Adult Learners & Collaboration for Professional Learning SCCSD Leadership Academy 2010

Working in Teams When you work in teams… What is one thing that irritates you? What is one thing that makes teamwork work for you? As a team… What commonalities did you find? How do the items on your teamwork “do” & “don’t” list align with our definition of collaboration for professional learning?

Collaboration for Professional Learning… improves teaching and learning  PURPOSEFUL by providing educators the time, structure, and opportunity  STRUCTURED to engage in ongoing, meaningful dialogue  CONVERSATIONS that directly impacts instruction in the classroom  CHANGE practice & IMPACT students

Effective Teams… Reflect on their teamwork Examine their effectiveness as a team Learn about ways to work together as a team Build a safe, trusting environment

Did you collaborate for professional learning? Teams that collaborate for professional learning have… Deep dialogue that Challenges &/or changes your current thinking, Applies learning from this week, this past year… AND will impact what or how you lead improvement As you reflect on your team’s collaboration this week… When did you feel that you were most engaged in collaboration for professional learning? Were there times when you felt as though you weren’t quite there or you got off-track? What will you continue to do to be an effective team? What 1-2 things will you do to strengthen your team?

“Collective work in trusting environments provides a basis for inquiry and reflection into teachers’ own practice, allowing teachers to take risks, solve problems and attend to dilemmas in their practice.” Professional Learning in the Learning Profession: A Status Report on Teacher Development in the U.S. and Abroad, NSDC, 2009, p. 6 Collaboration for Professional Learning

Collaboration for Teachers We will consider and apply… What we know about collaboration for professional learning And what we know about adult learners So you can plan for and lead quality collaboration that results in improved teaching and learning

Adult Learners… True or false Adults prefer “sit-n-git” learning. Adults prefer to learn alone. Unlike students, adults carry reservoirs of personal experience. Because of their strong base of knowledge & experiences, adults transfer ideas and skills easily into their work settings.

Adult Learners Need… Real-world, relevant goals and objectives for their learning Learning that matches day-to-day needs Some control over or choice of the learning experiences Support from peers to reduce the fear of judgment while learning Time for practice & reflective feedback

Hmmm…Are these in conflict? Collaboration needs to be… PURPOSEFUL STRUCTURED Define common target that supports improving teaching & learning Provide structures to support quality teamwork Adult learners need… RELEVANCE CONTROL/CHOICE Differentiated, allowing teams to apply the target to their needs, their curriculum, & their students’ needs Structured to support effective teamwork

Achieving the Right Balance Too hot Too tight Too directed Too cold Too loose No direction Just Right

How? PURPOSEFUL & STRUCTURED Provide common target AND allow teachers to apply target so that it is relevant to them For example… Select which class or subject AND which lesson(s) Choose from a menu of activities related to target Allow for creativity with “difficult to fit” areas Decide what activity to do when—planning lesson, reflecting on lessons, examining student work, etc…

Teacher collaboration for professional learning Determine collaboration structures…  How will teams be formed?  When will collaboration occur? How frequently? Length? (minimum of one hour per month)  How will norms be established?  How will you help teams use the agenda and log as a tool to support their work?  How will you provide support to teams?

Done well, collaboration holds the power to lead to the building of collective knowledge and expertise as well as a shared understanding of good practice. Job-Embedded Professional Development, p. 9