Having almost completed this Masters program, and browsed through the projects of our Cohort and others, I’m compelled to try new things in my classroom. I’d love to really implement math centers. I’d like to integrate more educational iPad activities. I want to create an integrated problem-based science unit for my first graders. But all of these take time in order to do them well, and that’s the one thing I don’t have.
I keep thinking about something we read during our first semester in this Masters program, in “The Flat World of Education” by Linda Darling Hammond. In her discussion of the best practices of the most successful school systems in the world, the author includes time for teachers to collaborate. She states that teachers in the U.S. have three to five hours per week scheduled for prep time. However, in high-performing European and Asian schools, teachers have fifteen to twenty hours a week to collaborate, including planning, meeting with parents and students, and collaborating with and observing other teachers. Of all of the recommendations in Linda Darling Hammond’s book, this seems like the easiest to implement. A school needs to hire more teachers to give everyone more prep time. For a small private school like mine, it would potentially require only one new hire (for example, a part-time K-5 STEM teacher). If this STEM teacher taught two STEM lessons per week per grade, that would equate to only 12 hours of teaching time for that teacher, a very low cost to my school. However, two extra hours of prep time a week for me would triple the amount of time I have now. What could I do with two extra hours? I could observe other teachers at my school. I could research and design a problem-based science unit. I could collaborate with other grade-level teachers to plan an integrated unit across General Studies, Judaic Studies, and Hebrew. I could plan my centers. Additional collaboration time isn’t the panacea for my school or for our educational system, but it’s a low-cost way to boost professional development, increase teacher satisfaction, and improve curriculum. I’ll think about proposing this to my administration. Now, if only I had the extra prep time to formulate a good proposal….
3 Comments
Devorah
4/1/2017 12:28:51 pm
These are great ideas Lori! I love how well thought out and strategic it is! I hope someone hears you.
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Dana Hand
4/1/2017 06:53:26 pm
I agree that time is definitely a precious commodity when it comes to teaching quality lessons. Our school district uses "Learning Walks" where we observe other classrooms at different schools with a specific focus. We debrief afterwards and leave our "I Like/I Wonder" list with the observed school. I always come back with a few great ideas and it is definitely nice to step outside of your classroom for a while and see what other people are doing! I applaud your efforts to propose your idea to the administration. Good luck!
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Kristin Pruitt
4/2/2017 08:46:15 am
I love your ideas!! One of our greatest resources is our fellow teachers!! The time to meet with, observe and plan together is priceless, but very hard to come by. I would love to be able to meet with other 5th grade teachers in our district to exchange ideas and even plan together. The 'learning walks' that Dana mentioned are great. They either give you inspiration or remind you of something you knew, but have maybe long forgotten.Best of luck with your proposal!
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