Reflections on Chapter 4 of The Global Achievement Gap by Dr. Tony Wagner
While change is not always easy for me in other avenues of life, I see and recognize the need for change constantly in my classroom. I am naturally self reflective and tend to be a perfectionist. In my years as an educator, I have had to learn to work through my frustration so I can quickly improvise when an activity or lesson does not go as I have envisioned.
I used to have a rough time being observed and evaluated by fellow educators and administrators. I would wonder if I what I was doing was okay, and what they may be writing about me or my students. More recently, I have become confident enough to ask and have a dialogue with whomever is observing me or my students. I enjoy learning about what I am doing that is positive, but I also want to know what I can do to improve. I am also very fortunate that I have had several colleagues over the years willing to engage in conversations with me on a regular basis to help me reflect on my teaching. I yearn for these conversations - even though it is tough at times for me to hear constructive criticism.
We are not meant to teach in isolation, just like our students are not meant to learn in isolation. Dr. Tony Wagner writes in Chapter 4 of his book, The Global Achievement Gap, “….viewing and discussing videos of teaching and supervision is the single most effective strategy for improving instruction for all schools.” This cannot happen if a teacher firmly believes that her way is the only right way. This strategy will not work if people are not willing to have colleagues enter their classrooms. It might not be easy and there may be bumps in the road. We are all human and we do fail sometimes. We aren’t perfect. However, isn’t there beauty in these imperfections? Isn't there beauty in learning?
While change is not always easy for me in other avenues of life, I see and recognize the need for change constantly in my classroom. I am naturally self reflective and tend to be a perfectionist. In my years as an educator, I have had to learn to work through my frustration so I can quickly improvise when an activity or lesson does not go as I have envisioned.
I used to have a rough time being observed and evaluated by fellow educators and administrators. I would wonder if I what I was doing was okay, and what they may be writing about me or my students. More recently, I have become confident enough to ask and have a dialogue with whomever is observing me or my students. I enjoy learning about what I am doing that is positive, but I also want to know what I can do to improve. I am also very fortunate that I have had several colleagues over the years willing to engage in conversations with me on a regular basis to help me reflect on my teaching. I yearn for these conversations - even though it is tough at times for me to hear constructive criticism.
We are not meant to teach in isolation, just like our students are not meant to learn in isolation. Dr. Tony Wagner writes in Chapter 4 of his book, The Global Achievement Gap, “….viewing and discussing videos of teaching and supervision is the single most effective strategy for improving instruction for all schools.” This cannot happen if a teacher firmly believes that her way is the only right way. This strategy will not work if people are not willing to have colleagues enter their classrooms. It might not be easy and there may be bumps in the road. We are all human and we do fail sometimes. We aren’t perfect. However, isn’t there beauty in these imperfections? Isn't there beauty in learning?