The previous blog entry to this follow on (which was later a podcast) created some interesting feedback. Obviously, I don’t have a huge number of readers but the couple of emails and comments that came my way were encouraging enough to make me think about taking some time out to continue on this thought. I also just noted that according to my stats on my server there have been 47 hits on that file since July 4th. It may just become the beginnings of some study I have been putting off for too long (hope you aren’t reading this Dr Rob) (Side note Dr Rob is the dean of education at the university I am studying my masters through – He is keen to see me get moving with this).
In my previous post I was a bit all over the place with my points but I basically tried to express these 6 ideas when it comes to encouraging our teachers everywhere to understand the need to change in the way we teach. I guess it goes along with Dave Warlick’s concepts of “Telling the new story.” Would I be right on that one Dave?
The six points I made in the previous post when trying to “tell the new story” or encourage teachers to change were….
1) We need to have a solid understanding of the world we live in and the rate of technological change. We must consider how that effects the perceptions of an experienced professional educator who finds the technical world a foreign labyrinth of confusion.
2) Educators that see technology as a distraction are looking for the easy way out (What I call the delete key mentality).
3) A good teacher can’t help but use good tools – We need to convince them of the educational benefit of such tools.
4) Once a good teacher can clearly see benefits of these tools they will want to be trained in the basics.
5) Forcing change on practitioners that don’t see the benefit creates a culture of reluctance and resentment.
6) We need to take effective learning programs and demonstrate and prove the added educational benefit to the program when it is enhanced with new teaching tools.
My next points which I think may embrace some of these all together and provoke some further thought is along the lines of teaching culture. I remember in my undergraduate degree taking a sociology in education course where we spent some time discussing if teaching should be regarded as a profession or not. That caused interesting discussion in class and actually got many folk quite upset that they would be regarded as second class citizens by those who don’t see teaching as a true profession. Well I guess it is hard to defend ourselves if we don’t keep up with enhancements and change in our profession. I believe teaching is the most valuable profession in society and teachers deserve the respect owed to one who has studied and worked to develop their profession. However, if education doesn’t have a culture of staying up with the change within the field then we are not deserving of being regarded as true professionals. (Simply my opinion here – feel free to disagree).
Doctors are expected to stay up with enhancements in their field – why shouldn’t teachers. Let me explain a bit further….. For a doctor there will always be enhancements in the way in which they treat a disease or perform a procedure, and if they do not keep up with those enhancements they will not be regarded as a professional doctor and probably not be allowed to practice. If I continue with my analogy here I guess you can see where I am going. No our students are not diseases (well in the analogy they are). Our field as educators is communicating with the generation of students in front of us. It is our job to discover what we should be doing in order to best educate and communicate with generation x/y. If it is proven that technologies used well in the right context is making an impact in the way this generation wants to learn then I believe it is our job as educators to stay up to date and skilled in these areas. Probably not a popular argument with some educators, but I believe we need to generate a culture amongst the education community that values professional development and enhancement of effective teaching techniques. For me the question is not where the use of technologies in your school learning programs is…. It should be more along the lines of….. 1) What tools and methods do you use to connect with this generation of students? And 2) Can you demonstrate how you are using these tools and methods effectively.
That point may sound a bit tough but unfortunately I think we need to stop looking for excuses why education is failing our students. There is a lot that we can do as educators who are professionals to begin the change. The culture amongst educators in general needs to change and we need to dismiss the attitude of teaching being a nice easy career that you can stay in for 40 years with out ever updating skills. Most teachers I have met that have this attitude certainly don’t live a stress free life….. They just have lost all passion and desire for teaching and I often feel sorrier for their students than for them – even though they must have a miserable life.
Ok so I should probably get off this point before I say something that offends or isn’t politically correct!!
Culture within schools must be looked at also. A school culture is often thought as something that is set by the school leadership or administration. While that is an important factor in school culture, it is not the entire picture. Quite often I see those who are constantly engaged in the blogasphere conversations that I am engaged in as “the new story” evangelists. Schools need educators around that are prepared to not just be the story tellers but the actual real life demonstrators of the story (maybe actors is the analogy there?!?! – Never was good with analogies). A school culture doesn’t change by a leader demanding change. It is a corporate effort of staff that includes those who can demonstrate the benefit of cultural change within the organisation. I work in an organisation which has an incredible culture within the working environment. The staff all get along and there is a true family culture that has obviously been developed over the years and maintained by those who understand the importance of such a culture. I think the same can be said for any organisation. Cultural change (in this case seeing the value in teaching with 21st century tools and methods) is something that needs to be carried by the staff that has an understanding of the true benefits in changing the culture of the school.
There is a lot that can be said about culture.
I guess I have developed a few more points here.
7) We need to demonstrate the need for cultural change amongst educators and begin to place high value on those who are willing to develop their skills and also see the benefit of keeping up with educational change.
We need to see a cultural change in schools that is carried by those who are the “new story” evangelists. The staff that are passionate about change and can see purpose in creating a culture within a school that understands the values of teaching for 21st century students.
I am going to leave this one here. I hope it provokes conversation and begins to help develop thoughts on this a bit further. Some may wonder how it relates to me and what I do in writing and presenting different learning programs in schools. Well I guess it is my passion to see educational reform and change across my nation, but it also develops a better basis of how any organisation can go about providing true 21st century educational experiences to students. My clients are students not schools and not the teachers. The ones I need to reach in what I do are the students. They desperately want to learn in a 21st century manner and I want to provide that for them. As long as we deliver an exceptional learning experience and keep the learning as our focus we should continue to pursue with this battle and see more educators understand the need for change. I feel honoured that I have the chance to do this in a number of schools around my nation.
