“The 'How' stage of questioning is where the rubber meets the road”

- Warren Berger (2014)

We asked ourselves...

• How can educators receive the necessary professional development to become more effective facilitators of student-centered learning?
• How can all schools employ instructional coaches and technology integration specialists to support and provide turnkey professional development to educators?

...And Formulated the Following solution:

"If we want to see the kind of changes necessary to bring schools in line with the new reality then we have no option but to radically reprioritize and restructure professional development for teachers" (Jukes, McCain, & Crockett, 2010).

TPACK is invaluable as it provides a framework to support student-centered learning, which incorporates innovative use of technology in the classroom. If TPACK is treated as a core-competency for teachers to possess, it builds the confidence necessary to encompass the skills of a 21st century educator, most importantly improving student outcomes (Koh, Chai & Lim, 2016).

However, this is difficult to accomplish given that majority of educators are not familiar with the TPACK model.

The importance of...

Pedagogical knowledge focuses on learners' needs, allowing educators to differentiate instruction and personalize learning experiences.

Content knowledge builds educators' confidence in clarifying students' understanding of subject material.

Technological knowledge allows educators to select appropriate tools to personalize students' learning and help them creatively express their understanding.

“All good teaching happens at the intersection of technology, pedagogy and content” (Mishra, 2012).

When teachers do not have a framework to incorporate technology with their content and pedagogical knowledge, they fall back on the familiar ideas of teacher-centered classrooms. TPACK truly gives educators a framework for designing student-centered experiences.

As education becomes more student-centered, teachers can use coaching skills to motivate and help students achieve of their goals.

"What goes on in lessons is exceptionally complicated, influenced not just by the quality of planning, but also the relationships, learning environment and motivations of all participants" (Lofthouse R.,‎ Leat D.,‎ Towler, C. 2010)

One way to employ autonomous learning in K-12 classrooms incrementally is to implement 20% Time, coined by Google in their IPO offering letter (2004), which gives individuals the opportunity to use 20 percent of their time to work on a self-selected project.

Educators can adopt this model by offering students the ability to propose an idea, create goals, reflect on their learning throughout the process and produce something that can be shared with others.

By offering professional development on autonomous learning and implementation methods, educators can move closer to adopting the role as a facilitator.

In Closing

Although Rethinking the Role of Educators is a wicked problem, evident by the iterative nature of attempting to solve it, the Why/What If/How questioning process offers the opportunity to critically analyze areas for improvement and propose solutions that can help us take a step in the right direction. Educators must be lifelong learners, willing and able to adopt the role of a facilitator in a student-centered learning environment. Our proposed solution — focusing on professional development — is one way to help educators adapt to their ever changing roles.

References:

Bages, G. (n.d.) Coaching [Image]. Retrieved from https://thenounproject.com/search/?q=coaching&i=66723

Berger, W. (2014). A More Beautiful Question: The Power of Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough Ideas. New York: Bloomsbury.

Campbell, P., & Malkus, N. (2011). The Impact of Elementary Mathematics Coaches on Student Achievement. The Elementary School Journal, 111(3), 430-454. Retrieved from www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/657654

Candace M. (2013). TPACK in 2 Minutes [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FagVSQlZELY

CfBT Education Trust. (2010). Coaching for Teaching and Learning in Schools: A Practical Guide. Reading,U.K.: Lofthouse R.,‎ Leat D.,‎ Towler, C. Retrieved from http://www.ncl.ac.uk/media/wwwnclacuk/cflat/files/coaching-for-teaching.pdf

Koh J., Chai C., Lim W.(2016). Teacher Professional Development for TPACK-21CL: Effects on Teacher ICT Integration and Student Outcomes, Journal of Educational Computing Research Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1177/0735633116656848

Gray, A. (2016). The 10 skills you need to thrive in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Retrieved from: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/01/the-10-skills-you-need-to-thrive-in-the-fourth-industrial-revolution/

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Jukes, I., McCain, T., & Crockett, L. (2010). Education and the Role of the Educator in the Future. The Phi Delta Kappan, 92(4), 15-21. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/27922480

Koehler, M., & Mishra, P. (2012). TPACK Image [Image]. Retrieved from http://matt-koehler.com/tpack2/using-the-tpack-image/

Kolb, A. Y., Kolb, D. A., Passarelli, A., & Sharma, G. (2014). On becoming an experiential educator: The educator role profile. Simulation & gaming, 45(2), 204-234.

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Punya Mishra - Keynote Speaker @ 21st Century Learning Conference - Hong Kong 2012 [Video file]. Retreived from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bwXYa91fvQ

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The New York Times. (2009, April 29). Letter From the Founders. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/29/business/letter-from-the-founders.html