Evolution of Teaching & Learning
What is Evolution of Teaching & Learning? Is it better training for staff? Is innovative pedagogy? I think it is both. You cannot have one without the other!
Let's start with knowing our staff to better train them.
Science Direct lists teachers into five separate categories.
1. Learner-centered teachers with technology
2. Teachers critical of technology use in school
3. Teachers uncomfortable with technology
4. Teachers uneasy with learned-centered teaching
5. Teachers critical of a clear-cut stance
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Understanding each one of these categories is important. It also means that you have to take the time to get to know the staff you are working with. Having this information will help you assist them with their needs. This could take years to accomplish, and a teacher in any category should never feel like you are "grading" them as you attempt to help them. There will always be a teacher in each category, and we should always have patience and understanding with each of them.
Now let's take a quick look at innovative pedagogy and how it can tie into how we train our staff.​
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After reading through OECD-Library one thing stood out to me quite a bit. That "thing" is that pedagogy is the heart of teaching and learning. It seems simple enough, and it's obviously quite a blanket statement. But effective teachers keep a huge "toolbox" of tools they use to accommodate different student needs.
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The second thing that popped out to me in this article was this quote:
"Innovative pedagogies are a fundamental part of teacher professionalism. Innovation in teaching is a problem-solving process rooted in teachers' professionalism, rather than an add-on applied by only some teachers in some schools." ​
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This quote is important, for various reasons. One important thing to keep in mind when attempting to innovate in the classroom, is the level of professionalism both yourself, and the faculty you are working with show. Referring to the list on the left with the five different types of teachers, you can very well get a mixed bag that you must work through. Everyone has to have the ability to change for the students rooted within them!
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The second important piece of this quote is that it cannot be an add-on applied only by some. We must absolutely strive for consistency. At the start of this school year, each of our six buildings had a different program to edit PDF's that they wanted to try. Instead of paying six different companies, and training on six different things, we got together and decided on KAMI. We did this for K-12, and it was our first program fully implemented across all grades/buildings. What an achievement for consistency for our students!