Football and teaching??

So I am just thinking, John says that some of his 8th grade science students this fall seem to have lower than usual basic math skills. And I have been talking with a middle school in Loveland that is concerned because their scores on the Tera Nova show that their 8th grade math students are weak in their basic math computation skills, fraction computation, and decimal computation. Yet, John wants to move students with their science concepts and the Loveland math teacher knows it is important to involve students in critical thinking, application, and analysis.

I am wondering if we can liken this scenario to a high school football coach with a new group of players. Surely, from year to year the quality of the football skills that the team has vary. And yet the coach needs to put on their best results-driven showing each Friday night. The coaching staff needs to balance time spent on skill drills with time sent on game planning, plays, and strategy. John knows that it is important to maintain a sense of momentum with his science students in regard to science learning while trying to offer more opportunities and focus on needed math skills. The Loveland teacher cannot focus only on strengthening computational skills but must continue to connect and involve computation with math analysis and understanding.

Somehow a "less is more" solution is needed here because class time and football practice time are not expandable. And yet remediation takes more time. It seems to me that more resources are needed. I would wonder if possibly a good place to begin is communication with the student (or the football player). Instead of "doing to" the student or player, it might be beneficial for the teacher/coach to communicate one-on-one with the student/player and share the data, the motivation, the confidence, and the overall plan that includes and is dependent upon the remediation. To broaden the possible resources perhaps parent(s) and peers could be involved.

The remediation plan can focus on providing extra time and practice on skill improvement. This can take place in addition to football practice and classroom time. During this time, the student/player spends focused time on monitored practice with skills either alone or with a coach/teacher or with a peer or parent. Careful guidance and monitoring can insure that this time is efficiently, productively, and correctly used to improve weak skills. Feedback regarding skill improvement and next steps is important along the way. During football practice/class time more advanced concepts and performance can be addressed, knowing that the improvement taking place with the remediation practice will continue to improve performance in the classroom and on the field.

The point is that the player/student knows that there is important purpose for the remediation plan and there is a team of people supporting continuous improvement. Stepping back, this thinking can be extended to every player/student in that players/students with strong basic skills can similarly develop in advanced areas and seek additional challenge.

This leads to a more clear definition of what a coach and teacher do. They support the individual growth of each of their individual players/students. And through communication and individualization, everyone involved is motivated to continue to strengthen and develop. A good coach or teacher has experience in knowing the best development plan for each student/player at each developmental stage. I guess this is why the better football teams have lots of assistant coaches. I guess this is why the better teachers could use some assistant teachers... And why does Finland have the top academic test scores in the world? Their classrooms are filled with assistant teachers. Interesting.

The Creative Profession

What other professions are as creative as teaching? In the advertisement section of today's newspaper is a Back to School ad from a crafts store offering artist gallery wrapped canvas "buy one, get one for 1 cent". That is a good deal that a teacher can make use of because that is all we do as teachers. We don't hesitate to roll out a fresh piece of canvas constantly as we prepare, erase, edit, and hone our planning ideas. A teacher has the privileged opportunity to choose from endless options how to offer the curriculum for students.

From choosing the quantity of content to present in a lesson, to selecting the approach that will be used to "hook" the students into becoming engaged with the content, to deciding how students will bring forth prior knowledge they have about the content, to wondering about how the students will interact with the skills and knowledge involved with the content, to offering application opportunities for the students to experience their new abilities, the choices go on and on. Teachers also craft how they will motivate the student learning. This decision is influenced by the rapport and relationship the teacher has with the students as the school year evolves. The teacher is continuously diagnosing everything possible about each of the students in planning how best to connect the new content with the nature and interests of the students.

There is another level of creative planning that is taking place at the same time but on another plane of thinking. That would be the decisions the teacher is making about the style of his/her own personality that the teacher will use to share himself/herself with the students. A caring teacher will pay attention to their role and manner of being that they will use with the students during the lesson. It is not just about the content, the lesson plan, and the students. It is about the role and style of the teacher during the lesson, too. The personal attitude that the teacher has during the lesson will influence the learning by the students. One habit I developed when teaching middle school mathematics was to say out loud to the students before teaching a new skill, "oh, I love teaching this skill to students for the first time!" Not only did saying this out loud intrigue and grab the students' interest, but it always revved me up, too. And, honestly, I meant it when I said it.

