How to Help Create a Professional
Learning Community In Your School Judi Fenton
On my first day of teaching I was
handed the keys to my classroom and told “Okay, go ahead.” There
were no materials or appropriately sized furniture in my classroom
(I was hired in October when money came through to create an additional
pre-kindergarten class—the furniture was on order but wouldn’t
arrive until December). I had attended a respected college
and had an undergraduate degree in child development and elementary
education. According to the city and state, I was certified and
licensed to teach. I had all the theory and paperwork I ostensibly
needed, yet I didn’t know what to do with the busy, noisy,
active children in front of me.
Luckily, there was another wonderful and generous pre-kindergarten
teacher in the building. She had been teaching for one year
and, along with our assistant teachers, we hastily formed our
own professional learning community. She shared materials and
supplies with me until my orders came through. Of greatest importance,
thanks to her generosity, I learned to teach that year.
The two of us, with our assistants, planned curriculum together,
did our activities together, watched each other teach and talked
about what went well and what didn’t, discussed individual
children and how we could best reach them and talked about how
to communicate better with families. We went on trips together,
held class celebrations together, and jointly made recommendations
to the principal and the district about our school’s pre-kindergarten
program.
I realize now how very lucky I was. I stumbled into
a ready-made and very welcoming group of teachers willing to invite
me to join them in learning together about teaching real children. These
opportunities are rare. Today, when I work with new teachers,
I notice, sadly, that communities such as I had are few and far
between.
However, there are a few simple things that a new teacher can
do to help begin to create a professional learning community. Not
only will these things help to support you during your first few
years, they will also help to serve the needs of all the teachers
at your school.
1. Ask questions. Considering that schools are institutes of learning,
creating a culture of inquiry in a school can be surprisingly
difficult. We need to be learners and model learning for students.
As a new teacher, you are in a perfect position to ask questions
in order to find out what you need to know in a new school, and
also challenge people to think about what exists in your school
by asking them to see it through new eyes.
2. Ask an experienced teacher if you can watch her teach.
One of the hardest things for new teachers is when you are told
that you have to use a certain strategy and you have no point
of reference. You haven't seen it being done. Many of the new
teachers I work with ask an experienced teacher or a curriculum
expert to model a lesson for them before they are expected to
do it on their own. Although we all must develop our own individual
style of teaching, seeing a model enables you to experience and
visualize what it is you need to do. If you have a curriculum
expert from the district come in, you can probably invite other
teachers who have a free period to watch also. Then you can debrief
together, and talk about how you will implement the strategy in
your own classrooms.
3. Ask an experienced teacher to watch you teach.
Setting up a peer coaching relationship with a more experienced
teacher might be the single most helpful professional development
for a new teacher. Find someone who has worked through, or is
working through, some of the classroom and curricular issues you
are currently struggling with. You will have some of the richest,
most thoughtful conversations about your classroom practice after
watching each other teach. I guarantee that you will become a
more effective teacher when you find the right colleague to work
with.
4. Eat lunch in a classroom with your colleagues.
Invite some of the teachers in your school to have lunch together
in your classroom. It will begin to create the social relationships
important in creating a professional learning community. If you
bring food, you'll be truly appreciated! You'll
be repaid for your kindness with pointers on how to set up your
room, display student work, and construct curriculum. This could
be a great way to find a peer coach.
5. Start a support group.
Your lunch time group might also turn into a support group. Sticky
issues like how to talk to parents, how to get your students to
return homework, and classroom management are areas of success
that many teachers are happy to share.
It's as easy as talking to one other new teacher. At one of the
schools I work in, we're started a support group with two teachers
on their lunch hour. Now, more teachers are asking to meet with
us. Not only that, the supervisors at the school are asking if
others can join and if we might focus on some of the new strategies
the school is beginning to institute.
6. Tell your principal that you want help. Supervisors generally want you to do well, however, they
might not remember what it was like to be a new teacher. Set the
stage for them. Tell a principal that you would like to work with
other teachers. Usually she or he will have some suggestions about
who is good at what and who might be more willing to work with
you. An ulterior motive for going to your principal is to show
your willingness to take the risks in your learning necessary
to become the best teacher you can be.
These strategies are small, but necessary steps in your
goal to begin to create a professional learning community. Good
luck!
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