Using Teacher Inquiry as Professional Development

Aloha LavinaBangkok Teachers Network 2012

True or False

Professional development is a workshop given by an expert who is not a school community member.

Professional development is based on teacher deficiency.

Professional development is linked to school improvement.

True or False

Problem solving with my colleagues is part of my professional development.

Student learning has nothing to do with teacher learning.

Professional development is best when it is done outside of the school.

How do we lead learners?

Match the leadership slogans with the type of leadership and the relationships that each style fosters.

Workbook p. 2

“The success of a school depends above all on the quality of

interactionsbetween teacher and teacher,

and teacher and administrator.”

- R. L. Barth

Sandbox or Beehive?

Just happen to be in the same place? Or

Working together for common goals?

Sandbox photo ©www.safesand.com Beehive photo © oneida.uwex.edu

How do we Focus the Community?

• What type of environment do we want?• What would we have to do to become a

beehive?

• Jot down words and phrases on Blue Post its.• Post your Blue Post its on the Essential

Agreements Wall.

What will our school be like?

Professional Learning Priorities• Think of your school action plan.• Pick a priority and state it as a teacher learning

priority.• Write your priority on a blank A4 sheet.• Leave the topic you wrote on your table.• Take your Green Post it and Orange Post it and go

around the tables to see the topics.• Post the Green Post it on a topic you’d like to

learn.• Post the Orange Post it on a topic you could

facilitate teachers to learn.

Connect – Extend – Challenge

If you are…• …an Administrator, how will you support

teacher learning with resources and time?• …a Teacher Leader or Department Head, how

will you embed the learning into teaching and curriculum?

• …a Classroom Teacher, how will your learning impact your students’ learning?

Coaching to Sustain Professional Learning

Inquiry Group

Peer observation

Reflecting together

Teacher Learning

Goal

APPLICATIONPre-conference: Setting a classroom goal

NON THREATENINGObservation:Teacher who is being observed sets the observation goal

REFLECTIVE PRACTICEPost-conference:Did actual decisions and behaviors in the classroom match what the teacher intended?

Cognitive Coaching Model(Costa, 1994)

Reflecting on practice

Professional curiosity

Finding personal relevance

Making decisions

Documenting insight

Making direct connections with own classroom

Affirming beliefs about practice

Inquiring into point of practice

Making interdisciplinary connections

Fullan’s Dip (2003)

Where are you on this curve?

Place a dot where you are in terms of using reflective practices.

Compass PointsNorth: What do you need to

know?

East: What are you excited about?

West: What worries you?

South: What is your stance?

©Harvard Project Zero

Tug of War

• Ponder the priority learning for your faculty you named earlier.

• What understanding does your faculty have of this topic? Write this on a yellow post it.

• What challenges remain? Write this on a yellow post it.

• Post the sticky notes on the Tug of War string.

Exit card

I used to think…but now I think…