Fostering Growth: Lessons from the Studio
Last week, I embarked on a professional development adventure called Lesson Studio, a familiar concept for those in my district. It's been part of our curriculum and instruction professional development for as long as I've been teaching, roughly a decade. My first encounter with Lesson Studios was during my eighth year of teaching. I observed a math lesson conducted by one of my colleagues, and that experience was nothing short of enlightening.
You see, I'm passionate about growth and development, both personally and professionally. It's no surprise that I yearn for opportunities to improve my teaching skills. It's an itch that never seems to go away. Teaching can often feel like an isolated profession where we're expected to have all the answers and know the best practices right off the bat. But in reality, we're constantly evolving, learning, and adapting. As I reflect on my career, I've felt an underlying frustration— the lack of constructive feedback or opportunities for review and evaluation.
Teacher evaluations, unfortunately, often carry a negative connotation. They can lead to unfair and inaccurate judgments of a teacher's capabilities. I've noticed that many colleagues view feedback or constructive criticism as a threat rather than an opportunity for growth. There are countless ways this model can go wrong, mischaracterizing a teacher's abilities. I've grown from a place where I viewed feedback negatively. But after ten years in the profession, it's become challenging to ignore the areas where I've plateaued. I've realized that there's only so much I can glean from self-reflection. So, I crave more eyes in my classroom, more feedback, and additional perspectives to help me grow further.
Here's where Lesson Studios come in, not for teacher evaluation but as a collaborative approach to addressing a shared problem of practice. While the studio teacher presents the problem, it often resonates with all the participating teachers. This unique structure allows us to tackle the issue collaboratively.
Last week marked my second time as the studio teacher. This round, I wanted to address something a bit different than what I've typically focused on in previous Lesson Studios. Usually, the problem of practice and treatments center on instructional strategies to support student cognition. This time, our attention shifted towards student behavior. But the essential aspect of collaboration remains unchanged.
To get the ball rolling, Aria, our science teacher on special assignment (TOSA), and I had a discussion about the lesson topic and potential treatments. Traditionally, this conversation occurs in private, but Aria suggested a more transparent approach. We conducted it "fishbowl" style, allowing other teachers to listen in without interference. This idea aimed to encourage newer teachers to participate as studio teachers in the future.
On the day of the Studio lesson, we had to make some adjustments. All of us submitted substitute plans, and the school provided substitutes. We gathered in the morning to discuss the day's lesson. Through specific protocols, I introduced the structure of my lesson, its goals, the problem of practice, and the treatments we were considering. These treatments are essentially ideas for addressing the problem of practice. They aren't set in stone, and the participating teachers provide input. We used more protocols to build out the treatments I would implement during the studio lesson. We also discussed and brainstorms sources of data that would be useful for determining the success of the treatment we designed. I worked collaboratively with my colleagues to create ways to keep my students engaged and to be efficient in transitioning between activities.
When my third-period class began, my colleagues entered with clipboards in hand, ready to observe. I had already covered the introductory portion of the lesson and was about to transition into an interactive activity. This activity, different from our usual classroom setup, involved students moving furniture to visualize a physics concept. It was an opportunity to learn how to make this transition more efficient and keep the students engaged. In their eyes, it was an interesting, engaging lesson, a unique way to introduce the topic of forces.
We also agreed that I would try a CHAMPS method, which stands for Conversation, Help, Activity, Movement, Participation, and Success. It's a framework rooted in positive behavior incentives and support, and two other teachers and I had used it to set clear expectations for students in the past. We brainstormed ideas for implementing CHAMPS in the classroom and creating a smooth transition to the interactive activity.
As my colleagues observed, they collected data on student-student interactions, student-teacher interactions, and the time it took for activities to unfold. They kept track of how many students stayed on task. Following the lesson, we decided not to discuss observations during lunch, reserving that time to connect with one another.
Later in the conference room, we utilized a protocol to share observations in a non-judgmental manner. We explored the implications of our observations and considered the lesson's successes and areas for improvement. Then came the most rewarding part: I got to try the treatments we discussed with my other classes. My colleagues, on the other hand, learned from my instructional techniques outside of the problem of practice.
It was a fruitful experience, and I felt proud of stepping up as a studio teacher. In retrospect, this endeavor affirmed my faith in the potential of collaborative growth. It underscored that, regardless of experience, there's always room for growth and refinement. Teaching is about perpetual adaptation and learning, and Lesson Studios provide a fertile ground for this evolution. This experience is a testament to the fact that, as educators, there's always something new to learn, a fresh perspective to gain, and a more impactful way to teach.
As I eagerly await the next chapter of my career, I'm grateful for the privilege to stand alongside fellow educators, collectively dedicated to enhancing our craft. The journey, as always, promises to be as enriching as the destination. Here's to more lessons, more growth, and more impactful teaching.