Implications of Changing Teacher Roles on Professional Development
The
following section discusses new teacher roles as they relate to two main
areas--
|
In reform settings, teachers are no longer simply teaching their assigned subjects in self-contained classrooms. The old form of professional development--where most teachers learned how to teach their classes on their own--no longer works very well. Also gone, at least in districts where reform is a priority, are "inservice days" where typically an outside "expert" lectures on a topic that may hold little relevance for most school faculty.
Instead, out of necessity, teachers are working collaboratively with other teachers in order to prepare students for a workplace that has become much more sophisticated during the past decade. The need to teach academic course material within a real-world context has demanded that academic and vocational teachers work together or "integrate" their content. Programs of reading and writing and mathematics across the curriculum have proliferated. Many math teachers, for instance, now pay attention to their students' writing, and English teachers may address mathematical concepts they encounter in reading material.
Teacher roles have changed in other regards, as well. In order to integrate curricula, academic and vocational teachers must work together during all stages of learning. Other educational reforms such as academies and school-to-work also require a team approach. Thus, one of the teacher's main roles has become that of a collaborator with fellow teachers. Today's teachers are more likely to function as members of self-directed, interdisciplinary teams, actively collaborating with other teachers to create curricula, design and evaluate instruction, coordinate teaching, and confer about individual students. Therefore, professional development must help teachers acquire the collaborative skills they will need in order to perform these new roles.
The following section discusses new teacher roles as they relate to two main areas--integration and school-to-work--and the professional development strategies that have proven successful in preparing teachers for these roles.
Teacher
Roles in the Integration of Academic and Vocational Education
In
their 1992 study, Schmidt et al. focused on the different roles teachers take
on in order to integrate vocational and academic education. Researchers
interviewed educators at school sites in 10 states. It was noted that
successful integration programs followed a logical progression through several
"stages": (1) cooperative efforts, (2) curriculum strategies, and (3)
instructional strategies. Throughout all three stages, administrative practices
and procedures play a critical role in ensuring the success of integrated
programs.
COOPERATIVE EFFORTS
The integration process typically begins with faculty members' cooperative efforts. Positive relationships among teachers often develop when they learn more about one another, offer to help or ask for help, or provide inservice development activities for one another. A horticulture teacher, for example, might loan a biology teacher equipment and supplies to demonstrate to students how soil samples are tested. Or an English teacher might help a welding teacher determine why some students did not understand how to use indexes found in manufacturing manuals.
CURRICULUM STRATEGIES
Faculty cooperation often evolves into teachers collaborating with each other on various curriculum strategies related to integration. Strategies may range from collaborating on ways to integrate academic and vocational course content to involving workplace and community representatives in the curriculum integration process.
For example, according to school officials in Minot, North Dakota, local businesses believed high school graduates were deficient in the area of written and oral business communication skills. An English teacher and a marketing teacher at a local high school collaborated to create an integrated course to assist students in applying English skills in marketing settings. Through the experience, students learned new skills and each teacher developed greater insight into the other's content field (Walker & Reisenauer, 1996).
INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES
While working together on curriculum integration activities, teachers often see the value of extending their partnerships further through team teaching. One widely used approach links students' school- and work-based learning experiences. The construction of a new conference center at a high school in a depressed area of the Appalachian region provided a mathematics teacher and a carpentry teacher just such an opportunity. Together they helped students learn how to measure the sizes of areas in the conference center that were to be covered with concrete. The students also learned how to compute cubic yards of concrete in lineal feet.
Another approach uses cooperative teaching. This is where teachers of academic and vocational subjects collaboratively integrate instruction through making a joint student assignment. The assignment is typically graded by both teachers and may result in one composite grade or two separate grades, each of which focuses the teacher's particular subject area. For example, a geography teacher and a travel/tourism teacher might make a joint project assignment to students who were enrolled in both of their classes. The students are each tasked to create an itinerary for a customer--a teacher, administrator, or student in the school who requests this type of travel information--to go sightseeing in four different countries in a specific region of the world. Each student is thus faced with the challenge of planning a person's trip and, at the same time, dealing with different countries' currencies, exchange rates, customs, topographies, time zones, infrastructures, and tourist destinations. Persons who request the travel itineraries may be asked to provide input for determining the project grade by using a form that rates the quality of service they each received.
