This week was all about developing and supporting teachers. I was able to attend two professional development sessions with the 98 instructional coaches in our district. Jim Knight was the presenter on Friday and he made quite an impression. His instructional coaching strategies were insightful and doable. The coaches were excited and nervous to get on with their work with teachers. Mr. Knight reported that his many years of research indicated that without support, teachers rarely followed through effectively with professional development. He charged the coaches with being the "memory" of what was learned and the guidance, support, and feedback as teachers worked on their instructional strategies. When I began working on the 9 Passions that are ripe for action research, I was struck by how many of the passions and my identified action research topics were about supporting and developing teachers. This quote in particular struck me:
According to Roland Barth (1982):
Nothing within a school has more impact upon students in terms of skills development, self-confidence, or classroom behavior than the personal and professional growth of their teachers. When teachers examine, question, reflect on their ideas and develop new practices that lead towards their ideals, students are alive. When teachers stop growing, so do their students. (p. 145 as cited in Dana, 2009, p. 32)
Becky
ReplyDeleteI think your project will be very helpful to teachers. I can relate to your quote. I feel it is so true we have to keep growing as teachers. I really learned a lot from Chapter 2 on how principals think about inquiries related to the 9 areas of concern. I also realized after this week, I have been involved in many of inquires at my schools that started off as wonderings of a principal. We adjusted our efforts along the way but in the end teacher and student learning took place. I also thought it was an interesting thing to remember about the balance between management and leadership. As a principal, I think this is key to changing and moving your staff toward action research at its best.
Thank you so much for helping me in learning how to figure out the problem I was having in posting on someone blog. YOU Are the Best!
Have a great weekend,
Kim