Human Performance Improvement
A constant performance problem that I see in education is the ability to hold onto to great teachers, develop good teachers into great teachers in addition to lack of development of not so great teachers. I believe we continue to lose great teachers in the education field to lack of differentiation in trainings and uneven workload distribution. In majority of the school districts I hear about as well as the ones I have been in exceptional teachers are expected to sit in professional development meetings and trainings that have no value to them other for them to add or give advice to novice teachers all while they bear the brunt of a heavy workload because they are experienced and fantastic teachers. It has only been recently that I have seen some districts move to differentiated trainings but even it is a little too late for some of the great educators we have lost.
My solution to this problem would be to invite feedback from the instructional staff about areas they would like to grow in and goals they would like to set and develop trainings or individual growth plans to maximize teacher support. In addition administrators should also invite feedback from educators to help them develop useful and appreciated professional development opportunities and growth plans. I think too often administrators and districts should practice what they preach to ensure that we keep excellent teachers in the education field as well as foster the growth of teachers to get them to that point of exceptional status.
Performance Support Systems
Performance Support
are systems that afford access to resources, tools and support
information to users
when needed to fulfill their jobs with validity. I believe that having
access
to an online portal such as this could help me to develop into a better
teacher and constantly enhance the rigor of my goals. If there were such
a portal it could be used to invite constant communication between me
and my administration about my goals, resources and information I could
use to enhance my instruction and teaching abilities.
Knowledge Management and Learning
Schools accumulate a great deal data, which must be organized in a way that we can make sense of it
in order to make informed decisions. In order to make the most of this data we must view it, share our ideas and thoughts as well as organize the ways we approach to solve them. With the problem I address above it would be great to utilize the knowledge as to what we know is wrong: retention of great teachers and the reasoning behind why so many have left the education field. I believe the steps needed to solve this problem would include surveying current teachers of various fields, developing individual growth plans for each teacher, tailoring and catering professional development towards meeting those growth plans, creating committees to enhance school culture and develop reasons for teachers to stay and lastly follow through with the steps needed and utilize resources such as online performance support system to organize and provide resources to make these steps successful.
Informal Learning
Since switching to a new position in education and become part of a new team of veterans in this position I have relied heavily on informal learning to help me develop into my new job. Having the opportunity to sit down and collaborate with my colleagues on how to approach has helped me to be successful in my first full time week in this position. Am I a master? No, but I will develop overtime with the help of my colleagues and their knowledge based on prior experiences and success. I am not sure if the knowledge codified but I do feel that it could be managed through the creation and utilization of Google Docs or some type of online message board. I do feel however that the knowledge gained would be better left as an informal learning opportunity.
Hi Taylor,
ReplyDeleteWow! I totally agree with what you are saying about districts not keeping great teachers. I have been in public education for thirteen years, and have worked for two different districts. The first was a large district that is still very well structured, with tons of support staff, a huge professional development department, and the administration is devoted to supporting its staff. After working here for three years, I moved to the district where I lived, in order to be in the same district as my children, and BOY did I make a mistake. I was the ONLY English III teacher when I was hired, I had 186 students, there were no “mentor” teachers to guide me, or to teach me “the way” things were done there. I taught in that district for eight years, often as the lead teacher in a subject, often with more students than most, I taught AP Literature, Special Education Inclusion, and whatever else I was asked to do – because I was a good teacher. When I became a librarian, I re-applied with my first district, and was rehired – thank goodness! Gosh, even though the district I am in now is primarily Title I, and the kids can be kind of rough, it makes all the difference in the world when you are valued as a person and as a professional.
It is ironic that you spoke of retaining quality teachers. Our campus is having this issue right now. We started off the school year with 34 new teachers. These teachers were either new to the district, school, or teaching profession. In the 7 plus years that I have been on this campus I have seen good teachers leave due to budget cuts, retirement, and promotions.
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