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Dear Teacher Educator,
Welcome to the third edition of Perspectives in Practice.
Teacher learning sits at the intersection of teaching practice and the field of learning and development (L&D). In this edition—and the next—we explore essential terms and concepts (one for each letter of the alphabet) that every teacher educator should have in their repertoire, that draws from these 2 disciplines.
Future editions will take a deeper dive into each of these concepts, offering further insight.
A teacher must have their own say,
To grow in a meaningful way.
With choice and control,
They strengthen their role,
And learning improves every day!
Agency refers to the capacity of educators to make independent decisions and take meaningful actions that impact their class and school, and in their own learning.
Agency is important for teacher educators, to encourage teachers to act on their agency, and create enabling conditions for teachers to exercise their agency.
Blended learning is an educational approach that combines traditional face-to-face instruction with online learning. It enables learning in new and dynamic ways.
It empowers teachers to exercise their agency by providing flexibility to learn at their own pace, time, and location. This approach fosters professional growth, encourages collaboration, and allows educators to engage with diverse resources.
The culture around shapes the way,
A teacher will learn day by day.
Its customs and norms,
Define how one forms,
Their methods, their mindset, their sway!
Culture shapes how learning is perceived, internalized, and applied, influencing beliefs, practices, and interactions.
Teacher educators must be mindful of the cultural factors that shape teachers’ mindsets and behaviors, including their personal backgrounds, school environments, and broader community contexts. This awareness fosters more effective, inclusive, and contextually relevant professional development.
Designing for learning is an intentional process involving understanding the learner, their needs and purpose and subsequently moving to defining the learning outcomes, learning experiences and modes of assessing learning.
A teacher educator (in collaboration with instructional designers, facilitators etc) need to deliberately craft every aspect of the learning experience for teachers for it to be efficient, effective and meaningful
Image credit : https://theawkwardyeti.com/
It's not new news that emotions have a significant impact on learning. Emotions can both enhance or interfere with attention, engagement, motivation and memory.
Teacher educators (especially facilitators and coaches) need to develop emotional acuity to better be able to design learning experiences.
Teacher educators play a vital role in facilitating learning, whether formally or informally. While skills like communication and time management are essential, effective facilitation also requires knowing when to step in and when to step back.
A key aspect of supporting adult learners is guiding them toward independent learning, enabling them to develop and sustain lifelong learning habits.
Guskey's Levels of Evaluation is a framework used to assess the effectiveness of learning programs and professional development.
It is similar to the Kirkpatrick model, however it is better suited for the domain of education and therefore should be in the teacher educators toolkit.
Habits helps teachers make their learning actionable. Knowing how to help teachers build habits is important for teacher educators.
Coaching teachers to make small incremental changes that compound over time will help them implement the skills and knowledge learnt.
Image credit: James Clear (Atomic Habits)
A teacher's and teacher educator's identity is influenced by multiple factors including but not limited to gender, class, caste, sense of self, beliefs, values, experiences, efficacy, motivation, commitment, and job satisfaction. This in turn influences their teaching practices, professional development, and well-being.
Teacher educators need to continuously develop self-awareness and support teachers in understanding themselves better in order to develop them into better learners and practitioners.
Joy is contagious. When teacher educators cultivate joy in learning, they inspire future teachers to approach their profession with enthusiasm, creativity, and resilience.
Joy is essential in teacher education because it fosters motivation, engagement, and a positive learning environment for both educators and learners.
"Schön’s ""knowledge-in-action"" is key,
For teachers to think fluidly.
They reflect as they go,
Let their instincts just flow,
And adapt to the class dynamically!"
Schön’s concept of "knowledge in action" (or "knowing-in-action") is essential for teacher educators because it emphasizes the tacit, intuitive knowledge that teachers develop through experience.
Understanding this helps teacher educators support teachers to be reflective practitioners.
The power of a learning community is greater than the sum of its parts.
They create a sense of belonging, reduce isolation and strengthen the collective expertise of teachers. They encourage sharing, support and reflection and if built well can be the foundation for meaningful collaboration and innovation.
Motivation explains why one begins and continues to teach or learn. For teacher educators, understanding this is key to fostering teachers’ commitment, effectiveness, and growth. By identifying motivational factors, they can create supportive learning environments that nurture passion and long-term dedication to teaching.
Missing N to Z? Stay tuned for the next edition of Perspectives in Practice!
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Thank you for engaging!
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