Passageworks

No Teacher Left Behind?

liz — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 20:57:00 +0000

By Laura Weaver

A great teacher can literally change the course of a student’s life. They light a lifelong curiosity, a desire to participate in democracy, and instill a thirst for knowledge. It’s no surprise that studies repeatedly document that the single biggest influence on student academic growth is the quality of the teacher standing in front of the classroom—not socioeconomic status, not family background, but the quality of the teacher at the head of the class.

-Arne Duncan, Speech at Columbia University Teachers College, October 2009

http://www.ed.gov/news/speeches/2009/10/10222009.html

“Teacher Quality” has become a powerful movement in education over the last years, emphasizing the critical role of the teacher in achieving student learning outcomes. With this new emphasis comes a whole host of questions, such as: what is teacher quality and how do we measure it? Is it innate or can it be cultivated? What will teacher quality be tied to? If teachers don’t “measure up,” what will be the consequence? And if teacher quality is tied exclusively to students’ test scores, will this initiative become “no teacher left behind?”

The Current Landscape of Teaching

After working with educators in the field for years now, I have seen the wreckage created by reform fatigue, funding crises, low morale, changing leadership, job insecurity, turnstile educational policies and the pressure of high stakes testing. Teachers are also experiencing a kind of “whiplash”—for years, the emphasis in education was on the creation of a kind of ”teacher proof curriculum.” Now, teachers are being named as the sole factor in making or breaking a student’s success—particularly in regard to test scores.

Statistics gathered in the Quality Teacher’s Initiative paper during the Bush Administration illustrate the challenges teacher’s face.

“Many new teachers do not feel ready for the challenges of today’s classrooms. Fewer than 36 percent feel ‘very well prepared’ to implement curriculum and performance standards, and less than 20 percent feel prepared to meet the needs of diverse students or those with limited English proficiency. (pg. 3)

“22 percent of new public school teachers leave the profession in their first three years.” (pg. 3)

“Fewer than 20 percent of public school teachers report that they are “very satisfied” with the level of esteem society accords them. Teachers also report that they have problems maintaining order in the classroom and face the threat of being sued when they enforce reasonable standards of discipline. Additionally, low pay and the burden of student loans and other expenses related to teaching can contribute to teachers feeling dissatisfied with their work environment. (pg. 3)

http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/infocus/education/teachers/quality-teachers.pdf

This is all evidence that systems are not in place that prepare, assess and support teachers to thrive and express their passion for teaching. In order to create an environment conducive to hiring, developing, and retaining quality teachers, we must develop multi-faceted strategies for systems change. This necessarily involves effective and ongoing professional development, the inclusion of teacher voice and viewpoint in policy decisions, pay schedules that reward continuing education, a variety of approaches to data collection, collaboration with parents, and a shift in teacher preparation programs to include not only skills, content and curriculum, but also developmental psychology, brain research and skills related to cultivating safe, vibrant classroom communities.

Teaching Presence: A Critical Aspect of Teacher Quality

At the 2009 Mind and Life Conference: Educating 21st Century Citizens, Dr. Lee Schulman President Emeritus at The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching spoke of the challenging nature of the teaching profession. He noted that after working extensively with doctors, teachers, and engineers, he was convinced that teachers have the most challenging job because they are required to attend to the diverse and conflicting needs of thirty people all at once. http://www.educatingworldcitizens.org

In an effort to improve academic outcomes and standardize teaching methodologies, educational policy has, at times, sought to look through the teachers and create programs and curriculum that are “teacher-proof”—able to withstand the “worst” of teachers. The mechanical approach represented by “teacher-proofing” falls short because it encourages dry, rigid, joyless teaching that diminishes the unique spirit and capacities of each individual teacher. We all know stories of students struggling through a favorite subject, not because the teacher doesn’t know the content, but because the teacher lacks presence and passion. Conversely, we know that students can learn to love or excel in a “hated” subject precisely because of the presence and passion of the teacher.

In 2000, Rachael Kessler published an article entitled “Teaching Presence”, which identified three dimensions of “teaching presence.”

