Teachers are learning, too

Effective practices in education informed by learning

Ihave the good timing this year to have my first “Eye on Education” column land on the Wednesday after Thanksgiving, providing the natural themes of reflection and gratitude.

September can be such a flurry of activity in classrooms, schools and a school system that October provides time for learning and reflecting on how we are doing with our endeavour to meet the needs of all students. This isn’t always about trying to find more or do more, it is just as often about examining effectiveness and doing things differently. I feel fortunate to be in a school system where school and district leaders, teachers and support staff demonstrate a continual search to learn and become more effective. While there are many areas that staff have worked hard on over the past few years, a few come to mind because they were areas of focus for professional learning on Tuesday.

First, literacy has been a focus at the elementary and middle school levels with district investment in professional learning, assessment tools and resources. Literacy is at the centre of the ongoing development of the new provincial curriculum and teachers have a growing breadth of student literacy needs in their classrooms. With teacher expertise in using an assessment tool that identifies reading levels and subsequently informs instruction, the effectiveness of literacy instruction is enhanced. Teachers are able to identify and provide intervention to students who are below the reading level for the grade, structure their classrooms to deliver levelled reading at the instructional level with appropriate reading level resources, and guide students to choose books for independent reading that are the appropriate level. Because teaching literacy is far more complex than following a particular program, we are fortunate to have a balance of experienced teachers who have a depth of knowledge drawn from years of literacy instruction who serve as a valuable mentor resource that teachers newer to teaching literacy are able to draw from. Literacy is more than reading, and schools are also moving forward with closely examining and learning about instructional practices in writing.

While elementary teachers were engaged in literacy learning on Tuesday, Lethbridge School District No. 51 middle school teachers were furthering their learning about the unique nature of adolescent learners. There is no question that the physiological development of adolescents, including brain development, in combination with unique social and emotional needs, presents challenges that are distinctive to the middle grades. Teachers modelled lessons and shared ideas about instruction that engages adolescent learners in active, purposeful learning. We are fortunate to have a group of dynamic educators who are passionate about teaching adolescents and strive to continue learning about what instructional practices are the most effective for this age.

As I mentioned, there are many areas staff in schools are working on for ongoing growth and improvement. This is certainly not isolated to Lethbridge School District, and we are fortunate to be part of the learning that occurs across Zone 6 (all jurisdictions south of Calgary), as well as a network of research endeavours being explored across the province.

Cheryl Gilmore is the superintendent of Lethbridge School District No. 51.