Is Knowledge Power?
Knowledge is power...when you construct that knowledge for yourself and apply it. Professional learning is more than just watching a presentation. Professional learning is more than doing an activity that helps you understand the main concept of a presentation. Professional learning is more than meeting several times a year. Professional learning is more than adopting new ideas. Professional learning is a deep-rooted, internal process of becoming a better educator over time that involves making sense of new ideas for yourself, applying new ideas, and failing forward.
Most teachers think that active learning is better than passive learning. I don’t disagree that giving students the opportunity to be active in the learning process by answering questions and working in groups instead of merely sitting and listening is a good idea, but research shows that active learning does not actually lead to more student learning (Andrews, Leonard, Colgrove, & Kalinowski, 2017). It’s not about what students are doing on the outside (listening or writing, for example); rather, it’s about the metacognition and what’s going on in the inside. Thinking about Webb’s Depth of Knowledge or Bloom’s Taxonomy, learning happens at deep levels when students have the opportunity to apply their learning in real-life situations. The addition of reflection and metacognition, constructivist elements, are necessary for true learning to occur.
This is not only true for traditional students, but teachers as students of professional learning as well. Just introducing teachers to new ideas doesn’t change their teaching, and neither does introducing a new idea with modeling and practice. What really makes the difference in teacher growth is quality peer coaching that gives teachers the chance to adapt instead of adopt and make sense of new ideas within the context of their learning environment (Goodwin, 2015). Teachers need to be in a constructivist learning environment to truly learn and apply their learning.
Collaboration is one of the keys to teacher growth. Collaboration goes beyond PLC meetings and asking the teacher down the hall if she’s done any good lessons lately. Collaboration is job-embedded professional learning, teacher-led professional learning, connecting with people outside of your school, connecting on social media, and time for teachers to network and share ideas (EdCan Network, 2016). Collaboration is a component of teacher success and growth, but the collaboration must be effective and productive.
Professional learning is about LEARNING. The learning needs to change BEFORE the teacher can change.
References
Andrews, T. M., Leonard, M. J., Colgrove, C. A., & Kalinowski, S. T. (2017). Active learning not associated
with student learning in a random sample of college biology courses. CBE Life Sciences
Education, 10(4), 394–405. http://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.11-07-0061
EdCan Network Le Réseau ÉdCan. (2016, May 19). Innovation that sticks case study - OCSB: Collaborative
professional development [Video file]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUusuw-xdr4&feature=youtu.be
Goodwin, B. (2015). Research says/does teacher collaboration promote teacher growth? Educational
Leadership, 73(4), 82–83. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-
leadership/dec15/vol73/num04/Does-Teacher-Collaboration-Promote-Teacher-
Growth%C2%A2.aspx
