How Visiting a Model Teacher Impacts Professional Learning

  

Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.

~Helen Keller

In the past, education has been an isolated profession.  Teacher leadership has allowed us to shine a light on the benefits of collaboration, observing our peers, and coaching each other to improve our practice.

Every teacher faces challenges.  Various academic needs, schedules, testing mandates, daily paperwork, and behavior issues plague our direct instruction of students.  Sometimes we become bogged down in the grit of the day and struggles we face, that we lose our perspective.  Sometimes we need an opportunity to see the same lesson, content, grade, or curriculum modeled in a different way. 

Linn-Mar teachers have the liberty of visiting thirty-five model teachers this year.  These teachers cover a variety of content, and grade levels PK- 12^th grade.  Specialty areas, the arts, music, physical education, and student services are also represented.  To help teachers in our district access these teachers, Erin Watts, one of the Teacher Leader Coordinators, created a website.  Teachers can visit this link to view all the model teacher’s schedules, a short bio, and skills they demonstrate.  Videos will soon be added.  

This website just launched end of September and has experienced high traffic.  These visits can take place during teacher prep periods, and instructional coaches, mentor coaches, technology coaches, or teacher leader coordinators cover classes for teachers to observe, collaborate and discuss what they observed and how to apply it to their grade level or content area.

Visiting another teacher not only provides a model of how to teach a lesson or content area in a different way, it allows teachers to reflect on his/her current practice and see how colleagues produce results with different strategies, techniques, and tasks.  Teachers are building relationships, rapport, trust, and learning to direct their professional learning to improve practice and impact student learning.

Having visited these model teachers this fall, I learned an extreme amount about teaching, student learning, collegiality, and empathy.  Sometimes in education it feels like our current reality is more stressful than any other grade level or classroom.  

I learned to appreciate my peers.  I know that teaching high school math is not in my wheelhouse, but I certainly am in awe of the pace and strategies the teacher modeled for students.  I cannot play any musical instruments, but have great respect for the teachers who instructed students how to master the craft.  I do not have any experience in student support services, but I quickly observed the skill sets teachers in these classrooms have mastered to help students be successful, and to keep classrooms running smoothly.  I saw strategies in elementary classrooms that could be used in secondary rooms, and I saw secondary classrooms that could offer valuable grading, assessment, and common core teaching strategies to elementary classrooms.  

We clearly are better together. If you haven't considered stepping out of your four walls to learn something new, or to reaffirm why and what you do on a daily basis, or to gain some perspective on what your colleagues face each day, I strongly encourage you to schedule a model teacher visit.