A
REPORT TO NZCPPA AGM JUNE Marie
Hanton
NZCPPA
STUDY AND TRAVEL AWARD 2004
TEACHER
LEARNING IN CATHOLIC SCHOOLS
Teacher learning was the focus of my Masters study that I undertook in 2004. Alongside this study I also wanted to know what other catholic principals had set up in their schools to assist teachers to learn. Achieving both goals was the aim of this study award. I passed the Masters paper and this report presents my findings about what happens in catholic schools.
Teacher learning is important. The common themes repeated in the teacher development literature centre on empowerment, collaboration, systems and structures and learning communities. Teachers are empowered through shared decision making and ownership. Systems and structures are needed to provide a framework for supporting learning and the balancing of school and individual needs. Collaboration and collegial support is required to create the learning environment. The development of learning communities, teachers as well as students, is the result. Principal talk focused on teacher learning and how it was both achievement driven and identified through gaps in teachers’ knowledge or skills therefore impacting on student achievement. Systems and structures were required before schools could move forward and teacher ownership of the directions and the learning were seen as vital. Learning was related to the teachers’ work context and therefore had purpose and was meaningful rather than isolated bits and pieces. Teachers were able to see the impact of learning on children’s achievement and their teaching.
For sustainable teacher learning and change, an ongoing learning process needs to be in place. There are a wide range of teacher needs to be addressed by schools to develop learning in a supportive environment. The collegial support and sharing that schools develop relies greatly on the commitment of individual teachers, but if learning is to be relevant to teachers and the learning of their students, then teachers need to be fully involved and take ownership of their learning within manageable and sustainable systems. Whatever the system in any school, it will need to be one in which teachers want to learn and they help each other to learn. Catholic principals have set up systems and structures in their schools to promote learning, collaboration and create learning communities. They have done so in several ways; through school appraisal systems, whole school learning, and group learning. Any one school may use more than one approach and may change approaches from one year to the next. In some schools this is very much staff directed and planned but in all schools professional development is led by the principal as the professional leader. It is the principal who is trying to provide the support and reduce the barriers to learning in what is often an overcrowded staff development programme.
There is no one best way to create a learning climate of ongoing improvement. Each school has to find their own way but principals can learn from what others have done.
What is needed to create a learning community is the mindset to learn and change both for principals and teachers. It will take time, leadership, quality assistance and ongoing support. Initiatives need to be supported by and embedded in a strong staff development system and planned carefully. Working relationships need to be developed in a culture of open communication and trust and the principal needs the energy to put all this together and make sure it happens.
TEACHER LEARNING
IN CATHOLIC SCHOOLS
For sustainable teacher learning and change, an ongoing learning process needs to be in place. There are a wide range of teacher needs to be addressed by schools to develop learning in a supportive environment. The collegial support and sharing that schools develop relies greatly on the commitment of individual teachers, but if learning is to be relevant to teachers and the learning of their students, then teachers need to be fully involved and take ownership of their learning within manageable and sustainable systems. Whatever the system in any school, it will need to be one in which teachers want to learn and they help each other to learn. The principal leads by working through the teachers.
Common
Themes in Teacher Learning
The common themes that appear to be repeated in the teacher development literature centre on empowerment, collaboration, systems and structures and learning communities. Teachers are empowered through shared decision making and ownership. Systems and structures need to provide a framework for supporting learning and the balancing of school and individual needs. Collaboration and collegial support is required to create the learning environment. The development of learning communities is the result. I have included a brief outline of each of the four categories in Figure 1 at the end of this paper (refer Appendix 1).
The literature on teacher learning supports the need for and importance of professional development. It is stated that only teachers can create good teaching (Stoll & Fink, 1996) when teachers are empowered to learn and grow as professionals and become “change agents.’ (Fullan, 1999). As adult learners, meaningful learning that focuses on their work as teachers will engage teachers as learners rather than what they see as irrelevant.
Systems
and Structures
Schools need a system of coherence and structure. They need to consult staff to show that they are valued. They need active learners taking responsibility for their learning. Management have to set in place systems within which teacher learning can occur and make allowances for differing needs and abilities. There needs to be a plan but with the flexibility to change as the situation changes and the structures should be manageable to provide sustainable learning.
