The Classroom Teacher: Roles and Responsibilities?

As education evolves so does the role of the classroom teacher.  What is the current role of the classroom teacher?  What are his/her responsibilities?  How does this educator prioritize and what is most important?  I consider the many aspects of the classroom teacher below.  I also propose reflection related to possible changes in that role for best effect.  I look forward to your response regarding this topic.

Classroom Teacher as Manager
In many ways, the role of a classroom teacher is that of manager.  He/she passes out and collects numerous forms, takes attendance and lunch count, responds to illness, supervises recess, manages transitions, responds to parent emails, notes and phone calls, organizes the coat rack, finds lost mittens (and other articles), prepares/cleans a classroom environment, orders materials and creates an atmosphere for learning. These are all time consuming tasks, but not tasks, in general, that require extensive subject knowledge or instructional understanding.  Should all of the tasks above be the responsibility of a classroom teacher?  Would it be better to broaden the responsibilities above to all faculty members so that every professional educator has responsibility for the management of a relatively equal group of students, or would it be better to start a new role in schools, one in which people are hired to manage the procedural aspects of running a school including attendance, lunch count, recess duty, transitions, coat rack organization and more?

Classroom Teacher as Social Skills/Behavior Counselor
A large part of teaching involves coaching and mentoring related to social skills and behavior.  Students come to school with all kinds of attitudes and readiness with regard to learning and working together, and teachers work day in and day out with students to develop their abilities related to optimal social skills, behavior and emotional intelligence.  This is an area of school life where I believe advisory groups would be better than homerooms as advisory groups could include all professional educators in a building which would mean smaller social groups to guide and mentor related to optimal social skills, behavior and emotional intelligence

Classroom Teacher as Academic Coach, Mentor, Guide and Instructor
With the move towards greater interdisciplinary project based learning, and the need for expert teaching related to specific skill development in reading, writing and math, I am wondering about this area too.

• Have we reached a point where we need to re-look at professional responsibilities in the academic realm?
• Do we know so much more now about the art and science of teaching that one-size-fits-all classrooms have become outdated and inefficient with respect to optimal learning?
• Is it time to embrace a model of school that includes a greater use of targeted teaching responsibilities and content areas?  For example, as a fourth grade teacher, there is a lot to know about current math, science, reading, writing and social studies content, pedagogy and methodology.  With the current tools available, the sky's the limit for what we are able to do with students, yet when we try to do it all, our efforts are sometimes diluted and less effective.  
• What are the developmental implications related to school structure and environment? What types of environments and instruction are best suited for students at particular ages?  

For best effect, optimal engagement and student confidence, I believe it's time to restructure the roles, schedules and responsibilities related to academic instruction.  With this in mind, I proposed a model last year.

A good way to start this restructure is to consider the efforts that currently work related to student learning, engagement and confidence, and those efforts that are less effective. Then begin replacing less effective strategies and efforts with activities that make students want to come to school, engage and learn as much as possible.

Further, the time to respond to students and families through editing, correcting papers, writing report cards, assembling portfolios/files and analyzing data has traditionally just been considered a classroom teacher's responsibility.  For some roles, this after hours work adds up to multiple hours, and for other roles there is little to no additional responsibility related to this.  This "on your own time" work has created a wide variety of responses and actions.  I think the time has come when this work needs to be considered as part of the teacher's overall on-time tasks in the school house which means that response time becomes a consideration when creating schedules, prep time and collaborative meetings.  In one school I read about recently, writing teachers were given smaller classes and greater prep time due to the great amount of time it takes to coach writing skill and proficiency with care.

Teacher as Collaborator
As schools respond to research which supports greater collaboration, how does that affect a teacher's work and skills.  Generally veteran teachers were used to working in relatively isolated situations, hence there's a learning curve related to collaborative skill, attitude and effort.  Also, school schedules often don't leave time for professional collaboration.  Fortunately I work in a system that has put aside three weekly times for collaboration including PLCs, common grade-level planning time and Wednesday inservice hours.  This is a step in the right direction.  Collaborative cultures in schools will develop if time and learning is devoted to building that culture.

Education evolution requires the evolution of roles and responsibilities.  I believe it is a time when we must begin to reconsider the classroom teacher role with regard to current cognitive research and a focus on best effect.  How can we create a school structure with roles and responsibilities that lead to optimal engagement, learning and confidence for all students? I am very interested in this discussion as I believe it holds potential for better schools.  Please don't hesitate to comment with links, arguments and other ideas.

