Teacher Inquiry as Professional Development

Kyla HaddenETEC 550

June 18th, 2015

Context

SD 83 is a large geographical district covering 8,500 square kilometres. Included in the district boundaries are a number of cities, towns and small communities. There are sixteen elementary schools, three middle schools, and four high schools.

By contract, there are five professional development days each year. Three of these are school based days, where activities are planned by each school’s pro-d committee. Most teachers choose to stay with their home schools on these days, although there is some room for teachers to select alternate activities. The other two days are open, where teachers can stay in district, or travel to larger centers for other workshops and conferences.

Teachers also have access to one release day each year to work on professional development. These days are rarely used by teachers for a variety of reasons. Some teachers find it difficult to be away from their classrooms, but many others simply do not have anything to work on.

There has been a lot of political strife in the K-12 education system in British Columbia over the last decade. Currently, the government has proposed Bill 11 which would remove some autonomy for teachers in what they choose for professional development. Within our school district, there is some mistrust amongst administrators and district staff about teachers self-directing their own learning. There is a push for more accountability from teachers.

The Problem - How to guide teachers to develop their own learning goals and support them in meeting these learning goals?

Many teachers wait until a few days before the pro-d day and select the most interesting option to them. Due to limited resources, there is no way to offer enough workshops to interest all of the unique contexts faced by teachers. Quite often, teachers attend workshops simply because it is the only thing being offered that is remotely interesting to them. Quite often, these workshops do not fit individual needs and teaching contexts. For example, it is extremely difficult to create workshops that appeal to both kindergarten teachers and physics twelve teachers. In additions, many of these workshops are one time presentations and, as a result, they have little impact on teacher practice because it’s very hard to learn something meaningful in a few hours.

Ideal State

In an ideal world, teachers would be actively constructing professional learning activities based on their needs and interest. Both the district and the local professional development committee would be aware of what teachers are interested in and working on in order to help group like-minded individuals and encourage collaboration. There would be some kind of open forum for teachers to communicate and share what they are working on. The district and local could support these individual projects with resources.

The Goal and Objectives

Instructional Goal: Teachers will be able to conduct a self-directed inquiry to meet their professional

learning needs.

The Objectives: Using an outline, teachers will be able to identify their strengths as well as

weaknesses or areas of interest Given some suggested sources of data, teachers will be able to select two –three

methods for data collection to inform their learning focus After selecting their methods, teachers will be able to collect and record data

related to their learning focus. Using the data that they have collected, teachers will be able to identify themes

or common understandings about their learning focus Based on identified themes, or common understandings, teacher will be able to

formulate a plan of action related to their learning focus Teachers will be able to reflect on the outcome of their plan of action Based on reflection, teachers will formulate a new plan of action or a new inquiry

focus

Needs Assessment

The learner must be able to:◦ understand the inquiry process – basic knowledge of the steps involved◦ read and comprehend teacher resources◦ reflect on their learning – identify areas of weakness, or areas of interest◦ communicate clearly with others

Materials: ◦ Something to write with, something to record on◦ Access to resources – experts, teacher resources

Safety Concerns: ◦ Trust – make sure that these plans don’t become some form of evaluation by

administrators (for example, you identified ___________ as a weakness, how did you address this weakness?)

Critical Attitudes: ◦ Willingness to reflect on teaching practices◦ A desire to improve their practice

People Skills Required: ◦ Willingness to share strengths and weaknesses with others

Needs Assessment

Teacher A - on pro-d committee, very involved in professional development

Need to break down the inquiry into steps (identifying question, collecting and analysing data, reflecting, planning)

Clearly identify the process of teacher inquiry

Identifying learning goal is really important because if it’s too big, inquiry will not be successful

How will teacher know when they are “finished”? Need to communicate that it is often not a linear process

Teacher B - a reluctant professional development participant, usually preps in classroom on pro-d days

What are the steps involved? Many like myself are unfamiliar with the process

How does this benefit me? Teachers won’t do it if they don’t see the benefit

Timing? If this something that lasts all year, or one day?

Why wouldn’t I just go to a workshop? Where can I get information from “experts”?

What counts as data? Is this simply observing our students? This sounds like a lot of work.

Feedback from the Field about Teacher Inquiry

The Chosen Objective

Using an outline, teachers will be able to identify their strengths as well as weaknesses or areas of interest and develop an inquiry question

I created an flow chart using Microsoft Word to help teachers move from their strengths and weaknesses to a focused inquiry question

I also included an instruction sheet and a sample needs assessment for a fictional teacher

Instructional Strategies

This prototype follows a generative model in that the learner is expected to manipulate and construct their own knowledge. I chose this model because of the individual nature of the task. The goal if for teachers to reflect on their own strengths and weaknesses and to identify interest areas based on those strengths and weaknesses. I think using a supplantive model, like providing teachers with a list to pick from, would interfere with the overall goal of the project.