For different people and schools and for varied reasons different models work. The importance of the culture of the school is emphasized in teacher learning; one that needs trust, collaborative practices, critical reflection and the systems within which individuals can work together for the collective good (Lovett, 2001). Well designed professional development programmes can overcome problems in the area of linkage to practice. The learning within the learning community can be undertaken at many levels; within the classroom; between classrooms such as a senior class working alongside a junior class; between school and the community and between teachers, thereby creating supportive people structures. Professional development needs to allow teachers time or opportunities to re-examine beliefs about teaching and learning as well as give teachers support and time at school for implementation of learning or change.
Empowerment
of Teachers
The demands on teachers to meet school goals and prescribed learning outcomes can creating a dis-empowering climate where teacher growth is secondary to school needs (Green, 1998). Improving practice is central to appraisal and teachers must take responsibility for goal setting and ownership of their accountability along with their
learning.
Empowerment of teachers can be the tool by which change or improvement can happen. Change will not happen unless teachers see it as relevant and of benefit to teaching and able to enhance learning (Cardno & Piggot-Irvine, 1997). Without confidence, the motivation to learn will not be enough (Stoll, 1999) thus teacher knowledge of pedagogy and content, along with their level of skill impact on possible change in schools. What is also important is that once teachers and the school have developed the capacity to change then each following change becomes easier, but only if teachers are willing to change their practices to improve.
A
Collaborative Culture
Where collegial support is evident, it is seen as strengthening the professional community by enabling teachers to help teachers learn and a collaborative culture and shared vision can give a unity of purpose (Southworth, 1998) that will lead to improvement. Change and improvement will come about through teamwork, professional dialogue and a school culture that will sustain teacher collaboration that learning and ongoing improvement will take place (Hopkins, 2001).
If teachers have trust in each other, value diversity, experimentation and risk taking then these conditions will positively influence collective learning (Hopkins, 2001). Working in a group and collaborating to learn is not easy. It takes time to refine best practice and if the membership of the group changes there has to be a period of adjustment. Teamwork will improve a school as a learning community, but only if it is the norm and not an exception.
Each school has a unique social context and
the importance of the
school culture to teacher learning is vital to improvement (Stoll & Fink,
1996). Systems need to be adapted to suit the school environment, the make up
of the team and the methods of learning.
A
Community of Learners
The professional development of teachers is at the heart of being a school; to building a learning community not a quick fix, with teachers being educated rather than just skilled, challenged and rewarded by learning rather than just building competency (Green, 1998). Active promotion of professional development has been linked to team building and collective working is facilitated by the free flow of information, well organised meetings and the sharing of responsibilities.
Professional development works within the social context of the workplace. Within this context the teacher is also influenced by new ideas, strategies and learning models. Sergiovanni (1995) separates and labels teacher development into three areas. The first is training for mastery of skills. The second is professional for the development of expertise and the third is renewal where the development of personal and the professional self is seen as important. All these have a role to play in the learning process and in creating a learning climate.
Learning communities are seen as built by critical reflection and collaboration, and often with the assistance of outside facilitators working alongside school facilitators (Mitchell, 1999). Teacher discussion should have a teaching and learning focus, whether through informal or formal opportunities. Formal opportunities may be a study group, collaboration, critical friend, and mentor or action research. In a learning community a more skilled or experienced teacher may serve as a role model, supporter or encourager of another teacher to develop reflective practice. The induction process for a new teacher may work alongside this.
Teacher talk or learning talk is supported as an effective way of developing teacher learning and changes in practice (Annan, Lai & Robinson, 2003). Lovett (2002) describes learning talk as talk that is about teachers’ work, which is focused and non-threatening and will enable teachers to move beyond their comfort zones. Reflection and talk within a social context allows teachers develop strategies to improve their practice. Not all teachers will respond to this model of learning described as “the quality learning circle” approach, as it can be sufficient to develop expertise within a supportive and challenging learning community. Learning talk is seen to contribute to changing teacher beliefs and practice and improving student achievement.
Impacts on teacher learning are many. Time is required to learn, to practice and follow-up. What is happening in teachers’ lives and the stage at which they are in their career affect learning as do teacher beliefs and knowledge about teaching (Stoll, 1999). Although teachers may need to be life-long learners, the presentation of new ideas and skills is affected by peoples’ feelings, relationships and readiness for learning. Teacher attitudes to learning and their needs are factors to be considered when new learning is required along with how they can be engaged in the learning experience.
There does not seem to be one solution or model for change. Fullan (1999:29) states “No one can solve your change problems but yourself.” Whatever the model used there seems to be some support for the continuous model of learning rather than the one-off workshops that provide disconnected training and are not seen as developing a life-long learning habit. It is up to management to provide for this if sustainable change is the goal. The mindscapes we have affect our choices and the plans we may follow (Sergiovanni, 1996).
