Apr 07 2009
What Tech People Really Do Well: Teaching Teachers and Students at the Same Time!
Ok…. perhaps my title post is a bit limited.
I should define my comments from the start to really be pointing at effective push-in educational specialists. This includes (but is not limited to) Tech, ESOL, Special Ed., Academic Support, Librarians, Counselors… ADMINISTRATORS, etc.
I have been around a while and seen some some great teacher specialists, and some not-so-effective teacher specialists. The good ones are easy to supervise and make a huge difference to a large number of students. The not-so-good ones are extremely difficult to supervise and manage as the job descriptions, no matter how well they are written, always seem to miss the point. Their job is teach everyone, not just the kids, and in fact, if they are doing it right thing, the most learning is being taken on by the teachers with whom they work. More importantly perhaps, is that they are models of learning for their colleagues, their school and the community. It is learning out loud!
What got me going on this post is The Thinking Stick Entry, Why every school needs a Kim Cofino.
Jeff Utecht writes:
Some times being in the educational technology business can be a thankless job. The phone call or the e-mail that is a panicked teacher that sends you sprinting down the hallway. We get to play the hero a lot of times….swooshing in to unmute a computer who’s audio is not working before a presentation or other times more complicated matters arise. Nobody ever complains when the Internet is working, when the e-mail chugs along or every student laptop connects to the wireless Internet flawlessly.
I have met Kim and she is great and yes, she is a wonderfully talented woman, but I think Jeff missed a great opportunity to point out that perhaps the most effective way to move educational change forward is to TARGET the instructional message WITH the instructional strategy delivered directly WITH the classroom teachers who will be incorporating the lessons and tech skills over and over again! Jeff….. YOU KNOW this is true! I have personally seen you do it.
The most interesting connection that this post made for me was in the book “Influencer“. David Maxwell and his colleagues have put together a great read if you don’t have this book. One of the wonderful lessons I learned from this reading was that humans are biologically programed to learn best by WATCHING and OBSERVING.
Hmmm… let’s see. We take a talented master teacher. We put them in a room with a talented and eager learner teacher. There are kids. There is a skill or concept to be learned. Mix together… embedded staff development! Long lasting change. A more effective school perhaps!
Note: Go to the Influencer Link and there is a self-assessment, a blog and 4 very compelling videos. There are lessons to be learned here in influencing and leading. The great part to me is that it is all based in common sense.
So… the shout out here is to the digital leaders of the world who convince the powers that be, that technology specialists (or ESOL, Library/Media, etc) are not really there to teach the kids, but instead there to teach themselves and their colleagues. If we recognize the leaders as part of the staff development effort, the progress made will be measured in different ways, and will perhaps drive those involved and those hired to target their work in new ways.
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