Learning anything this summer?
sandy_island_caribbean-normal
Summer is in full effect. Swimming, family trips, and other leisure activities are also in full effect. As a result, I am sure that professional learning is not ranked very high on the summer fun list for most teachers. The funny thing is the summer presents the most optimal time for exploring very meaningful professional development ideas. I have come to understand the value of the of a well-timed summer professional learning task, and I would like to solicit other educators for their ideas for teachers of various levels of experience. Please comment below with a professional learning idea that you have benefited from and would like to share with others.
Time for A PLC Refocus
Southwest-20110914-00041
Throughout an academic year, an instructional coach can find themselves going through cycles when working within professional learning communities (PLCs). When you reflect on the function of your PLC group, it is easy to see how the PLC could loose focus on the main goals. If the facilitator of the PLC doesn't recognize the need for re-calibration early enough even the most dedicated group of educators could become completely derailed and discouraged. As a result of experiencing PLC train wrecks as well as PLC success stories, I developed the following short refocusing exercise for the instructional coach or PLC facilitator to implement with a team of teachers. Every team has different dynamics, but usually, around mid-year, a very observant instructional coach could begin to notice the signs that suggest it is time for a PLC Refocus. This is simple in concept, but it requires skillful execution. If the timing is right and the approach is non-judgmental the PLC could benefit greatly. Give it a try, and share your results.
Revisiting PLC Norms
Present each question to the entire team for collaboration and ask them to share their thoughts one question at a time. Ask clarifying questions like those below to simplify the group’s responses and collect their final answers.
What will you say and do when you disagree?
What will you say and do when you are not comfortable with a concept or teaching strategy?
What will you say and do when a colleague achieves a goal?
What will you say and do when a colleague doesn’t follow the PLC Norms?
Working with adults, no problem!
2012-03-02 09.33.04
So you have to work with an adult learner, and you have some concerns. Below is a comparison of the learning characteristics of adult learners and youth learners adapted from Rochester Institute of Technology. Of course, these are generalizations with exceptions occurring in each group of learners, but you may want to keep these differences in mind as you consider the learner population you will be working with.
Adult Learners
Youth Learners
Problem-centered; seek educational solutions to where they are compared to where they want to be in life
Subject-oriented; seek to successfully complete each learning task, regardless of how the task relates to their own goals
Results-oriented; have specific results in mind for education - will drop out if education does not lead to those results because their participation is usually voluntary
Future-oriented; youth education is often a mandatory or an expected activity in a youth's life and designed for the youth's future
Self-directed; typically not dependent on others for direction
Often depend on adults for direction
Often skeptical about new information; prefer to try it out before accepting it
Likely to accept new information without trying it out or seriously questioning it
Seek education that relates or applies directly to their perceived needs that is timely and appropriate for their current lives
Seek education that prepares them for an often unclear future; accept the postponed application of what is being learned
Accept responsibility for their own learning if learning is perceived as timely and appropriate
Depend on others to design their learning; reluctant to accept responsibility for their own learning
In summary, adult learners usually approach learning differently than younger learners:
They are more self-guided in their learning.
They bring more, and expect to bring more, to a learning situation because of their wider experience - and can take more away.
They require learning "to make sense" - they will not perform a learning activity just because you said to do it.