Firstly, in addition to the rigorous subject knowledge and the mastery of the subject area standards, teachers have to understand the characteristics of their school community as well as the local community they serve. In other words, they have to study and understand the local culture. Furthermore, in an outcomes-centered decision-making paradigm, educators need to integrate the philosophy, the mission, and the value- system of their school. In fact, this will be fundamental when defining graduation outcomes, assessments and educational strategies.
Secondly, participating in the process of defining outcomes, teachers need to learn and work collaboratively. They have to develop their own skills of cooperation with colleagues, as well as they should be trained how to reflect creatively on the authenticity of assessments and the effectiveness of their instructional strategies. As a result, teachers will contribute to the achievement of graduation outcomes. In this logic, the specialist’s isolation has to be substituted by cooperative mindset.
Following the outcomes-centered decision-making process, teachers may contemporaneously be professional specialists and educators. Not only will they provide learning achievement, but also they may “customize” their teaching in order to care for the personal growth of their students. So, teachers have to be reflective in their whole process of designing, assessing and deciding on teaching strategies.
Then, the involvement of teachers in the process of choosing outcome as described by Ozar may however be a challenging activity. Given the diversity of teachers in many Catholic schools, or even more generally speaking in Christian schools, to have everybody working with similar understanding of school’s mission might be a great deal. Beyond the possible differences of worldview, there are also the well-worn paths of teaching in every school, which may make difficult to develop a good rational for change.
Your ideas about teachers having "choice" in their curriculum is huge for curriculum development. That ownership we talked about cannot happen without proper facilitation of collaboration. So simple it seems, but you hit the nail on the head when you placed much on the shoulders of the administration. So often teachers are "supposed" to be doing this, but without ample opportunity to do so. Creating the time and structuring the experience are huge when fashioning the academic culture of a school.
ReplyDeleteI too appreciate the fact that you pointed out the fact that the outcomes come from the teacher but that it is not an individual thing it is a collaborative thing. I also really appreciate the fact that you point out the administrators part in all of this. It is their job to create the collaborative environment in which teachers can work together to verbalize outcomes. So how does one educator do that. How do you "force" or rather create collaboration. I really think that principal's can really make or break the climate of a school and should be very aware of that. This is why it makes me really frustrated thinking about public schools in California. Teachers are not the reason our schools are failing yet the state makes them jump through hoops just to clear their credential. The schools are failing because the leadership is inadequate and at some places corrupt. Administrators are not doing their jobs and the teachers (who are the ones that are forming dynamic relationships and working with our youth) are the ones getting the pink slips.
ReplyDeleteCollaboration is a terminology not only apt to the business corporations but it is also famous in the school milieu. I believe that in all disciplines this word is applied; only it has different terminologies. In theology, it is called inculturation, others call it “cooperation” . Whatever word we use as long as we mean that we want to be active participants in the learning process of the child, it is creating a healthy environment. Learning is effective if all institutions are all gearing up towards the development of the student. As what we have learned in the Ecclesial class that a family is not enough to complete the total education of the child. Therefore, other institutions are there to support the student.
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