Celebrating and Supporting Teaching Excellence Continued from page 6
In her book, The Right to Learn: A Blueprint for Creating Schools that Work, distinguished educator Linda Darling Hammond states, “Bureaucratic solutions to problems of practice will always fail because effective teaching is not routine, students are not passive and questions of practice are not simple, predictable or standardized. Consequently, instructional decisions cannot be formulated on high then packaged and handed down to teachers.” The teachers I know are not waiting on Superman to save them. Rather, they go about the day-to-day business of working with students’ families, soliciting community resources and facing these challenges head on. While it is true that more than any other in-school factor good
Close the Achievement Gap in Math and Science Continued from page 7
will need professional development to improve questioning techniques as well. As educators become better at questioning students and guiding their learning, our classrooms will be able to provide the processing skills necessary to meet the new core standards. Additionally, teachers of STEM subjects clearly are not influencing students to have a passion for these disciplines and choose these subjects for college coursework. Only 15 percent of American students graduate in STEM fields as compared to 55 percent in China, for
TUSCALOOSA BIRMINGHAM
DEMOPOLIS
WWW.ELLISARCHITECTS.COM 8 Alabama School Boards • Summer 2011
teaching matters most, it is equally true that school systems are the ones that can mold their schools into rich classrooms fostering and celebrating teaching excellence and student learning. Systems can hold high the banner of excellent teachers and make these everyday superheroes more renowned in the world in simple and meaningful ways. Provide mentoring and collaboration time during the week. Develop working conditions that highlight teachers’ expertise. Find ways of effective professional development so that teachers can continually get better at their difficult, but most important work. The teachers I know are extraordinary people who make a difference in the lives of their students day in and day out. Superman is alive and well, and that is good news! n
example. Instead of teaching mathematics and science using traditional or antiquated methodologies, we have to be actively reforming the way that we teach. If our current structure of teaching is leading students to low, global achievement and lack of interest in entering careers in these subjects, we must analyze how we can change that trend. Teachers of STEM subjects must be passionate about their subject, so students can share in that passion. I strive daily to pass that along to my students. Both science and math involve processing skills that extend beyond the content knowledge we must teach. If educators teach students to love the processes of science and math, our students will be affected for a lifetime, even after the content may have been lost. In many ways, the achievement of our students can be attributed to mediocre quality of teaching. A study conducted in Tennessee shows standardized test scores for students taught for three consecutive years by a high-quality teacher are 50 percentile points higher than students taught by a low-quality teacher. Alabama has begun the process of addressing this issue with the newly implemented EDUCATEAlabama formative assessment system. The system is designed to allow a teacher to practice self-reflection and to grow as a professional. In my opinion, the most important aspect of this new system is that it requires a teacher to reflect on his or her practice and to begin planning improvements for professional growth.
It is critical for teachers to routinely practice self-reflection and professional growth in order to continue to be effective. Without requiring this type of practice, teachers may become stagnant. They also may not adapt their teaching to fit student needs, thus hindering students’ ability to compete in a global academic and professional environment. Words from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. inspire me to improve the quality of education for my students and every student in our country. He said, “I don’t ever want you to forget that there are millions of God’s children who will not and cannot get a good education, and I don’t want you feeling that you are better than they are. For you will never be what you ought to be until they are what they ought to be.” As the 2011-2012 Alabama Alternate Teacher of the Year, I advocate for teaching reform that helps close the achievement gap American students face in math and science when competing with other countries. To be all we are destined to be and fulfill our potential as a nation, we must secure educational opportunities for all students. In Alabama, we can address this issue by: • Rejuvenating classes to reflect the high standards of the common core. • Equipping teachers to meet these high standards and better prepare our students for the national and global stage. • Encouraging Alabama students to appreciate STEM fields through highly passionate and effective teachers, so more students will be led to careers in these fields. n