How do teachers maximize support for student learning by developing and demonstrating professionalism, collaboration with others, and leadership?
The successful teacher who does not take an interest in self-development will not be a successful teacher for long. Teachers should be committed to reflection, self-assessment and learning in order to maximize their support for student learning. Teachers should also seek out, develop, and continually refine practices that address the individual needs of their students. Teachers should remain aware of major areas of research on teaching and other resources available for professional learning. This could include professional literature, colleagues, and other resources to support their own development as a learner and teacher.
Teachers must understand that collaboration within the education system is essential. In a study of high-performing school systems throughout the world, researchers concluded that teacher collaboration is vital to powerful professional development (Barber & Mourshed, 2009). Therefore, a successful teacher not only seeks to collaborate with other teachers but freely offers to help others, remembering that the ultimate goal is to provide the best possible learning environment for every student.
Educators must also understand that collaboration with parents is equally essential. It is imperative that teachers understand how factors in the students’ environment outside of school may influence the students’ life and learning (INTASC). Teachers should also understand laws related to students’ rights and teacher responsibilities.
Successful teachers are willing to consult with other professionals regarding the education, general well-being and learning environment of their students. While the teacher does not need to become a child development specialist, they should seek to learn enough to know which community resources can be used to foster student learning.
The teacher talks with and listens to the student and is sensitive and responsive to clues of distress. The teacher should investigate situations as need and seek outside help as appropriate to remedy any problems. To this end, the teacher should always acts as the students’ advocate.
Additional research has noted that the key to improved student learning is to ensure more good teaching in more classrooms more of the time. The most powerful strategy for improving both teaching and learning, however, is not by micromanaging instruction but by creating the collaborative culture and collective responsibility of a professional learning community (PLC). This organized and formal collaborative program removes the focus from the individual inspection of teaching and places in on the collective analysis of student learning (DuFour & Mattos, 2013).
Studies conducted by the Center on Organization and Restructuring of Schools (Newmann & Wehlage, 1995); the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future (Carroll, Fulton, & Doerr, 2010); the Annenberg Institute for School Reform (2005); the Wallace Foundation (Louis, Leithwood, Wahlstrom, & Anderson, 2010); and the American Educational Research Association (Holland, 2005) provide a sampling of the research base confirming the positive effect of the PLC process on student learning. One researcher noted,
“The collective results of these studies offer an unequivocal answer to the question about whether the literature supports the assumption that student learning increases when teachers participate in professional learning communities. The answer is a resounding and encouraging yes.” (Vescio, Ross, & Adams, 2008, p. 87)
REFERENCES
Barber, M., & Mourshed, M. (2009). Shaping the future: How good education systems can become great in the decade ahead. McKinsey and Company. Retrieved from http://www.mckinsey.com/locations/southeastasia/knowledge/Education_Roundtable.pdf
Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC) Standard. Standard 9: Reflection and Professional Development and Standard 10: Collaboration, Ethics, and Relationships. Retrieved from http://www.emu.edu/maed/intasc/
Annenberg Institute for School Reform. (2005). Professional learning communities: Professional development strategies that improve instruction. Providence, RI: Author. Retrieved from http://annenberginstitute.org/pdf/proflearning.pdf
Carroll, T., Fulton, K., & Doerr, H. (2010). Team up for 21st century teaching and learning: What research and practice reveal about professional learning. Washington, DC: National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future.
DuFour, R. & Mattos, M. (2013, April). How do principals really improve schools? Educational Leadership, 70(7), The Principalship, 34-40.
Holland, H. (2005). Teaching teachers: Professional development to improve student achievement. Research Points: Essential Information for Educational Policy, 3(1), 1–4. Washington, DC: American Educational Research Association.
Louis, K., Leithwood, K., Wahlstrom, K., & Anderson, S. (2010). Learning from leadership: Investigating the links to improved student learning. New York: Wallace Foundation.
Newmann, F., & Wehlage, G. (1995). Successful school restructuring: A report to the public and educators by the Center on Organization and Restructuring of Schools. Madison: University of Wisconsin.
Vescio, V., Ross, D., & Adams, A. (2008). A review of the research on the impact of professional learning communities on teaching practice and student learning. Teaching and Teacher Education, 24(1), 80–91.
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