It takes a village ……………
In my last blog I wrote about community and the
wonderful opportunities we have in a co-educational PP-12 school to develop
community spirit to support and nurture learning in the best possible ways for
our students. This had me thinking about my support network and those who
support me. At my school these support groups are known as Professional
Learning Communities or Professional Learning Networks. I'm very grateful for my learning community
and wanted to share more about the benefits of these support groups.
I say this often, but I’m really lucky to work in a
PP-12 school. We have a variety of teacher expertise across many disciplines
and year levels. As a specialist teacher, I often get to enter many different
classrooms to work alongside these teachers. Over the years, I have recognised
the different strengths within teachers and these people kindly share their
knowledge and experience with me. Having professional conversations often
identifies similar interests, beliefs or mindsets that improve my
practice.
As much as I can, I get to know the parents. I
teach 350+ students so there are always parents in that group who have unique
skill sets, jobs or experiences from which I can learn. Working with parents I
have been able to expand my knowledge on Design Thinking outside of the
classroom, gain knowledge about electronics, business, manufacturing all of
which have benefitted my teaching and ultimately my students’ learning. Through
the generosity of parents, I have been provided with resources, expertise,
support and encouragement - all of which is passed on to the students.
When I attend PD outside of school I make a point
of talking to and listening to as many people as I can. There is always someone
with whom I can connect and learn from. Last week, I spent two days at a PD
specific to my subject area. I ran into quite a few people I know - past
colleagues, old University friends and even past Practical Teachers - all of
whom are Design Teachers like me. It was great to catch up, but what was even
better was the quality of professional conversation we were able to have. It
made me realise the best resource teachers have, are each other.
I always try and stay in touch with those people I
meet, either electronically or the old-fashioned way - face to face. I have
been to visit them in their schools and some that have been out to visit me. We
all
have the same goal of empowering our students to be better learners, so why not
share ideas!
I have blogged about this before, but Twitter is an
invaluable source of learning for an educator. It is a 24/7 resource of a huge
variety of skills sets, expertise and educators willing to share and learn from
each other. There are twitter chats, hashtags to follow, individuals to follow
and this is World-wide, 24hrs a day, 7 days a week! There are also many
professional organisations which I join and follow. Often it is just a matter
of signing up for the e-newsletters and having them delivered to your inbox. It
doesn’t take long to sort out what is useful and what is not. When you find
something good, it is delivered right to your inbox.
In the past teaching was like working in an egg
carton. Each teacher had their own space and worked in isolation. Today, there
are so many opportunities for us to reach out to others for support and
inspiration. As well, the opportunities to provide that support and inspiration
to others. When, we are feeling energised and enthused the students will
benefit and their learning will take on its own momentum.
I hope that I’ve inspired you to build your own Professional
Learning Network. It may take some time and require you to move outside your
egg carton but if you need a hand just look me up on Twitter or send me an
email. After all (to paraphrase a famous quote) - it takes a village to teach a child.
