The
notion that beliefs guide actions resonates across decades and
communities. The popular “This I
Believe” radio show from the 1950s has morphed into a website by the same name, where people from
all over the world share essays describing the core values that guide their
lives.
Teachers’
beliefs likewise guide their actions in the classroom, so understanding a
teacher’s beliefs about education and instruction can give us touchstones for
coaching. When looking for improvement, connect
with a core belief.
How
do you peel away the layers and get to a teacher’s core beliefs? One way is to ask why she became a
teacher. What was her journey?
This
week I had the opportunity to hear Gravity Goldberg at the CCIRA literacy
conference. Gravity described a time
when learning about a teacher’s journey uncovered core teaching beliefs. The story made me think more about the
centrality of teacher’s beliefs for sustainable change.
Gravity
was coaching at a high school with hard-to-reach teachers. Thankfully, there was a first-year teacher willing
to accept Gravity’s support. It seemed,
however, that practices Gravity suggested butted up against recommendations
this young teacher was getting from a more-experienced colleague. In an attempt
to begin building a relationship with the more-experienced teacher, Gravity
asked, “Why did you become a teacher?”
This
veteran teacher was adamant that she wanted students who left her classroom to
be prepared for college. Peeling back
another layer, the teacher told of her own experience as a first-generation
college student. With a combination of
sadness and determination, she described how her first college paper came back
with a D-, red-penned and inscribed, “See me.” The teacher talked about how
that conversation unfolded, with the professor asking where she’d attended high
school and then proclaiming, “Well, they didn’t prepare you for college!” This teacher’s response to the shaming was to
promise herself that no student she had would leave her classroom
unprepared. Her approach, however, was
to do the red marking now so that it could be avoided later.
Gravity
described this conversation not as a magical turning point where the teacher suddenly
stopped marking each-and-every-error on student papers. There was nothing that abrupt. However, the teacher’s story gave Gravity a
touchstone for further conversations. Over time, the teacher recognized that she
was perpetuating her own experience with shaming onto her students, and she
made some shifts.
Asking
about a teacher’s why – their raison d’être as a teacher –
is one way to uncover a teacher’s beliefs.
How else might you guide a conversation to peel back the layers and
uncover teaching beliefs? When might
understanding a teacher’s core beliefs be helpful?
When
a teacher seems reluctant to change practices, it may be rooted to a core
belief, which may be held implicitly. As the teacher makes that belief
explicit, she can intentionally examine whether the belief still hold value for
her, and how her practices align or misalign with her beliefs.
As
coaches, understanding teachers’ beliefs can help us support them as they bring
their practices into alignment with their personal guiding principles.
--------------------
I
started a new Facebook book group for my book, Collaborative
Lesson Study. For a free,
downloadable Quickstart Guide to Lesson Study and an invitation to join the
closed Facebook group, go here.
Each week between now and March 27 we’ll
discuss one chapter (and I’ll add a quick video). Read or comment as much or as little as you’d
like.
--------------------
This
week, you might want to take a look at:
The why’s and how’s of including
movement in learning:
How
Big Bird finds a safe place in his imagination (works for big people, too!):
Using
“passion blogging” to teach literary analysis:
Kids thrive in schools where the
adults are learning, too:
Podcasting with young students:
Was this helpful? Please share!
Want to know about new posts? Click
“Follow” (bottom right)
No comments:
Post a Comment