ADMINISTRATIVE PRACTICES AND PROCEDURES
Administrative processes are able to complement the integration process by fostering a climate of pride and professionalism among school staff. Administrators can support integration efforts through a number of practices that make teacher collaboration more feasible. Some that have proven most successful are:
Teacher
Participation in School-to-Work Transition
More
recent professional development reform efforts have focused on teacher
involvement and contributions to school-to-work transition programs (Schmidt,
Finch, & Moore, 1997). Teachers engaging in these programs face a wide
range of new responsibilities. Researchers have determined that certain
school-to-work activities and teacher characteristics correlate highly with
successful school-to-work programs (Figure 1). As noted in Figure 1, all
teachers can help students transition from school to work. Examples include
involving students in organized workplace experiences, linking school programs
with employers and the community, and involving workplace representatives in
school curriculum and instruction activities.
Figure 1. Teacher Activities that Contribute to School-to-Work Success (from MDS-938)
| CONTRIBUTORS TO SUCCESS | EXAMPLES |
|---|---|
| Involving students in organized workplace experiences | Students shadowing, interning, and being mentored in the workplace
Students engaged in cooperative work experiences |
| Helping students to understand the workplace | Students taking field trips in the workplace |
| Involving workplace representatives in school curriculum and instruction | Advisory committees offering curriculum recommendations
Guest speakers presenting information about the workplace |
| Providing students with workplace experiences through school activities | Students doing projects for local industries Students catering business luncheons |
| Including a workplace focus in school instruction | Teachers providing applied academic and lab instruction
Teachers integrating curriculum and instruction |
| Learning about the workplace in ways that contribute to better teaching | Teachers completing internships and shadowing experiences in the workplace |
| Working in the workplace | Teachers gaining workplace experience through summer and part-time jobs |
| Initiating and maintaining contact with employers and the community | Teachers establishing contacts, linkages, and partnerships with employers
Teachers providing assistance to employers and the community |
| Designing classroom experiences around workplace expectations | Teachers planning classroom activities to meet workplace expectations and using "real world" examples in teaching |
| Following up on current and former students | Teachers conducting placement and evaluation of current students and keeping in touch with program graduates |
Also identified were the characteristics teachers must have to conduct successful school-to-work programs. These characteristics and their application in school and workplace settings reflect the knowledge, attitudes, and competencies that can help teachers with school-to-work efforts (Schmidt et al., 1997). Several characteristics that are most relevant to teachers of both academic and vocational subjects are described below.
SERVING AS AMBASSADORS FOR SCHOOL-TO-WORK PROGRAMS
Much of the work in selling the concept of school-to-work programs to students, to teaching colleagues, and to people in the workplace falls upon teachers. Teachers must not only understand the philosophy, organization, and content of such programs. They must also have highly developed verbal skills so they can talk about such programs knowledgeably, and they must possess effective interpersonal skills so they can communicate their enthusiasm about the program in a convincing manner.
A vice-principal of a high school that implemented a school-to-work transition program several years ago described a core group of six teachers who spearheaded the project:
The teachers have been very excited about what they are doing, and they have to communicate that excitement not only to students, but to staff members. They have to be enthusiastic and have high energy. We have that. The teachers have gotten me very excited about tech prep and school-to-work and they have also gotten this school on board in many ways.
BEING ABLE TO ESTABLISH AND MAINTAIN RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE WORKPLACE
This characteristic reflects the teacher's capability to communicate effectively with workplace representatives on a regular basis, involve them in long-term collaboration with the school, and establish a presence in the community-at-large. As a principal of one high school notes:
Teachers have to keep connections with the workplace. They can't just talk about what the workplace is like; they have to go out there and keep current.
HAVING FIRST-HAND KNOWLEDGE OF THE WORKPLACE
This emerged as a prerequisite to establishing meaningful relationships with workplace representatives. But what sort of first-hand knowledge is needed? According to a human resource director employed at a manufacturing plant, "Teachers need to keep abreast of what the economy is like in their community, what the needs are as far as the community is concerned, and where the students can find jobs." Teachers also need to acquire a general understanding of the business environment, according to a manager of a manufacturing business: "We would like teachers to have a sensitivity, understanding, and appreciation for the free enterprise system, and the importance of total quality in a job well done."
Understanding the important differences between the school world and the business world is critical. In the words of a school board member (and businessperson):
Teachers have to understand that when they are talking to business people, the framework consists of bottom lines, margins, and dollars. If a teacher knows something about the businessperson's needs and problems, I think that educator could bring a lot of success to partnerships between schools and businesses.
The bottom line in all school-to-work partnerships is accountability. As one high school science teacher pointed out:
If we don't know what an employer wants, then when students go out and can't give the employer what is wanted, we haven't done our job.