Professional
development is valuable and ongoing. It provides a chance to rise above the
daily demands of the class and school. It involves professional fellowship, the
sharing of ideas, intellectual stimulation or challenge and it provides a
chance to
develop one’s own understandings and skills. It should provide practical, relevant, applicable ideas, strategies and resources. It allows for contact with high quality presenters, experts in their field. It can allow the development of new insights as well as new skills. But most of all it should be non-threatening, enjoyable, and user friendly, with long-term benefits, for both the individual and the school as both a community of learning and a learning community (Poskitt, 2001).
Whatever the model used for teacher learning, it is up to the management team to provide for this if sustainable change is the goal within a learning community (refer Appendix 2). Management also have to think about what teachers should learn and how and why they should learn and give teachers time to learn. School appraisal and attestation systems can be used alongside learning and provide a context within which learning can occur.
Teacher
Learning in Catholic Schools
In 2004 and 2005 I contacted principals to
find out how they were managing teacher learning in their schools. I did not
have the time to contact all principals but the following information outlines
what happens in ten Catholic Primary Schools in the Christchurch Diocese. The
schools are in rural and urban areas and vary in size from three teachers to
ten or greater.
Principals have set up systems and structures in their schools to promote learning, collaboration and create learning communities. They have done so in several ways; through school appraisal systems, whole school learning, and group learning. Any one school may use more than one approach and may change approaches from one year to the next. It is very much achievement driven through setting targets and actions to meet these. In some schools this is very much staff directed and planned but in all schools professional development is led by the principal as the professional leader. It is the principal who is trying to provide the support and reduce the barriers to learning in what is often an overcrowded staff development programme.
Learning
as part of the appraisal process.
Teachers may discuss goals with the principal, in their syndicates or as a whole school. The goals are set together and then teachers may add their own. These goals relate to the previous year and what came out of the ongoing appraisal process and achievement targets identified through data collection and in consultation with teachers. The members of the syndicate in one school are also the peers for peer appraisal and feedback. In this school there is a split of appraisal attestation for accountability which the principal oversees and appraisal for development and improvement, which is teacher needs based and driven by the individual teachers. Some teachers chose Walk by Faith, Degree upgrades or other study to gain qualifications as their own personal development.
SNAP appraisal (self negotiated action plan) or variations of this approach were used in some schools. Teachers set goals each term. They discuss these with other teachers and report on these. Teachers observe each other. Another school which used this developed goals for their appraisal round their learning focus, applied it in class teaching and gave each other feedback then SNAP was the next step for their learning. The indicators in the job description reflected the annual goals. Everything was linked together.
Whatever the approach it seems as if the layers of goal setting, the job description and performance standards are connected to the appraisal goals and are all inter-related.
Whole school learning
The most common examples of this are, AToL (Assess to Learn) with a reading or written language focus, involvement in the Numeracy Project or because of membership of an ICT cluster. Some schools run a syndicate learning focus alongside a staff learning focus such as maths or environmental education.
Topics for teacher learning varied from curriculum to learning pedagogy and multiple intelligences, thinking skills such as six thinking hats and how to use computers in teaching. A school may be involved in a major professional development contract but still carry on Literacy or another minor focus such as thinking skills. A whole school involvement in a contract such as ICT can be a vehicle to move teachers from where they are to becoming more motivated learners.
Most schools involved an outside expert to assist in teacher learning.
Group
learning
One school had set up a Quality Learning Circle approach across syndicates with teachers setting their own learning goals. Another school developed a whole school approach with teachers (in groups) visiting other schools to see other practices. The groups were then able to talk together about what they saw, learn together and teachers brought back learning to share with others.
Peer tutoring was in action in one school involving pairs of teachers with the choice of peer dependent on need. It was found that teachers mixed and the process made use of teacher strengths. This school also had teachers teaching other levels as a learning experience as all teachers then know that they share in the learning of all children.
A syndicate approach developed by one school had a curriculum focus but each syndicate had a different focus. One was numeracy and the other one literacy. This involved a focus on teaching strategies, assessment and child achievement. There may be a move back to a whole school approach in the future but that is dependent on school and teachers’ needs.
In the majority of schools the principal also chose specific areas of professional development. These may have been in the area of management and leadership, special needs or a need that is individual or school related. Professional development is part of the performance management system. Principals work to remove barriers to teaching and learning through teacher learning. Some specifically mentioned the varying experience and needs in teachers and how staff wellbeing and stress impact on learning as did teacher motivation. Principals used terms such as child centred and learning opportunities; teaching children for the future and not staying in the present; just in time learning and student achievement driven learning. It is seen as important that schools always have a learning focus and get everyone learning together.
