"A list for improving literacy with focus on middle grades." <[email protected]> on Saturday, February 03, 2007 at 5:45 AM -0500 wrote: >Bill, I can't believe I missed the whole discussion! Something came up a >work and I had to totally focus on that--I didn't even get to print out >the >article!
Hi! Well, I sort of put the discussion on hold for a few days while Keith was working hard to fix some difficulties (the problems were not on our end, by the way, which made it especially tough). Long story short, you haven't missed the whole discussion :-) So on page 9 of the article, NCTE turns their attention to professional development and outlines the following continuum: - no knowledge - first exposure - deep learning with limited capacity - practicing with coaching - refined and expanded learning - expertise and ability to coach others NCTE promotes a model in which, rather than bringing in outside experts, schools work to identify their own priorities and develop ways to address them. The article also notes the effect of isolation in causing so many teachers to leave the profession, while "Conversely, teachers who belong to a study group, a learning community, or some other collaborative enterprise are most likely to remain in the profession as highly successful instructors. Effective professional development fosters collegial relationship, creating professional communities where teachers share knowledge and treat each other with respect. Within such communities, teacher inquiry and reflection can flourish, and research shows that teachers who engage in collaborative professional development feel confident and well prepared to meet the demands of teaching." I have so many questions here! Obviously, the team model should be providing middle schools a context for the kind of learning community outlined here (equally obviously, that's what this group is all about as well). In reality, is this what you're experiencing? What professional development experiences have worked in moving teachers in your school along the continuum, and what made them successful? Take care, Bill Ivey Stoneleigh-Burnham School _______________________________________________ The Literacy Workshop ListServ http://www.literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/lit_literacyworkshop.org. Search the LIT archives at http://snipurl.com/LITArchive