Related Post:
We Can't Be All Things

Note:
I wrote this post several years ago. It has been my most popular blog post. Today, April 3, 2015, I updated my thoughts on the role of the teacher. Please take a look.

Instruction: Modeling the Learning Process

In April, I'll embark on a concerted focus related to instructional finesse and growth.  I will do this in tandem with my math instruction for fourth graders.  I will enlist my fourth graders as my instructional coaches and guides throughout the process.  I will do this for several reasons.  First, I want to model the learning process for students.  Next, I want students to understand the learning process.  Finally, I want students to utilize what we learn together as they teach the class at the end of the month and the start of the next month.

How will this work?

At the start of April, I will tell students that I've set a learning goal for myself and that goal is to teach children as best I can.  Then I will ask them to tell me what they think makes good teaching.  We'll brainstorm a list of actions.  Then I will tell them that the focus and goal of that day's math lesson, and ask them to try their best to learn the math I present, and also to watch for ways that my instruction helps them to learn well and ways that I can improve my instruction so that they learn.  At the end of the lesson, I'll ask them to write a few sentences about what they learned, and how I could have helped them learn even more.

I'll continue a similar process targeting the aspects of good teaching they've identified throughout the month.  We'll review and revise the teaching action list as we move along with the math standards, projects and activities. Finally, at the end of the month, each child will choose a math topic to teach.  Students will teach individually or in small groups.  Together we'll create the teaching parameters and rubric.  I'll model a lesson and let them score me, then they'll each teach a piece of the math curriculum for review, and we'll score their teaching if they are comfortable with that.

I'm looking forward to this process for many reasons:

1. I love to learn and I especially love to learn with others.  This process will bolster our Team 15 learning community.
2. The discussions and process will broaden students' understanding of teaching and learning.  They will better understand their role as learner and the role of a teacher.
3. I will improve my instructional repertoire to the benefit of students.
4. Children will learn the math skills, concepts and knowledge in meaningful, student-centered ways.
5. Students will take ownership for review and reteaching of the concepts, skills and knowledge presented.
6. I will have the chance to share cognitive strategies and other information related to optimal teaching and learning with students.

In the meantime, I'll continue to create my own list of what creates optimal instruction.  I'll keep you posted on this learning adventure as it unfolds. Let me know if you have any ideas to add. 

Student Research Turning Point

The Students are in the midst of their biome research project.  They have neat folders, a collection of books, well balanced research teams, macbooks, research places, display boards, a research topic, paper and pencils.  They've engaged in the research for a couple of days so far.  They've had informative question driven research meetings on the rug with the student teacher.  This is the turning point in the project.

Today is the day when their investment will matter the most, the day when it's imperative that they visualize the final project and understand the rationale, urgency and importance of this project.  They need to know that their learning matters.  Now, some will argue, that should have been the first step, and that students should have chosen the topic as that fuels the most authentic, engaging research.  I agree with that, yet this community topic will set the stage for our engaging endangered species project, one that meets current standards, and this is an acceptable second choice as education evolves.

So where do we go from here.

Today's research meeting on the rug will be very important as this will the time to fire up the research teams and respond to their questions.  The research meeting needs to include the following components:

1. Research Goals: a visible list on the research center bulletin board for students to refer to.
2. Collaboration Benefits and Actions: a list also located in the research center.
3. A Model or Sketch of the Final Project: paper cut biome bulletin boards of each biome with informational lists and captions--the future home for their endangered species paper cut sculptures.
4. Plenty of time for student questions and comments.
5. Templates and an informational writing rubric to guide students' project writing.

Once research teams begin working in their research centers, it will be essential that teachers coach and guide with positivity looking for opportunities to point out and remark on optimal research and collaborative work.

Finally, since it is a Friday, it will be important for teams to decide on the next steps for their research work next week and write those next steps down so they can refer to the list when they pick up on this research work on Monday.

I'm excited about today's research afternoon.  If we follow the steps above, we'll be able to foster a wonderful climate of scholarship, collaboration, enthusiasm and learning.  Let us know if you have any thoughts related to this process.

Professional Goals Update

Teaching is a process of research, delivery, reflection and revision led by goals and vision.

