I read a blog post recently which talked about a gathering of technology product executives and politicians who came together to express their vision for learning using technology in education. The author seemed quite pleased with the ideas that were bandied about. I did not disagree that technology may play a big role in education, but I was struck by the fact that there were no classroom educators in the group. I am always offended when politicians step up to pose as education experts so I did leave a comment on that post and now I would like to expand my thoughts here.
There could have been five times that number of technology executives and politicians in that room discussing the changes in education which technology can make, and the end result will be little change. The missing element in that formula is the teacher element. If technology is to have a greater impact on learning, there better be teachers on that bandwagon. Technology by itself will sit and gather dust, unless teachers are shown how to use it to accomplish what they need to teach by using it. Forget about the paradigm shift in education for kids. We need a paradigm shift in education for educating educators.
The simple answer that most people throw out to address the problem of teachers needing to change, is to change the way we train teachers. Quite honestly, the training of new teachers is not where the problem lies. Young teachers are trained well in the philosophy and methods of teaching. The real learning however, what really makes a teacher, a teacher, takes place after a teacher gets a job teaching. It is the culture of the school and the district in which that teacher works that will have the greatest influence on that teacher. It the school’s culture that will allow that teacher to grow to his, or her greatest potential, or it will stifle that potential in the name of status quo. If the culture of the school does not support the use of technology tools for learning, chances are neither will the teacher. Of course there are exceptions, but most people go along, to get along when it comes to their job. It becomes a matter of the culture changing the new teacher rather than the new teachers having any effect on the culture.
The real answer for change is not just in changing the way we teach kids, but rather in the way we teach their teachers as well. The model for professional development used by most schools was developed for another time. If we are looking for a paradigm shift in education, we need to start with the educators. A great deal happens and moves forward in our world in a short period of time. Staying relevant today is not a passive exercise. It requires some amount of participation, involvement, or mental exercise. Technology offers the tools and opportunities to those educators willing to learn and use them. It is that will that must be worked on.
There seems to be little serious consideration for revamping professional development in anyone’s long-range plans. We espouse life-long learning, but we do not support it and few really practice it. It is a difficult task involving reworking contracts, and addressing long-standing procedures for professional development. It should be obvious that these methods are not meeting our needs so why not consider change? To make any effective change in education, as far as an impact of technology goes, concentrate on training teachers in technology. There might be 500,000 teachers actively collaborating and communicating using technology and Social Media for their personal professional development. That may sound impressive, if you fail to consider that there are 7.2 million teachers in the USA. Technology will have little effect on the children in our education system unless it has an effect on the system’s teachers first.
Give teachers the technology training that they need, and the support they need to use it. Don’t stress the bells and whistles of technology but specific ways it can be used for learning. Throwing technology at anyone without training and support is useless; worse than that, it is irresponsible, yet it is done every day in schools in this country. Educate the administrators in technology, so they can understand how outdated policies as well as policies based on knee-jerk reactions hinder technology in education. As long as we are instructing educators in Technology, it would be most helpful to instruct IT people in education. We need IT people and teachers blending their skills to make things possible, not telling each other how things won’t work. Make meaningful professional development for teachers and administrators a priority and you may someday see a vision for kids’ learning enhanced by technology come true. The real paradigm shift in education must be in the education of the educators and the culture of schools.
My Island View 
Tom
Thank you for your reflections re teacher learning. I could not agree more. I have said many times over the years that you can’t teach a teacher how to be a teacher until they ‘are’ a teacher.
The culture into which a ‘new’ teacher arrives is what shapes their future as an educator. I know this from my own experience and that is taking us back into 1973 when I took up my first position at Montrose Primary School in Victoria, Australia. Full of enthusiasm and excitement I walked into that classroom and my heart dropped. Just an old relocate ale classroom detached form the main building, a pile of old and broken desks, no books, no shelves, nothing and thirty Grade 3 students arriving the next week. No one to meet and greet me, no one to show me the ropes, nothing. So I just copied what the other grade three teacher was doing and nothing about my training came to the forefront in that original setting. Little has change today when it comes to the impact of culture. I learned how to be a teacher in action when those 30 Third graders walked in the following Monday. The culture at that school at that time was basal readers and workbooks, no matter that I may have learned about more interesting things at university. That was the cultu of the school and I conformed.
Today the same applies, so why not take your challenge and change the culture of the schools to have a deep respect for technology rather than a deep fear. I can astounded at how many educators and community members of my generation ( you can do the math on when I started teaching) are so anti technology for students in school. They are putting their heads in the sand. My educated friends laugh at me being on Twitter and having a Blog. Why at my age am I trying to be like the young ones? – they ask me. Why? Because I want to live int the world for the next 40 years ( yes, I expect to live a long and engaged life ) and be involved in the educational world for as long as I have something to offer. If that means that I need to jump in and learn the new technologies then that is what I must do.
You are so right when you make the direction to changing the way we have professional learning for teachers. We have to start at the top with the Directors and Superintendents and Principals and leaders and drill down to the teachers and the kids.