When the teacher consciously thinks about and plans for the excitement and intensity that he/she will bring to the lesson, not only will it become a part of the lesson, it will be positive and purposeful. And isn't that what a professional does? The professional actor or athlete does not only plan for their script or their physical movements, but the part of their planning that makes the difference is their own motivation and energy level they plan to bring to their performance. Just like the master teacher.

The New, True 3 R's in Education: Preparing to Start a New School Year

The key to maximizing a learning experience? Relationship, relationship, relationship. Ask someone to describe a successful learning experience in their past. Watch them hesitate and then smile. Watch the comfort and enjoyment they show as they proceed to confidently tell you what they learned, how they learned, how they felt during and about the experience, and how positive they are about the people involved in the learning experience including themselves! Watch the joy they exhibit as they relive the experience and the way the memories of it make them feel. See the energy flow as they share with you the details of their challenge and success with learning.

The memorable learning experiences we have usually involve an accomplishment that was significant and required focus and effort often involving new knowledge and new skills. In describing our successful learning experience we often share about relationships. In some stories it will be about the relationship that we developed with a teacher, coach or guide. Because we trusted the teacher at some point in the experience, we were able to overcome or overproduce in reaching our goal. In some stories, it will be about the relationship that we developed with other participants. We certainly remember whom we were with when we summited the 14,000+ foot mountain peak! In some stories it will be about the relationship that we had with ourself. We pushed ourself further than we thought possible or we proved to ourself that we could or we pursued inspiration and achieved.

There are no more important aspects of a teacher's classroom to prepare for at the start of a new school year or to look towards during the school year when a teacher feels a tension in her classroom than those of relationships. 

Teacher to Student:

Students intuitively sense the attitude and energy a teacher has for them. Students will reflect that attitude and energy back to the teacher in return. If the teacher is positive, prepared, present, and polite, the students are most likely to respond to that modeling. Students can detect honesty and integrity and are eager to find those qualities in a teacher. They are hoping as they enter the classroom that their teacher will be patient, kind, and a worthy guide. Students want to be successful with new and challenging learning experiences. They will respond to trust and to worthy and appropriate challenge when they are provided with structure, autonomy, and interconnectedness.

Student to Student:

For some students, learning is seen as direct engagement between student and the teacher or the student and the curriculum. For many students, learning is expedited when they can learn with and from other students. In a classroom where the structure assures students of academic, social, and emotional safety during all risk-taking events, students benefit from learning from each other, from reflecting on their understanding and progress as compared with others, and from becoming teachers themselves as they help others with the new learning experiences, knowledge, and skills.

Student to Self:

Motivation, responsibility, accountability, sense of progress, momentum, discipline towards learning new knowledge and skills - there are many aspects impacting learning that are directly influenced by the student's personal sense, expectations, and habits as a learner and as a person. All of these are variables that can be influenced during the school year by the teacher, by other students, by the expectations of the classroom, and/or by the maturity and development of the student himself.

Relationships are definitely important factors that impact student achievement that are worthy of the teacher's conscious consideration and planning. Developing supportive conditions for positive relationships does not come at the expense of rigor and high expectations for learning. Relationships provide an important and essential foundation for the learning that will occur. The attention the teacher gives to the importance of relationships will influence and go hand in hand with the structure the teacher creates regarding classroom management rules and procedures and the amount and qualities of the autonomy that will be offered to students. Structure, involvement within relationships, and autonomy are the three legs of the stool that will optimize the chance that this year will be one of those successful learning experiences that the student will recall when in the future they are asked to describe a successful learning experience they have had.

Developing Reflection and Efficacy in All Teachers

Teacher Orientation That Makes a Difference

In a nation facing a surge of new teachers, we face a serious question: What teacher orientation promotes teacher learning? No teacher comes to the classroom totally prepared to be an effective instructor and manager of students. Research clearly shows us that teaching and learning are far more complex than ever thought. So the question remains: How do we ensure that all students get the best teachers?

To answer this question, we must examine ways to help both beginning and experienced teachers to become motivated educators who aspire to perpetual growth. Becoming an effective educator involves combining natural talents with an attitude that is receptive to new ideas and a willingness to grow – this is what educators bring to the classroom. The essential ingredient that teachers need from others is professional development that can promote teacher learning in all teachers and can help continual growth be a state of mind for all educators.

We encourage students to become life-long learners; we must encourage teachers to do so as well. And we need to ensure that they have the professional development they need.

How does the right professional development make a difference? Let’s look at some examples.

