Powerful Conversations
I was reading Powerful Conversations Can Transform Teacher Learning in the Spring 2003 issue of Working Toward Excellence.
The Alabama Best Practices Center is promoting these Powerful Conversations about staff development. A self-assessment process is used to promote these conversations about staff development among principals and teachers in schools across the state.
The article states that the conversations are as much about listening as talking. They maintain that you won’t get a true picture of the school’s staff development without a facilitator (outside school) to deepen understanding and push school facilities to think outside the box of traditional in-service programs.
The article lists good questions for schools to ask themselves about staff development. I know at my former school we did something similar to this without an outside facilitator. Our staff development was great and every teacher was involved. We talked across grade levels, planned, collaborated, worked and re-worked ideas and then WE decided what staff development we needed to help us meet the needs of the students. It does take a principal with a vision though.
Gosh, wouldn’t it be great if something like this could be taken to the next level? Keeping a record of the journey on a weblog would be so helpful for others following. Since time is usually the reason given for not being able to do many thing, you could alot time during the staff development for reflection, plans, and more thinking outside the box. (On weblogs, of course!)
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