 From
the Bridge
by Diane Lassman
All educators have views from bridges that span and connect the
parts of a large system. I value the view from the bridge I'm on
as director of The EXCHANGE at CAREI, in part because of the perspective
it gives me on professional development. This bridge spans the cultures
of a University, schools, and school districts; professional and
student development; how adults and students learn and what they
learn. It helps me understand both working from the inside of a
school outward and from the outside in.
These articles represent the large tip of a very large research/practice
iceberg beneath the center of the bridge. Because most of the concepts
are familiar, we are reminded that educators in schools and universities
are repositories of knowledge and memory about good practice in
professional and organizational development. We're also reminded
that implementing these ideas is difficult, because professional
development must be comprehensive, ambitious and continuous. It
takes a great deal of thought, understanding, energy, time, and
money.
A broad definition of professional development emerges that includes
a range of processes: study groups, action research, skill building,
and group planning, among others. The definition implies that administrators,
teachers, professors, parents, consultants, and community members
need to be involved in professional development. A growing agreement
on the meaning of quality professional development as outlined in
Fleming's paper is new -and welcome.
Although these sets of ideas are familiar and build on past knowledge
and experience, they are not exactly the same as yesterday. Awareness
of the need for quality professional development is widespread now.
The need to "scale-up" is recognized. There is a better balance
between philosophy and action. Various ways to change the use of
teachers' time in order to provide for professional development
have been tried and documented, although time remains a critical
issue. The knowledge educators bring to all types of professional
development is better understood. We know that adults as well as
students construct their understandings; we do reinvent the wheel.
Selection, implementation, and collaboration receive more focus,
and we know more about the importance of organizational development.
There's more emphasis on research-based professional development
experiences. And more.
The aim of altering systems in education is to encourage and
improve student learning (Schlecty, 1993). This complex, thorny,
often elusive issue is central to the operation of the National
Diffusion Network and CAREI's new research initiative, discussed
in the final paragraph of the Wheelan paper. Many see professional
development as the enabler of systemic change, and it is central
to the activities of The EXCHANGE at CAREI.
Current resources of The EXCHANGE include the following research
based, nationally disseminated programs:
The National Diffusion Network (NDN), a nationwide dissemination
system that promotes the transfer and use of proven education programs,
processes, and products from their development sites (usually schools)
to other educational institutions (also usually schools).
Reading Power in the Content Areas, an NDN program, helps
secondary instructors with little or no reading background to integrate
reading and related language skills into their classroom instruction.
EQUALS MN, an inservice program, helps Minnesota teachers
motivate all students, especially girls, to study math and science.
Teachers learn how to replace a traditional competitive math environment
with a cooperative setting featuring open-ended problem solving.
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