Our capacity to teach with an open heart and to know what closes our heart and what assists us to open it again

Our willingness and ability to hold respectful discipline

Our ability to be emotionally and intellectually present, responsive to the needs of the moment

Kessler has since added another dimension:

Emotional Range: our capacity to know, understand and feel comfortable with the full range of human emotions in ourselves and others

http://passageworks.org/index.php/resources/articles-to-download

As Emerson says, “who you are speaks so loudly, I can’t hear what you say you are.” Perhaps this is what teacher quality is—the unique combination of our skills, knowledge and tools as teachers and deliverers of curriculum, along with our “teaching presence”—our capacity to invite students, through our own example, to find authenticity, meaning and purpose in the classroom. This definition of teacher quality includes both strong content competency AND the capacity to meet our students, build relationships, and find ways to “unlock” their ability to learn and develop as human beings.

Diagnosing the Crisis in Education: A Systems Approach

Arne Duncan’s last speeches have focused on the importance of teacher quality and the failure of teacher preparation programs to adequately prepare teachers for the classroom. http://www.ed.gov/news/speeches/2009/10/10222009.html

This focus on the teacher as essential to learning and safety outcomes is long overdue. And yet this crisis in education cannot be resolved with a single focus. Education is a system embedded in a unique culture and context. Finding a solution must also involve a systemic approach that engages the problems from many sides— we need a fundamental shift in the way we all relate to education—parents, teachers, administrators, policy makers, students. It is time to move beyond finger-pointing and isolated, discrete reform movements and to engage in partnerships, collaborations and true dialogue. Meeting the clarion call of our youth in crisis will require a different kind of activism—one that spends time deeply listening to the system it attempts to “fix” (and not only through quantitative and test scores), involves all the stakeholders including students, and focuses on the development of the minds and hearts of the educators who walk into the classroom with young people every day.

Best Practice

So let’s acknowledge the keystone role of the teacher. Let’s invest in the retooling of our teacher preparation programs and support school communities to value teacher voice and to create clear, multi-dimensional accountability measures. Let’s create communities of educators who value each other’s feedback, who trust one another, who welcome classroom observation and discussion on best practice. Let’s be absolutely honest about the challenge of teaching at this time—with the erosion of community and family structures, with students who experience intense poverty and daily trauma, with a world that is changing radically fast. And let’s clearly define what Teacher Quality means. Let’s offer teachers the finest of curriculum and professional development and compensate them fairly. And let’s also support them to develop essential capacities of open heart, respectful discipline, being present and emotional range—qualities in a teacher that allow classrooms to come alive and engage students in the magic of learning and human development.

21st Century Education from the Inside Out

mwilding — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:51:29 +0000

by Mark Wilding

“21st Century skills” is the latest buzz in education. Is this the newest fad in slogan-based reform or is the call for 21st century skills provoking an important conversation about 21st century education? It has certainly re-kindled a long-standing debate about content vs. skills.

“‘We are stuck,” says Linda Darling-Hammond, head of the President’s Education Policy Working Group, “We’ve been having this curriculum war for years.’” - from "Backers of ’21st-Century Skills’ Take Flak" (See also “Critical thinking? You need knowledge” by Diane Ravitch)

Getting Beyond False Dichotomies

Our culture has an insatiable desire for simple solutions, which usually involve false dichotomies such as skills vs. content. Yes, we all would prefer unambiguous simple solutions to complex problems, however integrating skills and content are part of any effective educational approach. In the words of Robert Sylwester, Emeritus Professor of Education at the University of Oregon, and one of the foremost researchers on the brain and education, "Emotions drive attention which drives learning, memory and just about everything else."

As author and cognitive scientist Daniel Willingham commented in his blog: “Clarion calls for more attention to 21st-century skills brings to mind a familiar pattern in the history of education: pendulum swings between an emphasis on process (analysis, critical thinking, cooperative learning) which fosters concern that students lack knowledge and generates a back-to-basics movement that emphasizes content, which fosters concern that student are merely parroting facts with no idea of how to use their knowledge, and so on. In calmer moments, everyone agrees that students must have both content knowledge and practice in using it, but one or the other tends to get lost as the emphasis sweeps to the other extreme.”