Any learning requires resources for the teachers as well as skills teaching for teachers and the learning takes funding and time. It all comes from and comes back to the school vision and the strategic plan, goals and targets. Funding and the provision of release time for teachers was a problem found in some schools. Others were able to make use of staffing entitlements and banked staffing.
There is no one best way to create a learning climate of ongoing improvement. Each school has to find their own way but principals can learn from what others have done.
What is needed to create a learning community is the mindset to learn and change both for principals and teachers. It will take time, leadership and the setting of achievable goals. For continuous learning and life-long learning attitudes to develop there needs to be quality assistance and ongoing support. Initiatives need to be supported by and embedded in a strong staff development system and planned carefully. Working relationships need to be developed in a culture of open communication and trust and the principal needs the energy to put all this together and make sure it happens.
REFERENCES
Annan, B., Lai, M. & Robinson, V. (2003). Teacher talk to improve teaching practices. SET 1. Wellington: NZCER.
Cardno, C., & Piggot-Irvine, E. (1997). Effective performance appraisal. Having accountability and development in staff appraisal. Auckland: Longman NZ Ltd.
Fullan, M. (1999). Change forces the sequel. London: Falmer Press.
Green, J. (1998). Teacher professionalism, teacher development and school improvement. In R. Halsall. (Ed.). Teacher research and school improvement. Philadelphia: Open University Press.
Hopkins, D. (2001). School improvement for real. London: Routledge Falmer.
Lovett, S. (2002). Teachers’ talk helps learning: The quality learning circle approach. SET (1) Wellington: NZCER.
Lovett, S. (2001). How well do schools rate as learning organizations for teachers? Paper presented to the NZARE Conference, Christchurch, December 6-9.
Mitchell, C. (1999). Building learning communities in schools: The next generation or the impossible dream? Interchange 30 (3) p283-303.
Poskitt, J. (2001). Schools doing it for themselves. Successful professional development. SET (1) Wellington: NZCER.
Sergiovanni, T. J. (1995). The principalship: A reflective practice perspective. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Segiovanni, T. J. (1996). Leadership for the schoolhouse: How is it different? Why is it important? San Francisco: Jersey-Bass.
Southworth, G. (1998). Leading improving primary schools. The work of headteachers and deputy heads. London: Falmer.
Stoll, L., & Fink, D. (1996). Changing our schools. Buckingham: Open University.
Stoll, L. (1999, January). Realizing our potential: Building capacity for lasting improvement. Keynote presentation to the Twelfth International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement. San Antonio, Texas. www.leadspace.govt.nz/leadership/leading learning/research learner.php
Appendix
1
Figure 1 Specific details of the
four categories relevant to teacher learning that have emerged from the
literature on teacher development
|
Systems and structures. |
Systems and structures to allow for co-ordinated efforts. Time and
workload Funding for
release and support. Setting up a
systematic approach to change. Setting in place
sustainable systems to manage change. Systems to be
flexible and responsive to change. Professional
development linked to school charter and strategic plan. |
|
Empowerment of teachers |
Empowerment of teachers to learn and grow. Teachers taking control
of learning and change rather than hierarchical and imposed. A team of
equals. Communication
that is open and honest. Relationships
based on trust. Teachers take
control of goal setting and their own accountability. An effective
school that moves forward. |
|
A collaborative culture. |
A collaborative culture. Collegial
support. Shared decision
making. Ownership of the
process and the results. Teachers as
active participants. Teachers as
change agents. Teacher
commitment to change. Balance between
school and personal responsibility. A
non-threatening environment. |
|
A community of learners. |
A community of learners. Developing a
shared vision. Common emphasis
on learning. A climate
conducive to change. Teacher
development linked to colleagues and whole school – the social context. The focus is
school improvement of teaching. Good teaching
and models of best practice. Meaningful and
authentic learning. Everyone has the
chance to learn and contribute to the learning of others. Teachers want to
learn and be life-long learners. Intrinsic
motivation. A community
built by critical reflection and collaboration. |
Appendix
2 A Summary of the themes teacher
learning.
Systems
and structures
Empowerment
of teachers
A
Collaborative Culture
A
Community of Learners
Problems
related to the creation and sustainability of learning communities.
What
is needed to develop a learning community?