Return-Path: <nifl-aalpd@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id i532sW917333; Wed, 2 Jun 2004 22:54:42 -0400 (EDT) Date: Wed, 2 Jun 2004 22:54:42 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <40CBA312@webmail.utk.edu> Errors-To: listowner@literacy.nifl.gov Reply-To: nifl-aalpd@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-aalpd@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-aalpd@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: jataylor <jataylor@utk.edu> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-aalpd@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-AALPD:1462] RE: from Meta, Re: thinking, acting, and integrated change X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas X-Mailer: Infinite Mobile Delivery (Hydra) SMTP v3.62.01 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1" Status: O Content-Length: 3632 Lines: 85 Colleagues, Thanks so much for sharing your thoughtful insights on change. The role of reflection in change was mentioned earlier. I want to encourage us to continue reflecting upon and sharing our experiences with change throughout the discussion; specifically, what are your experiences of professional development that you have attended or offered that led to: Changes in thinking? Changes in acting? Integrated change? Tell us about different types of PD you have attended or offered where you discovered later that it led to: - changes in thinking, but where you or others found it difficult to implement or sustain in practice - changes in acting, but didn't really impact what you or others thought about the topic - led to integrated change of thinking and acting? Thanks, Jackie >===== Original Message From nifl-aalpd@nifl.gov ===== >(The following post is from Meta Potts - see below - Jackie) > >Colleagues, > >My experiences with teacher change focus on three National Programs: The >National Writing Project, Even Start and other Family Literacy Programs, and >Equipped for the Future. I would like to address “how teachers change, >rather than “how teachers changed. > >I have found that teachers come into the PD sessions wanting to validate what >they are already doing or wanting to find a way to upgrade their skills and >become better at what they do. It is the former group that says, “I'm already >doing that,” and the latter group that says, “I’d like to try this to see if >it makes a difference in my teaching and my student’s learning. > >In all three of the programs mentioned, I found that change occurred over >time, even though participants often expressed evangelistic zeal after the >initial contact: five-weeks required to attend the NWP, several days with >follow-up required to become Even Start staff, and the weeks and months >involved to become an EFF practitioner, using the Quality Model. > >Lasting change is a process, indeed, project-based learning, often taking many >months to integrate. It begins with thinking about the need for change and >making a commitment to attend PD (perhaps many sessions), to actively >participate, and then to follow through with field work, which includes >experimentation, assessment, and retrial. During this period, teachers who >integrated the change did so because they were not acting alone. They had >support from colleagues in face-to-face meetings or via technology, following >the Vygotskian perspective, which theorizes that learning occurs through >social interaction. The teachers who were able to integrate change had support >from their administrators, who recognized that trial and error does not mean >failure, and who gave the teachers time to plan, teach, and assess their own >learning. > >How do I recognize a teacher who has integrated change? I may observe quality >teaching, which incorporates the learned concepts, but more than that, I see >Robert, who downloads information to support what he is learning and sends me >an e-mail with an outline of a new document; LaDean has started her own >portfolio and is recording her growth; Caitlen makes copies of her teaching >and learning cycle and shares them with colleagues, asking for feedback and >demonstrating a willingness to participate in discussion groups; John >continues to experiment with strategies and then to ply me with questions and >comments. Sarah is conducting her own workshops. > >These are the experiences that keep PD people excited life-long learners, >themselves. > > >All the Best, > >Meta Potts > >FOCUS on Literacy >Glen Allen, VA
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Thu Dec 23 2004 - 09:45:51 EST