Two Instructional Strategies used:

Independent study – Teachers will work on this project independently. This method works for this context because each teacher will be identifying the strengths, weaknesses and interests that are unique to them. Later on in the process, teachers will be encouraged to find like minded others that are working on similar inquires in order to encourage collaboration.

Flow Chart – I am proving teachers with a graphic organizer to help them connect their weaknesses to possible teacher inquiry projects. Rather than simply listing their thoughts, the flow chart will encourage them to see how their weaknesses and interested should direct them towards their professional development activities.

Needs Assessment InstructionsStep 1: (The first level of the chart)Indentify your areas of strengths. What is working for you? What do you feel confident in?Step 2:(The second level of the chart)Indentify your areas of need. What is not working for you? What are you interested in changing?These should be broad areas that either spark your interest or are a source of tension for you.Possible topics include:Teaching approaches – assessment, differentiated instruction, subject focus, personalized learning, classroom managementContext – changes to the curriculum, changes at the district level, changes within the schoolStudents – a student that is struggling, a student that needs to be challenged*Check out the Find your Passion handout for some other ideas*the Framework for Teaching document could also help you locate areas to focus onStep 3:(The third level of the chart)For each of the areas that you selected in step 2, identify a few questions relating to that topic. These could be questions about your students or about your own practice.Step 4:Pick one of the questions outlined in step three to focus on for your first inquiry.

Strengths: Forming relationships with students Formative assessment Content knowledge

Topics or areas to work on:

Literacy skills in the content area classes

Student self and peer assessment

Challenging strong students

Communicating with parents

Questions about these areas:

How do I balance content with literacy skills?What basic literacy skills do students need to have?

How do I get students to authentically assess themselves and others?What is an easy way to develop rubrics with students?

How do I challenge students without making them feel like I’m giving them more work?How will students react to open ended activities? How do I ensure that students don’t just do the bare minimum?

Is there a more time effective way to communicate with parents?How can I ensure that I am reaching all parents?

Sample Needs Assessment:

Strengths:

Topics or areas to work on:

Questions about these areas:

Needs AssessmentName ________________________

Handouts mentioned in the instructions – used to help guide teachers towards topics and questions about their practice

Find Your Passion Adapted from Nancy Fitchman

Dana and Diane Yendol-Hoppey, The Reflective Educator’s Guide to Classroom Research. (Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, 2009).

Describes 8 entry sources for teachers inquiry:◦ A child◦ The curriculum◦ Content Knowledge◦ Teaching techniques◦ Beliefs about practice◦ Personal/Professional identity◦ Social Justice◦ Context

Framework for Teaching

Designed by a SD 83 committee of teachers, administrators and district staff

Used for feedback during teacher evaluations

A rubric that includes sections on:◦ Planning and preparation (assessment,

pedagogy, content knowledge, etc..)◦ Classroom environment (culture, student

behaviour, classroom procedures, and physical space

◦ Instruction (engagement, etc ...)◦ Professional responsibility

(communication, reflection and growth)

Please contact me if you would like a copy of the full framework: khadden@sd83.bc.ca

The Feedback and Lessons Learned

There were some issues around the format of the Word document. One of the test subjects commented that when she opened the file, it said “read only” so she had to print it out and then fill in her answers. I think there is a variety of comfort levels with technology so my goal should be to use the easiest format possible. I am going to explore using a pdf fillable form rather than a word document. There will also be paper copies available at each school through the pro-d reps, and a printable document will be available on our union website.

The Feedback and Lessons Learned

The other issue that emerged was the importance of the two handouts that I refer to in the instructions (Find your Passion and the Framework for Teaching). Initially, I did not send them out with the test email. I had two teachers ask for them the following day, so I then emailed them out to everyone. Four of the six teacher commented that they found these very helpful in giving them topics and traits to reflect on. I will need to make sure that these documents are accessible.

The Feedback and Lessons Learned

The final issue that came up was the individual vs. collaborative nature of the guide. One of the test subjects felt that it would be better if this form was completed at a staff meeting or on a professional development day with others, rather than individually. She worried that if I just email this out as suggestion, very few teachers will take the time to complete it. I think that initially, I will need to introduce this to the pro-d reps and have them work through the process. They can then take this back to their home school and provide a bit of instruction and guidance for their colleagues.