Joseph had been a 2nd-grade teacher for 25 years in the Los Angeles public school system. He had very little interactions with other teachers or other adults outside of his classroom. He had no sense of his strengths as a teacher. He was getting “burned out” with teaching by his own admission. Joseph then attended a summer institute that focused on effective teaching research and strategies. At the summer institute he was helped to reflect upon his practice in light of the research. He was inspired by the realization that his practice in many ways matched best practice as described by the research. That successful reflection brought about motivation, confidence, a sense of efficacy, and a new desire to invest more energy and effort into not only continuing his teaching but to look more at new ways to grow professionally as a teacher. The flame that was burning out was rekindled, brighter than ever.

Nancy had been an elementary teacher and then a middle school language arts teacher in a Denver suburb. She had always lacked confidence in her teaching and looked at herself as less than others in the profession. She decided to go through the process of applying for National Board certification. That process, offered by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, took Nancy step-by-step through a reflective writing experience that invited her to compare her practice to the standards set by the NBPTS. Through that intensive reflection experience, Nancy saw herself measure up to many of the aspects of the National Board standards. She also saw where and how she could improve her practice to better meet those standards. At the end of the application process, her confidence and motivation were high. The following year she tried new strategies in her teaching with a sense of efficacy supported by constant reflection throughout the process. Her love for her teaching and the enjoyment it brought her increased immensely.

Research tells us that when teachers feel efficacious and that feeling is grounded in solid practice, students succeed (Datnow & Castellano, 2000; Hord, 1997; McLaughlin & Talbert, 1993; Rosenholtz, 1989). Under the circumstances, the urgency for quality professional development to build this efficacy is profound.

Building Efficacy for Teaching and Learning: Roles for Reflection and Application

A retired army colonel was asked how efficacy is built within a new soldier. He replied that a confident sense of preparedness and readiness to tackle new challenges is developed through extensive and supported training provided by a worthy guide. The new soldier shares with his trainer a sense of value for the training and understands its purpose. There is no difference between this very human experience and that of an educator developing professional mastery in the struggle to meet student needs.

The type of orientation that promotes teacher learning involves two primary features: 1) teaching and supporting teacher reflection, and 2) helping teachers build efficacy through recognition of successful experiences. Reflection is an essential practice in effective teachers as they constantly review the effectiveness of their teaching in an effort to identify what works and what should be changed. Efficacy is developed over time as a teacher experiences success in the profession and develops into a competent classroom leader.

Teachers develop a sense of efficacy when, first, they are provided with opportunities to reflect upon their strengths as set by a standard and are supported through experiences of training that help them to develop new and useful skills. Second, when teachers are supported by a knowledgeable guide who is seen as worthy, in a setting that holds high expectations, opportunity, and choice, then all teachers can become more successful as educators. One thing to remember during this process: professional growth in teaching involves personal growth as well. Personal growth requires individual efficacy, motivation, and optimism, all of which are developed through systematic, purposeful reflection. Timely and honest feedback effectively delivered to teachers in an ongoing manner by the worthy guide is critical. The effective administrator or staff development facilitator will have many of the attributes of a good coach and will help all teachers develop their ability to objectively review their instructional and other classroom practices. The third ingredient for success in the process is adequate time. Effective professional development also provides time for teachers to plan and to use new ideas while also providing time for purposeful reflections on the impact of using those new ideas.

Reflection should not only be taught, but also modeled in the delivery of professional development.  In fact, reflection should be modeled and taught as part of every teacher’s professional growth. A simple model that promotes reflection is one that is used in the Educational Research and Dissemination (ER&D) Program developed by the American Federation of Teachers. ER&D trainers use a three-step process to promote reflection through the research.

Step 1: How is this idea different than what I do now?  How much do I know about this topic or idea?  What would / could be the benefits of implementing this change?

Step 2: What do I need to do to implement this idea?  How will I determine if it has positively impacted student achievement?

Step 3: After trying the new idea, reflect upon the impact.  Is it worth doing again?  How can I change the idea to make it more effective?

A simple scaffold to promote reflection, like the one above, offers a process to promote reflection.  If reflection is systematically taught and modeled, teachers can develop this most important disposition in teaching.

An important consideration in developing an orientation that promotes teacher learning involves the research on human needs by Connell and Wellborn (1991).  They suggest that engagement is optimized when the following three human needs are met: 1) competence, 2) relatedness to others, and 3) autonomy.  Supporting these basic needs can lead to the development of efficacy within teachers.