Like most educators, I'm a goal setter.  It's a natural process for teachers who have a job that can be limitless. As a parent and teacher there's no end to what you can give or do to support students and children.  Hence the need for priorities and goals.

Last August I created a list of goals.  Those goals actually provided a terrific road map for the year. I reviewed those goals last night and reflected on the success. Now that we're beginning the the final four months of the school year, I want to refocus my goals for best effect.

PLC Goals: Collaborative Skill
If you've been following my posts, you know that I am delighted with our enhanced PLC model as it is a terrific vehicle for moving us from isolated teaching and activity to greater collaboration and shared work.  I've read and written about collaboration and the many benefits it brings to schools and students.  I want to continue my efforts to learn about teamwork, collaboration and shared endeavor.  These are practices we've employed in the past, but the PLC and other system-wide efforts have given us greater resources to develop this approach.  I will continue to research and reflect on this topic.  I also plan to take part in the weekly #leadfromwithin chat (Tuesdays, 8-9 EST) on Twitter that serves to develop one's lens and action related to collaboration, leadership and effective effort.

Feedback and Response Routines: Weekly Targeted Response for Families/Students
In light of new professional standards and recent family surveys, I'll make an effort to employ more systematic practices to provide feedback and response to families and students.  I'll make this topic part of my discussion at upcoming parent conferences by asking families to let me know the types of response and feedback that best support their child's growth and success in school.  I'll also consult my colleagues about their feedback and response routines at an upcoming grade level meeting or PLC.  Finally, I'm meeting with our building administrator to discuss the subject as he has the unique perspective of talking to families about the variety of experiences they encounter throughout our school. (Godin's blog "a habit of attention" provides a good lens for this topic.)

Instruction: Optimizing Instruction for Student Development
I will continue to build my instructional repertoire by focusing on the details related to effective instruction, the little things that help to engage, motivate and respond to students in ways that inspire their best effort and learning.  I will look for ways to build this repertoire by watching coaches teach, viewing videos and perhaps visiting and viewing colleagues and gaining perspective from their delivery.  I'll also consult students with regard to this goal and let them help me.  It will be a good way to model the learning process for students as I develop my skill.

Common Core Standards: Integrating Standards into Relevant, Meaningful PBL/Lessons
The common core standards mean a bit of finesse and change to our current curriculum.  I am going to begin employing these standards by revising the endangered species unit so that it reflects some of the goals we currently don't focus on, mainly specific goals related to informational text and opinion writing.  I hope to work with our English Language Arts director on this endeavor.  I believe that integrating the standards as much as possible into meaningful project work is the way to go.

Preparing for Next Year: Organization, Culling of Ideas/Materials/Processes
The coming months will also mean time for ordering supplies and preparing letters and materials for the start of next year.  I'll start a supply list now, and add items as they occur to me.  Also, when physical energy outweighs intellectual energy, I'll take the time to organize, file and pack up materials we're no longer using as a summer camp will utilize our classroom spaces this summer.  Picking away at that activity now and then will give me the chance to assess which material I want to use again next year and those materials which are now considered outdated and no longer useful due to the infusion of our 50% one-to-one Macbook endeavor.

With goals in place and parent conferences on the horizon, I'm ready to move forward.  I welcome your thoughts, ideas, links and articles related to any or all of the goals above.  By sharing my blog posts with my PLN and others, I've been able to garner terrific support, debate and understanding which in turn has strengthened my work with students.  I look forward to your response.

Personal Health and Happiness
Healthy, happy teachers do the job best.  It's essential that educators make time for this too.

Challenge!

I'm challenging myself.

I always challenge students. I encourage, support, mentor and guide.

I often take on small challenges that fall within my competency range, challenges I'm fairly sure I can accomplish without too much sacrifice or failure.  I guess we can call those "safe challenges."

Right now I'm going to take on a challenge outside of my competency range, instead it's a challenge in my struggle sphere.  I'm going to blog about this challenge from a learner's point of view and look for parallels to the challenges my students face when they try to conquer a skill set outside of their competency range.

I'll start with thinking about challenge in general?  What's the best way to approach a challenge?  How does one face and conquer a challenge?  What does this activity look like and feel like?

If you'd like to join me on this journey, please do.  No need to share the specifics as I'm not planning to do that--it's too sensitive and scary, and the potential for failure is HUGE!  This is what many of our students face as they embark on frightening, daunting challenges, and we need to be sensitive to this.