In my work in literacy and in particular oral language development, I am focusing on making connections with teachers who are exploring the links to the technologies to make this spect of learning alive in the me world as well as through our normal processes.
It is a challenge, but it is one that I am willing to take and I know that I have to move to using the technologies in my professional learning sessions as well as supporting those who are already on the path in their own classrooms.
You have pushed me a bit more with this post and so my resolve is even stronger. ( I am responding on my iPad and it will not allow me to go back and check what I have written so please excuse any typos etc, but I wanted to make the comment while it was fresh in my mind)
Thanks
CC
Thanks for the insights. One of the key points that I try to make when developing technology professional development courses for teachers is that they must leave with a hands-on, classroom-ready, individual lesson plan to take back into the classroom. Esoteric discussions have their place, but if a teacher is going to integrate technology and change his/her methods, he needs to have immediate practical application. If not, then he probably had a good time bonding with other professionals, but that’s the end of it …
I agree with you Tom, but I also feel teachers need to put a little positive peer pressure on other teachers who don’t realize how great technology is. Teachers are grouped together, let’s make our group as strong as it can be. I do not like it when administrators have to create a culture to show teachers what to do, teachers can take the initiative and create their own culture starting with their colleagues. Let’s share with each other and better ourselves. Teacher to teacher.
Last Wednesday, at the MassCUE conference, I had the opportunity to listen to David Whittier from Boston University present his research on technology integration in education from the invention of film to radio to television and now, computers and other mobile technologies. Whittier’s research suggests “that when teachers are in charge of educational technology, effectiveness improves.” It was amazing to see that over time each new technology was met with the attitude that it was going to revolutionize and transform education, yet that never happened. He demonstrated that in a few case studies where education was transformed, teachers were knowledgeable, decision makers in the process and the process was blended including tech and good teaching. His studies also demonstrated that when student teachers were involved in technology in their pre-service work, they were more apt to integrate technology to better serve students during their professional work. His research supports all that you’re advocating for Tom. It’s amazing that many policy makers, government officials and business leaders are not heeding the research. Thanks for your continued advocacy on behalf of educators and even more importantly, our clients–the students!
Right up my alley again. Nice read.
I agree with you that changing the culture of schools is at the foundation of school change. What I am unsure of is whether our existing school culture can support the reasonable and worthwhile suggestions you make.
The sheer pace of change argues for a very different paradigm for learners. The progress we are making in cognitive science argues for a substantial break from lots of older ideas ranging from the need for bricks and mortar places on rigid schedules dominated by Carnegie units to the idea that college isn’t necessarily the only or best ‘readiness’ that we need to be working towards.
Perhaps we need to acknowledge the rubble around us and start clearing it away while we plan for “something completely different”. Of course, some will argue that this is impractical, but is it any worse than the woodsman who never stops to sharpen his axe? Either way nothing is done in the near term, but by going for radical reforms of many different kinds and styles at least we have a shot at something better.
Given that not much will change, then I think your ideas of connecting social cohorts (admins, IT, teachers, staff) under the banner of tech is as good a reform plan as exists. I think if implemented it has some fairly radical implications. For example, if you train teachers in tech then to be truly effective I think you have to make the training mean more than a useable lesson plan. I think you have to ensure that teachers help students add it to their repertoires as well. Ideally, any tech training that is good for the goose (teachers) should be good for the gander (students). In other words, if teachers learn to collaborate with Google Hangouts then students should share in that learning simultaneously. The idea that we are all learners in the same boat of school? That is a revolutionary idea in schools, one which has profound democratizing implications. Existing modes of power and control (top-down, hierarchical) don’t seem to have effective ways of conversing with power and control from the grassroots (bottom up, folksonomical, teacher-led). That is what sociologists call a “wicked problem”. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicked_problem)
Thanks for the thought provoking post. I am grateful for your having primed the conversation.
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Totally agree. I believe teachers need to “occupy” teacher assessments. I’ve been toying with this idea and created a landing page for comments at http://www.eduKLOUT.com.
I’m wondering if teachers would be able to come together, with the help of social media, to create an online tool “eduKLOUT” that would measure their influence and be a space where teachers could find out what others are doing that works . . . do please add your voice. Should it be non-profit or for profit? Thanks so much 🙂
I completely agree with your thoughts about offering quality professional development for educators – but I also feel that instructional technology classes should be a requirement in undergraduate teacher preparation courses, as well.
My degree is in Computer Science, and I’ve taught in the public school system for the past six years (through alt. cert); I was astounded at how many educators flatly refused to consider technology beyond fact/drill practice games online.
Several of my colleagues have expressed interest in using the digital tools we were given, but simply did not know what to do with them. Which is why I’ve recently created a PD organization, specifically targeting the technology aspect of education…. far too many teachers do not realize the full potential technology offers our students, and its hurting all of us in the long run.
Again, kudos on a great write! I look forward to hearing more of your posts!
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