Discipline vs. Open Heart

Another false dichotomy exists in the apparent dilemma over teacher approaches in the classroom. Should teachers focus on relationship building and express genuine care for their students? Or should they establish clear boundaries in order to maintain discipline. Of course boundaries are important, and educational research tells us that teachers that care for students and demand their best are the most effective. (from Listening to Urban Kids by Wilson and Corbett) Rachael Kessler describes this need for holding both respectful discipline and open heart in “The Teaching Presence.”

Practicing What We Preach

Many have pointed out that 21st century citizens need to have the capacity for complex thinking, which includes being able to hold two seemingly opposing points of view. As educators, maybe we could ‘practice what we preach’ and embrace the 21st century skills that we strive to cultivate in our students. These include: discerning bias; demonstrating intellectual curiosity; generating and implementing novel approaches; interacting effectively with different individuals, groups, and cultures; recognizing the interdependent nature of our world; working effectively with others; and cooperating for a common purpose.

One of the most powerful ways that young people learn is by example. Is it possible that leaders in the field of education could collaborate with folks that think differently than they do? I know this will generate less entertaining blog posts, but it might help us create an education system that our grandchildren will thank us for.

Individuals and organizations who advocate either for the importance of content or for 21st century citizen skills should be partners in this conversation about innovation. This is not just because cognitive and human development are both important, but because an integrated approach is synergistic — supporting improved academic performance, 21st century skill development, individual student resilience, and school safety.

End vs. Means

This brings up another cosmic education question. Are so-called learning and life skills ‘ends’ in themselves or are they a means to an academic end? There is mounting evidence that social and emotional skills are fundamental competencies for 21st century citizens and they are also essential for academic performance. The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) states it this way, “Developing these competencies fosters academic achievement, a sense of belonging, engagement, and positive behavior, and equips children with the skills and attitudes they need to succeed in the 21st century.”

"The drive to promote life and career competencies – often called “soft” or “applied” skills – has been part of American school policy debate for years. The SCANS report of 1991, for instance, listed interpersonal skills, effective management of resources, and personal qualities such as responsibility, self-management, and integrity as essential to successful job performance. Lauren Resnick, a member of the original SCANS panel and current director of the University of Pittsburgh’s Learning Research Development Center says, ‘What really needs to happen is to bring these [two agendas] back together. They never should have been separated in the first place.’" From the Partnership for 21st Century Skills

An Emerging Coalition

Over the last few months, our institute has been participating in an emerging coalition of organizations in Colorado that partner with schools to offer programs for social and emotional learning, character development, and service learning. The coalition is dedicated to developing effective schools through the integration of learning and life skills and academic content knowledge, and we support the inclusion of 21st century skills standards in addition to content standards to achieve both academic excellence and mastery of the learning and life skills. The collaboration is new, and there is a lot of work to do, but the time is ripe for organizations to come together around our common goal of supporting schools and teachers with this integrated approach. Coalition members: Foundation for Character Development, Abraham Lincoln Center for Character Development, Front Range Earth Force, PassageWorks Institute, Peace Jam, Rachel’s Challenge.

I believe that if educators invest the time in listening to each other about what kind of schools we want, that there would be much more agreement than we think, and that this common ground could be the foundation for collaborating on a more complete and integrated approach to educating young people. I want my two grandchildren (and one ‘on the way’) to attend schools that are safe and intellectually challenging environments — so that they have the cognitive, physical, emotional, and social skills to be successful and ethical citizens in the 21st century.

Mark Wilding is the Executive Director of PassageWorks Institute. Mark is the former Director of the Marpa Center for Business and Economics at Naropa University. He helped launch a graduate degree program at Naropa in 1995 and continues to teach graduate courses in authentic leadership and systems thinking. Mark has held leadership roles in government, business, non-profit, and academic organizations. Mark helped found a public computer software company in 1985 and served on the board and in several roles until he left as President in 1993. He has a B.S. in Biology and an M.A. in Environmental Leadership.