PLP Open Mic, Where Sharing Happens

By Susan Carter Morgan

How does the role of teaching have to change? Does it?

Last night’s PLP open mic discussion rocked! Will Richardson challenged the group of assembled educators at the second Open Mic session to discuss the role of teaching. And assisted by @teachpaperless Shelley Blake-Plock and many PLPeeps, the conversations exploded.

The topics ranged from testing to fear, to empowering teachers and students and more. Do we need to redefine the profession? Where does technology fit into the picture? And though these comments lose something without the audio, here’s a sampling:

@ChristianLong: Not sure the ‘role’ of teaching must change. The real focus — I think — is for the ‘focus’ of the work and the importance of the audience/evaluators to direct the role(s) of the teacher. Does that make sense?

@dlaufenberg: I also would like to see a more nuanced conversation in the reform world about the challenges of urban/suburban/rural… as not as though one size fits all for reform.

@Ann L: In the urban schools, test scores determine if school will remain open or be shut down and re-structured. Admin are under great pressure

@LauraDeisley: kind of to the argument of what are the characteristics of an excellent teacher? Less content-experts (as we find in indep schs) and more highly skilled connectors, researchers, creators, innovators, adapters…sherpas

@cfisher: I often talk about teacher as network admin. My job is to connect kids to info and people

@EricSheninger: Forcing mandates upon staff can often be counterproductive; empowerment better route

and even more questions:

@mrsenorhill: How strong is your modeling when all other teachers in your school model the opposite?

PLP hosts and supports these conversations, much as we do during the Powerful Learning Practice model of professional development. The practice of introducing educators to the transformative online technologies that are challenging the traditional view of teaching and learning will help us all answer the questions and create the kinds of classrooms that work. Please join us again next Thursday, same time, same place.

Archives of both chats

image: Uploaded on May 16, 2010
by dkuropatwa