The Shift from Teaching to a Culture of Learning

As educators, we talk all the time about creating a culture of learning in our classrooms.  We want to inspire our students to be intrinsically motivated to learn, but we often fail to model those expectations for them nor do we provide the classroom climate to provide space for it.  Creating a culture of learning requires that we put intentional thought behind the environments we create for learners of all kinds.

It’s clear from the absence of blog posts in the last two years on this page that my mind has been occupied elsewhere.  I took a chance in the summer of 2019 for a new job at a new school in a new district and ended up exactly where I was meant to be.  If you know anything about my journey up to that point, you know that it was not easy.  I’d always had a knack for dreaming big and stepping outside of my comfort zone in the classroom.  Being innovative and thinking outside the box are kind of my jam.  And I am and always have been a champion for students.  I believe that they can, and will, make our world a better place.

More than anything, I love to learn about how to be a better teacher, how to better serve our students, and how to collaborate better with my fellow teachers by listening to a good podcast or reading a book that challenged my practices.  In the past when I went to share my learning with others, I was usually on an island.  Every once in a while I’d find a willing colleague who’d say, “Why not? Let’s do it.” In my last year as a classroom teacher (2018-2019), that support was non-existent.  I struggled with burnout, frustration, workplace bullies, anxiety, depression, and more.

YOUR PLACE IS WAITING

When I took the leap and stepped into my new role in the summer of 2019, I had no idea what to expect other than I’d get to work with students and teachers, which is something that I’d been looking to do for a while.  What I found were my place and my people.

In my current role, I have the perfect blend of a classroom teacher and instructional coach.  While I spend two hours of my day teaching community-centered courses (where I implement a project-based learning approach aimed at transforming community), I spend the rest of my day supporting teachers and staff in pursuit of a true student-centered vision for learning.  I work in a community that values the power of people and the gifts they bring to the table and is actively working to elevate those gifts for the good of others.  However, I think my absolute favorite part of my “new’ position and the team that I work with is that we embody a true culture of learning.

A CULTURE OF LEARNING

As educators, we talk all the time about creating a culture of learning in our classrooms.  We want to inspire our students to be intrinsically motivated to learn, but we often fail to model those expectations for them nor do we provide the classroom climate to provide space for it.  The same is true for those in teaching roles and those in support roles, such as instructional coaches, as well as school and district leadership.  If we want students to develop a lifelong passion for learning, we have to show them what happens when we have one.  A learning culture hinges on two main dispositions: reflection and inquiry.

REFLECTION IS KEY TO A CULTURE OF LEARNING

First, we must be constantly reflecting upon our priorities, practices, and progress.  In schools, it’s easy to roll out an initiative at the beginning of the year and not touch it again until May.  Learning requires that we continuously reflect upon what is and what is not working.  As a first-year teacher, I kept a journal to reflect.  These days, most of my reflection happens in collaborative teams where I can share my ideas with others and get feedback.

Reflective Questions for Small Groups:

1. What’s going well right now?
2. What tensions do we feel?
3. What’s one thing we can do tomorrow/next week/over the next month that will move us forward faster?
4. What has been most helpful?  Least helpful?

DEVELOPING SUSTAINED INQUIRY

Secondly, we have to acquire a sense of curiosity and inquiry.  If we are not asking questions, we’re not growing.  At the beginning of the year, I developed a driving question that has guided my work throughout the year.  This question, which is “What does it mean to be a community?” is on my classroom website so it can be viewed by students and colleagues alike.  I am not going to lie to you and say that everything I’ve read or listened to this year has directly tied back to that driving question.  However, it has helped me develop a lens through which I’m consuming content.  The professional books and podcasts I’ve dug into this year have helped to contribute positively to the work my team and I are doing.

Ways to Develop Sustained Inquiry:

1. Develop a driving question that guides your work.
2. Get good at asking questions.  Ask them for yourself and those around you.
3. Gather others to learn together.

THE CONNECTION

A missing piece between learning and reflecting is often creating.  We have to do something with what we learn so that we can reflect upon its impact in our classrooms and/or our lives.  Whether you are reading this as a fellow educator, an entrepreneur, or you just stumbled upon this post after a random sequence of events, you know of stagnant people.  There are those who, it seems no matter how hard they’re working, fail to make progress.  That’s because in between inquiry and reflection, there has to be a change or, what I call, creation.   When one of these three pieces is missing, it’s hard to make or see progression toward a goal.  This constant cycle of inquiry – creation – reflection – inquiry will ensure that we are committed to learning and growing as individuals, as organizations, and as a community as a whole.

