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News and Thoughts: This Month's Posts

www.AALF.org

AALF

Anytime Anywhere Learning
More information »

A boy and girl at a laptop

1-to-1 Research and Resources

An open laptop displaying a stack of books crowned with an apple

21 Steps to 21st Century Learning

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AALpedia

An open laptop displaying a bunch of happy kids

1-to-1 Directory and Global Storybook

Crowd of people, one of whom stands out

AALF Coaching and Mentoring Services


News and Thoughts

The Changing Role of Teachers
A great deal of discussion and work goes into planning a 1:1 initiative. The vision is embraced, funding is found, budgets are developed, a communication plan for the school, parents, and the community is outlined and put into action. Finally, once everyone is on board for the big adventure, the infrastructure is put in place and the support services are ready, each student is given a laptop. End of story.

But as I think most, if not all, of us recognize, this isn’t true. Laptop deployment is just the beginning of the story. I’d like to think no one goes into a 1:1 program to do more of the same or even to do a slightly enriched version of the same. Just adding laptops doesn’t automatically create change, especially if the laptops are used sparingly and for mundane tasks. Digital worksheets are still worksheets. One-to-one professional development often begins with examining teaching methodology and exploring how this can be changed in order to begin to include the use of the technology to create a profounder, more engaging, more creative learning experience. This usually includes some focus on new skills around creative and critical thinking, connecting ideas, and communicating and collaborating with a variety of people, ranging from local students to experts from around the world.

All these changes mean teachers must now be pedagogical designers, mentors, coaches, evaluators, as well as content-deliverers all the while creating individualized learning opportunities for each and every student. In the meantime, the community, parents, and even the school leadership too often view teachers as first and foremost content-deliverers. It can be difficult to shift your role when all around you people are expecting and even evaluating you based on the old definition of what a teacher should be and do. The pressure to change expressed in a vision statement may be overwhelmed by the pressure NOT to change, based on nostalgic assumptions and expectations of what school should be. So change needs to be managed not just within the school walls, but within the school community and maybe the community at large.

I would very much like to hear from you about whether or not you think the role of teachers has changed and, if yes, how? What do you think the main role of a teacher should be? Does your school community and the community at large support any shift in the role of teachers? What is the role of the media in shaping how the community reacts to changes within your schools? Is it supportive? Is it critical?

I’m very interested in your thoughts on these questions.
 
May 16th, 2012 @ 11:48AM | 0 Comments | Post a Comment