Shouldn't we be doing it too?

Source: Flickr

In February this year I wrote a blog post about The Key Competencies of Team Work.

As part of the #edblognz Connected Educators Month blogging challenge I have been asked to reflect on a previous blog post.  I have chosen this one because this year I have been continuously reflecting on the theme:

If we think it is good for our students then shouldn't we be doing it to??

In my original blogpost I unpacked what the key competencies would look like if we applied them to how we work in teams within schools.  I want to go further now to address some of the other areas that I have been thinking about that require us to "practice what we preach".

1.      Staff Meetings

In our classes we try and break down power dynamics and are moving away from the notion of "teacher as expert". In staff meetings one person presents information for others to follow/engage with. 

In our classes we try different strategies to engage our students. We don't just use the same one. In staff meetings, we tend to be given information transmission style and then talk in small groups.

2.      Professional Development

In our classes we differentiate our learning to meet the needs of our students. We use personalised learning or use UDL to help us design this.  We encourage student choice and interest. As teachers we get given "one size fits all" PD. We are told to prescribe to what our school prescribes to.

(Thanks for your thoughts about this Bede!)

3.     Leadership

In our classes we give our students opportunities to take on leadership opportunities however big or small. Everybody gets the opportunity to be a class monitor or to put their hand up for duties around the school.  In our schools we define leadership around management units and hierarchal models. 

(Some thinking about this comes from Ann Lieberman's keynote at ULearn15 around everyone can be a leader!)

So why are we not translating what we do with students into our practices as professionals?  When we unpack our curriculum and our school values and beliefs are we neglecting to include ourselves in the equation?

Some food for thought... (also flick me any readings that relate to this please!!)