then a resulting change in behaviors.
Here are some techniques to help us
move down the path to becoming professional learners:
Identify why learning this skill is important to you and your students.
Establishing relevance or a meaningful context
for both you and your students helps
everyone embrace the skill and learn
it. For example, show how this new
learning will help you improve time
management skills, use new tools to
express ideas creatively, or advance
your career aspirations.
Be accountable for putting the new
information into practice. We know
that if we do not use new skills, we
easily forget them. So we must be
intentional about practicing our new
learning to internalize it. Also, we
cannot continue to count on others to
provide the answers to all our questions. This self-imposed accountability
empowers the learner to solve problems, create new solutions, and build
self-esteem.
Identify what additional help you need
to fully understand what you were just
exposed to. When encountering some-
thing new, learners achieve mastery
at varying speeds and in different
ways. Sometimes learners need infor-
mation to be presented in a different
way, such as in a webinar, tip sheet,
or even discussion, so they can better
connect to what is new. Other times,
learners need some concrete examples
through modeling or mentoring to
show how the pieces fit together. The
key is to seek out the unique support
you need to master the concepts.
As educators, we are expected to be
thought leaders and to set good examples of professional learning. In many
communities, educators are some of
the best-educated adults present. There
is an expectation that we “know more”
or “know how to learn it.” We are also
responsible for instilling those same
skills in our students. We must embrace these beliefs and realize that it
takes a lot of hard work to change from
being a lurker to a learner. It means
being active, getting involved, and taking risks. We must become real to our
students by showing them that it is OK
not to know everything, but you do
need to know how to find the answers.
Share your recovered joy as you make
a new discovery while studying a unit
together and celebrate their achievements. If being engaged, inquisitive,
and excited is what we expect from
our students when it comes to learning,
we need to model it for them first.
Don Hall is the deputy super- intendent of operations for the Manatee School District in Florida, USA, where he super- vises finance, human resourc- es, information technology, and administrative support
services. He is a veteran conference presenter,
author, and volunteer columnist for L&L.