I am so fortunate to be working in a place that really embraces a culture of learning from as small as the classroom environment to the broader community as a whole. My colleagues and I are actively working to create change and see an impact.  I’d love to hear more about your personal journey in being part of a culture of learning.  What made that environment powerful to you?  What are some other ways to build a culture of learning in our schools and organizations?

Curious about some of my older blog posts around classroom culture?  Check out this post about how I built classroom community or this one on my favorite hour of the week.

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‘Tis the Season for Professional Learning

It’s already the beginning of April and I can’t even begin to explain what an exciting time the past six to eight weeks have been for me.  My last blog post was posted right before Valentine’s Day and I’ve been seemingly absent from blogging and social media since then.  But don’t take that as my being lazy (although, there might have been a few of those days).  I have been extremely busy planning and attending some amazing professional conferences and professional learning experiences.

In just the last few weeks, I helped to throw the biggest professional learning party in my district (ECET2Lou), facilitated a virtual learning session for some teachers over Google Suite for Education in the classroom, attended and presented at the Kentucky Society for Technology in Education (KYSTE) conference, hosted a Google professional learning community at my school, and attended and presented at the Derby City Google Summit by EdTechTeam.  It’s been a wild February and March.  I have learned so much in the past few weeks and it has, once again, reignited my passion for this job.

If you’re a teacher, you should LOVE professional learning.  But far too often, I hear teachers complain that they have to go to PD.  It breaks my heart.  Lifelong learning is something that many educators want to instill in their students, but they don’t’ often model a learning lifestyle.  I am of the notion that you can and will learn something new every day, which helps me in the classroom and at home!

Professional development, or professional learning, has gotten a bad rap for far too long.  It’s probably because we come from an era of sit-and-get, though I’ve rarely attended one of these as of late.  Professional learning has come a long way and there are many reasons why you should love it!

1.  You get to learn new stuff. 

I got into the teaching business because I love to learn.  I wanted to share my love of learning with another generation.  My favorite part of professional learning is that I get to learn new things.  I am always searching for new strategies and tools to add to my metaphorical teaching backpack.  Most districts require teachers to get a certain number of professional development hours, so take that opportunity to pick sessions that you want to attend and will help you in the classroom.  Interested in learning more about how to integrate educational technology into your practice?  Seek out EdTech conferences like the EdTechTeam summits.  Want to start a discussion over a problem of practice you’re having?  Find an EdCamp and create your own session. 

Keep in mind that professional development doesn’t have to be in-person either.  There are literally TONS of online opportunities from a variety of sources.  ASCD has free webinars listed on their website.  PBS Teacher Line has both facilitated and self-paced online courses.

I also recommended following some great podcasts.  I’ve recently gotten into podcasts and I don’t understand what took me so long!  If you’re into educational technology or innovative schools, check out the Google Teacher Tribe or Shifting Our Schools podcasts.  If you’re in school leadership, make sure to check out the Transformative Principal podcast.  Keep on the lookout for another blog post about my favorite podcasts coming soon!

I realize that sometimes there is mandatory professional learning that you can’t get out of, but take the opportunity to add something new to the conversation.  Participate and share while you’re there, as that’s where the true learning comes.

2.  You’re given the opportunity to network with other professionals and build your PLN.

If there’s one thing that’s expected in our profession of education, it’s collaboration.  It didn’t use to be this way, but the rise of a global community and professional learning communities means that you can’t afford NOT to collaborate.  What better way to do so than get out there and connect with others?

Let me preface this by saying, I understand all too well the social anxiety of getting out there and mingling with people.  But one of my all-time favorite professional learning moments was when I attended our district’s EdCamp and I finally got to meet all of my Twitter friends!  It’s a powerful thing to be in the same room with the best and the brightest.  Make the most of it and introduce yourself.  Your professional learning network (PLN) will be there when you need help in the classroom, motivation to press on, references for job interviews, and so much more!  You can read more about how to build your PLN in my blog post from last summer.

3.  You can sometimes get FREE stuff!

Almost every professional conference I’ve been to gives away door prizes.  At the EdTechTeam Summit I went to in March, they gave away two Google homes, a host of professional books and other prizes.  At the ECET2Lou conference in February, they gave away gift cards upon gift cards.  I’ve even been to conferences where they gave away printers, Smore subscriptions, and flat screen TVs – at FREE conferences!

And, if nothing else, you’ll probably get a sticker to put on your laptop.  Who doesn’t love stickers?

I hope you’ll find a true love of professional learning as a teacher.  If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times:  the world is changing.  It’s evolving quickly for us as adults and quicker for our students.  If we can’t find it in ourselves as adults and educators to be true lifelong learners and model that for our children, they will have a hard time navigating this world.  Take a step outside your comfort zone and learn something new this week.

Did I leave any good reasons off the list?  Why should teachers love professional learning? Drop me a comment below to let me know!