Beginning ProfDev Before the Start!!
Jim Moulton (jmoulton@horton.col.k12.me.us)
Mon, 31 Mar 1997 08:16:51 -0500
In beginning the preparation for our fall conference here in the
Community of Learners, we are partnering with Maine ASCD(Association
for Supervision and Curriculum Development)
http://spider.biddeford.com/mascd/home.html
to host a two day session.
Calls have gone out for thoughts on strands and specific sessions
desired within our theme of, "Technology as a Tool in a Standards
Based Environment". Interestingly enough, one of our first responses
was from a professor at the University of Maine in Orono, asking if it
wasn't time to begin thinking of this conference as more than K-12, as
the place of technology is fast becoming a topic in most every
enterprise...
The strongest piece of this collaboration will be the creation of even
better lines of communication than we already have between schools and
university system. It is going to take awhile, but the big lesson is
that we are all playing in the same game, shooting on the same
goal....
It often seems there is a disconnect between the schools that employ
teachers and the institutions that prepare them. Just imagine if
baseball's farm system had different standards, rules and equipment
than the 'big leagues'... Certainly the pressure increases as one
moves up, just as it does in school when one becomes a real teacher,
but it is critical that the expectations and core practices remain
constant. A bat is a bat, the rules are the same, teamwork remains
key, etc... If the integration of current technology into the public
schools is mission critical, then it must be seen and presented as
such in teacher preparation institutions.
The teachers I work with in training sessions span the range from
highly technically competent to unable to get a capital letter on a
keyboard. (This is explained easily by the explosive growth in
technology during the professional lives of these teachers, and please
understand that I highly value the experience, compassion and
knowledge these veteran teachers bring to the schools.) The majority
have some computer experience, but primarily limited to simple word
processing. A thought that I have had, along with others here in the
state of Maine is, "How can we avoid this tremendous 'catch up'
requirement the next time the technological ball rolls around?"
In our third year in the Community of Learners, I can now start
training sessions with a few substantive expectations of technical
proficiency/skills, but I know that our area is he exception and not
the rule. There are few entire districts in Maine where most people
know how to access a specific URL gotten out of a journal article or
off of the radio. This is only coming about as a result of a major
focus on exciting individuals about the possibilities of the
technology.
A logical plan is for undegraduate teacher candidates being trained in
an environment that prepares them to come into schools ready to go,
not only with skills, but also methods of utilization that are current
and relevant. This requires coordination between the schools and the
teacher preparation institutions to plan for what will be desirable,
and then to design the courses that will meet the goal. Sounds simple
enough, but the reality of it may prove much more complex, as it calls
for cooperation and coordination across many traditional boundaries,
perhaps even the breaking down of a few kingdoms' walls!
Other potential driving forces towards strengthening preservice
technology preparation:
* Hiring decisions being based on demonstrable technical proficiency
* Recertification being dependent on demonstrated integration of
technology into teaching practice
* Consumer(read:'parents, students, community') demand for technically
competent, creative and effective educators
* Faciltated communication between the schools and the teacher
preparation institutions
* Funding the technology in the teacher preparation institutions at
appropriate levels