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Welcome back to my blog! It feels like ages since I last posted and I think I’m about ready for my next foray of educational rambling. This post is inspired by a webinar that I recently listened to on the topic of teachers as researchers, hosted by Dean Shareski. An interesting question was raised during the online session and I thought I would take a stab at it. Are teachers obligated to share their research?
If you
are interested in listening to the webinar, please click the link here:
https://ossemooc.wordpress.com
https://ossemooc.wordpress.com
Teachers
use many forms of social media to develop a personal learning network (PLN)
(Drake, Reid & Kolohon, 2012); however, online blogging is often the main platform
for educators to share and follow teacher research (i.e. what’s happening in
the classroom, project ideas, innovative instruction or assessment tools being
used, etc.). So the question could be posed as: Should teachers be required to
blog? This is a great question, because I don’t necessarily believe there is a
right answer.
In my
case as a prospective teacher, I am being asked to document my journey and
share my thoughts on what it means to be a 21st century educator as
part of my course requirements. However, it is not a matter of whether I would
engage in this process of reflective practice if I weren’t mandated to do so.
Rather, it is important for me to consider whether blogging is a worthwhile
learning experience. Does my blog
benefit my learning and the learning of those that chose to read my posts?
Obviously, I can only speak for myself.
From
my perspective as a creator, self-reflection through blogging has been a
valuable undertaking. It enhances my metacognition, exercises my communication
skills and forces me to consider important issues in the world of education.
Our instructor even proposes that blogging is an effective tool for
establishing and developing a teacher identity and constructing an online brand
based on our pedagogical beliefs, values and vision for teaching. As a
consumer of teacher blogs, it validates my learning. It is one thing to read about 21st
century teaching practices in a textbook, but to follow real-world teachers as
they (and their students) excel or struggle with the implementation of
technology, project-based learning or the “flipped-classroom” brings greater
relevance and meaning to my own education. I know from following teacher blogs,
I am inspired to try new approaches in my own classroom.
The
benefits of blogging that I have experienced above can certainly translate to
teachers in the field. Learning does not end when teachers enter the profession
and the shared research of colleagues represents a vast network of resources for
professional development and improving teaching practice (in turn enhancing
student learning).
Don’t get me wrong; I understand that there are barriers to
teacher blogging. Teachers are busy enough with other mandates such as
standardized tests and ensuring that curriculum expectations are met. But
teachers that encourage students and parents to follow their blogs also promote
similar goals to those types of mandates, including transparency in their
expectations and increased teacher and student accountability. Furthermore, as
Dean Shareski indicated in the webinar, sharing teacher research online is not
an additional mandate to go along with the job….it’s part of the job. This is
particularly true in a 21st century world where the learning
environment is extending far beyond the classroom as a result of technological
advancements and an increased global education community.
Therefore,
I think we may be asking the wrong question. Perhaps it’s not whether teachers
should be obligated to share their research, but rather, why wouldn’t they want
to?
I’ve
heard that if you do something well, you shouldn’t do it for free. In the case
of teacher blogging, I think we can make an exception…
Check
out Tom Whitby’s post on why he believes teacher blogging is important:
References:
Drake, S.M. & Reid, J.L. & Kolohon, W. (2014). Interweaving curriculum and classroom assessment: Engaging the 21 Century Learner. Toronto, ON: Oxford University Press.
I find your central question this week intriguing - should teachers blog as part of their jobs? I agree that teachers, parents and students alike seem to benefit from this new information network online, sharing resources to aid and improve on a number of levels. However, are we sure that the effects would be the same if every teacher had to blog? Are these inspirational bloggers secretly the norm or are they individuals gifted with unique perspectives? I would argue each teacher has within them the potential to blog and create additional closeness in discussion with students and parents alike but perhaps these blogs would serve better on a smaller scale, shared between the school rather than the world. While I think that incorporating blogging into a teacher's job mandate is an intriguing proposal, who would benefit in the long run? Is it to get ideas out there? Your specific classroom techniques? Anecdotes? All interesting questions to consider and further complicate the issue.
ReplyDeleteI recently read a blog about marketing your school. I find blogging as a teacher a way of marketing yourself. It is a great tool to help parents and students understand you on a more personal level and understand your philosophy on teaching. It is also a way of marketing yourself to future employees. Of course, as you mentioned, blogging is also a way of sharing our own teaching philosophy and teaching experiences with others who share our passion. I do not think it should be manditory for teachers to blog and to share their experiences, but I do think it is beneficial to the teacher and to all those who read it. This is a way of communicating something that you may otherwise not be able to. It is a way for people to communicate across schools, school boards, provinces, and countries. It can be comforting to know that people are doing the same things as you, struggling in the same ways as you, and exploring in the same ways as you. So while I do not think it needs to be mandatory, I agree that there is not many reasons not to blog.
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