Episode 14 – How Teachers Can Continue to Grow

In this episode Maggie and Duane take a break from our current series of examining results from the PISA exam and instead share ideas for how teachers can continue their professional growth.

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please Tweet us at @dhabecker and @pelelover1

Show notes at http://theothermath.com

Maggie found this wonderful article…

How teachers stay current: http://teachingcommons.cdl.edu/cdip/facultyresearch/Stayingcurrentinthefield.html (Ideas for the first 4 statements)

  1. Becoming an effective consumer of research (Staying current on the research)
    • Awareness of the latest findings, trends, understandings, insights and conversations in the field of education places an individual’s own practice into a larger context.
    • For new teachers one of the most challenging aspects of staying current is time.  
  2. Reading key publications
    • Look to professional organizations (NCTM, ASCD, CMC, CISC, CTA, NEA)
    • Ask colleagues in the field about what they read
    • Browse your Office of Education library/website
    • Follow blogs, journals, and podcasts that publish articles of interest
  3. Attending key gatherings
    • Professional conferences and meetings offers another venue for staying current in education.  
    • Many are annual events sponsored by professional organizations.  
    • By choosing the gatherings carefully, teachers will begin to make connections to others doing similar work, related work, or complementary work, and may form relationships that last throughout a career.
    • Presentations may push traditional thinking.
  4. Developing a network of colleagues
    • The academic life can be isolating unless teachers actively reach out to those whose work inspires, challenges, and interests them. 
    • Over years of such engagement, accomplished members develop an entire network of scholars that pushes their research, teaching and service in new directions.

Excerpt from – http://www.teachhub.com/professional-development-tips-teachers

Improve Your Performance

The essence of a teacher is to help others. This is why it may so hard for educators to look at themselves to see what they can improve upon. Here are a few tips to help you improve your performance as a teacher.

  1. Read – Join a professional scholarly journal, go online and read educational blogs, or read some literature on education. Knowledge is power.
  2. Participate – Go to educational conferences or workshops, or attend online seminars and webinars. Participation in these types of event will make you a more effective teacher.
  3. Join a Group – There are many groups you that you can join, online and off. All of these groups are a great source of information as well as inspiration. You can learn a lot from other professionals who have years of experience.
  4. Observe Your Peers – An effective teacher takes the time to observe other teachers. These teachers can be a great source of knowledge for you. You can find a new strategy to teach or behavior management plan to implement.
  5. Share – Once you have improved your performance, then you should share your knowledge with others. Contribute to your profession, and others will be thankful.

 

Excerpt from – https://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/8-strategies-to-change-how-you-teach/ 

  1. Reflect, Reflect, Reflect – Reflect on what you learned, reflect after further reading, reflect after discussing it with students or colleagues, then reflect after giving it a try. Consider using “How did it go, and how do you know?” to help frame that reflection, which forces you to both confront how you think things went, and then consider the “data” or evidence of that assessment (whether formal or informal).
  2. Listen to Students – They’ll let you know how you’re doing, and how any changes to your teaching are “going.” You just have to be willing to listen with an open mind.

Maggie’s Motto: Always look for at least one thing that you can learn.

 

A hodge-podge of ideas for growing:

Twitter

Regional Math Events

  • In California
    • CMC-South: Palm Springs in November
    • CMC-North: Monterey in December
    • CMC-Central: central California in March
  • Look for the math organization in your state

 

National Math Events

 

Webinars

 

MOOC

 

Did we leave off a favorite resource of yours? Leave it in the comments below!

.

.

.

Comments

  1. Thanks for pulling the curtain back and giving us an inside glimpse, at the way things should be, if we’re serious about using PPC strategies successfully!