Teachers as Learners

Educators and support professionals work in many capacities including and no way limited to: public schools, private schools, charter schools, tutoring, business, home schooling, parenting, training, mentoring, administration, colleges, universities, government, foreign countries, virtual schools, performance improvement, unions, correctional facilities, non-profit organizations, rural, urban and suburban locations, etc.

One of the many responsibilities we share as educators is that of role model. And, just as all students are different form one another, no two teachers are alike. We too are learners, as well as teachers.

In the late 1980’s (before today’s students were born!) research told us that an emphasis on drill, practice and worksheet-dictated curriculum is “shockingly unstimulating to children and fails to extend their thinking”(NASBE, 1988, p.4)

Many resources today are still designed to meet the needs of homogeneous groups of students. We must  adjust curriculum and present information in multiple ways; reach each learner; and simultaneously help students learn while learning ourselves. The integration of teaching and learning is discerning between and the inclusion of multiple practices and learning theories. Pragmatically, teachers must find what works for every learner, including themselves.

From Professional Learning Board’s online continuing education course for teachers: Accommodating All Learners