Competence. In teaching, the ability to manage a classroom and to help students learn requires a variety of skills. Professional development in the early part of a teacher’s career should focus on developing strong classroom management skills and on developing the art of planning successful learning activities. Competent teachers acquire these skills over time as they are exposed to new strategies in both formal and informal ways. As they learn about and try new strategies, they gain valuable experiences.

As a teacher’s competence grows, perspective is gained which leads to increased efficacy and allows for purposeful and powerful reflection. This cycle of reflecting upon growth leading to new learning develops the life-long learning cycle that can be modeled for students.

Relatedness to others. This is an area of professional development that has received attention in recent years.  The idea of teachers meeting to talk about best practices in what Dufour & Eaker (1998) call “professional learning communities” is an example of professional development that supports the needs of teachers. This social interaction provides an opportunity for teachers to reflect upon and share managerial and instructional strategies and develops the collective efficacy of the staff. Conversations are focused on specific issues that teachers face within their school as they develop a sense of community and support. The collective exchange of ideas results in better solutions to the challenges of teaching and learning than can be achieved individually.

Autonomy. What we need to develop in teachers is their autonomy as professionals.  We need to help teachers discover how to be their own professional development coach, how to apply what they learn in their classroom, and how to continually reflect to promote ongoing growth. Professional development needs to develop the teacher's ability to choose what ideas fit his or her own style of teaching.  Additionally, teachers need to develop ways to become discriminating consumers of professional development offerings.

Teachers should be supported in learning how to use reflective practices so that they can become their own autonomous professional development coach. When we can identify ways to promote autonomous, self-directed, reflective teachers, we can start to improve professional development in education as a whole.  What are the characteristics of experienced teachers who continue to grow throughout their career? As we identify the qualities that promote reflection and professional growth we can develop programs that help teachers become their own coach.

Teachers, as with all individuals, have protective egos that act as a barrier to change. At the outset of problem-solving activities, teachers must have the confidence to evaluate new ideas and assess whether the innovation will be useful in their practice. The professional developer as a worthy guide can be effective by identifying that a new change is already in a teacher’s understanding. Through surfacing prior knowledge and frame of reference for a teacher, through listening to and understanding a teacher’s prior experience, and by personally relating to and listening to a teacher’s sharing of what they need to grow, the professional developer can begin to know the teacher as a person and then can help them to grow.

When professional development is delivered with high expectations, through a positive relationship, and supportively respects a teacher’s view of herself, then growth potential exists. In such a positive, trusting environment, the professional development coach might use phrases like the following to promote teacher growth:

“I believe you can.” “Don’t be afraid to fail.” “Your job is safe.” “Believe change has value.” “Take small steps.” “This will be better and easier for you and your students.” “You have the time this will take.” “Try this out, it is cool.” “You are great. Take a chance.” “Make this change in a way that works for you.”

Bringing it all together

When a professional development experience meets the human needs of autonomy, relatedness to others, and competence, a relationship of trust has the opportunity to occur if it appears that the guide is worthy and that the training has value. Scaffolds and models must be provided so that effective training can take place. Opportunities and supports for articulation, reflection, and exploration must then occur so that efficacy is developed and a sense of success can take place. This framework for building efficacy through reflection supported by a worthy guide will provide for motivation and optimism leading to further professional growth.

References:

Connell, J.P., Wellborn, J.G. (1991). Competence, autonomy, and relatedness: A motivational analysis of self-system processes. In M.R. Gunnar & L.A. Sroufe (Eds.), Self processes in development: Minnesota Symposium on Child Psychology (Vol. 23, pp. 43-77). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

Datnow, A., & Castellano, M. (2000). Teachers’ responses to Success for All: How beliefs, experiences, and adaptations shape implementation. American Educational Research Journal, 37(3), 775-779.

Dufour, R., & Eaker, R. (1998). Professional learning communities: Best practices for enhancing student achievement. Bloomington, IN: National Educational Service.

Hord, S. (1997). Professional learning communities: Communities of continuous inquiry and development. Austin, TX: Southwest Educational Development Laboratory.

McLaughlin, M.W., & Talbert, J. (1993). Contexts that matter for teaching and learning. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University, Center for Research on the Context of Secondary School Teaching.

Rosenholtz, S. (1989). Teacher’s workplace: The social organization of schools. New York, NY: Longman.

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