the teacher to discuss issues that he or she
may not be able to talk about with school colleagues such as concerns about an
approach to a specific content area, or lack of confidence in teaching a
subject area. For these teachers the online communication offers a unique
community of peers who can listen and offer support and guidance without the
inherent criticism many teachers feel when sharing these kinds of concerns
with their school-building peers.
<A HREF="http://millennium.aed.org/honey.shtml">Margaret Honey on the Role of
Technology in Supporting Teacher Collegiality</A>
Join the AED discussion topic for more depth.
<A HREF="http://millennium.aed.org/">Welcome to the Millennium Project</A>
There are also archives from the discussion with Dr.Chris Dede.
<A HREF="http://millennium.aed.org/">Welcome to the Millennium Project</A>