Anatomy of a Teacher Inservice

While our students are at home enjoying a day off from school, the teachers are hard at work!  Have you ever wondered, exactly what it is that teachers do when students have the day off?  Plenty, I can tell you!  First of all, our days off for teachers are designated as either a clerical day or as an inservice day.  If it is a clerical day, teachers are able to use that time to complete the work that they can't get to during a normal day because they are teaching.  Sure, teachers have a certain amount of prep time each day, but it doesn't begin to cover the time needed to complete the many tasks that are required of them to do their jobs.

For example, in addition to needing time to prepare for classes, they must also meet with parents about specific student needs, work with their teammates to plan special events such as prayer services and field trips, prepare for parent teacher conferences, and finalize grades.  If that isn't enough, teachers are also actively engaged in planning for the implementation of Positive Behavior Supports, the new discipline programd that we are beginning to roll out this year.  Do they have enough on their plates yet?  Not quite.   Our teachers are also at the beginning stages of preparing for the implementation of the Iowa Core Curriculum, a mandate from the legislature that was written into law a few years back.  We have only a few short years to complete this process, and the teachers play a huge role in ensuring success.

After all that, we still have time for inservice!  It is during inservice that teachers learn new teaching strategies that will enable them to meet the needs of all students in the classroom.  This year we have chose writing as a point of emphasis for our inservice.  This is because our data would suggest that when compared to other data points, writing is an area that could be bolstered.  When we choose our inservice opportunities (professional learning), it is important that we take a focused approach and make that selection based on what is the greatest need in our school. 

In the old days, schools would use the "shotgun" approach to professional learning.  That is, every day would be different with a different topic.  Research tells us that it is only through a consistent and focues approach are we able to truly affect learning in the classroom.

Since I am on the topic of research, we also know that in order for our inservice to be effective, it must contain four separate parts:

• Theory In other words, why is what we are proposing going to work?
• Demonstration An outside vendor who is considered an expert in the field demonstrates a specific strategy to the staff.  In our case, we have partnered with the Grant Wood Area Education Agency to provide these experts.
• Practice Once the teachers have learned the new strategies, they are asked to put them into practice in a real-life setting.  Research indicates that it takes a minimum of 4 times before the strategy becomes part of everyday practice.
• Peer Coaching During the peer coaching phase, we invite our outside experts into the classroom to demonstrate with the teachers, observe the implementation of the strategies, and provide valuable feedback to the teaching staff.

We are now in the peer coaching phase.  At this point we have three basic writing strategies that are being implemented into the classroom.  If you would like more information about these strategies or about our professional development plan, please give me a call.