“The teaching gap we describe refers to the differences between the kinds of teaching needed to achieve the educational dreams of the American people and the kind of teaching found in most American schools. Although many of the American teachers we observed were highly competent at implementing American teaching methods, the methods themselves were severely limited.

The teaching gap becomes even more significant when one realizes that while other countries are continually improving their teaching approaches, the United States has no system for improving. The Unites States is always reforming but not always improving. The most alarming aspect of classroom teaching in the United States is not how we are teaching now but that we have no mechanism for getting better. Without such a mechanism, the teaching gap will continue to grow.”

–The Teaching Gap, Stigler and Hiebert, 2009 (pp. xviii-xix)

Stigler and Hiebert conducted a major study of teaching and provide some important guidelines that have implications for instructional leaders.

So this is the deep end…

Finding #1: Teaching, not teachers, is the critical factor. Teachers cannot be effective if the methods they are using do not promote better student learning.

Finding #2: Teaching is a cultural activity – while teaching methods vary greatly from country to country, the teaching methods used by teachers in the same country are very similar.

Finding #3: They discovered a gap in methods for improving teaching. While American teachers have been trying their best to implement reform measures and recommendations, there is little evidence that the teaching has substantively changed.

The relationship of the teaching gap to becoming a better instructional leader is based on trying to solve the problem of how to improve teaching. In 1999, Stigler and Hiebert set the stage for improving teaching across the United States by proposing six principles for what they called “gradual, measurable improvement”.

Principle #1: Expect improvement to be continual, gradual, and incremental.

Principle #2: Maintain a constant focus on student learning goals.

Principle #3: Focus on teaching, not teachers.

Principle #4: Make improvements in context. The context for making improvements is complex and includes the teachers, students, curriculum, grouping, scheduling, and resources. All of these elements, and others that impact the classroom, must be considered when trying to improve teaching methods.

Principle #5: Make improvement the work of teachers

Principle #6: Build a system that can learn from its own experience.

References:

Stigler, J. W., & Hiebert, J. (1999). The teaching gap: Best ideas from the world’s teachers for improving education in the classroom. New York: Free Press.

Also:

Research Gate – slide presentation

One of the areas that Teacher Librarians can provide leadership in a school which has a strong improvement agenda, is the area of provision of Professional Development. Teachers play a vital role in the school improvement process and encouraging them to improve practice, develop their skill set and innovate their approach to the classroom, requires some significant leadership and planning. Teacher Librarians can support this process through providing access to research, professional readings, connections to global change agendas etc.
An agenda of improvement includes a focus on instruction, the development of innovative assessment tools and practices, and the nourishment of curriculum presentation in an engaging fashion for students. Professional Development is the key to success in the change of practice in these important areas of school improvement.
Semadeni’s 2009 book, Taking charge of Professional Development – a practical model for your school, provides a vision for improving the Professional Development planning in schools:

Semadeni proposes that professional development must include three important components to be meaningful:

1. all training activities should incorporate principles of andragogy, adult learning;
2. professional development should provide teachers with multiple, varied exposures to new information and new models; and
3. staff development should encourage teachers to practice those new skills until they can apply what they have learned – in a format they are comfortable with.

In particular, Semadeni explains that the application of principles of adult learning increases the productivity of Professional Development. The theory of andragogy, from the work of Malcolm Knowles (1980), proposes these assumptions about adult learning:
“Adults need to be self-directing.” Autonomy is fundamental to adult learning. Allowing teachers to choose professional development of personal interest increases the likelihood that they will transfer newfound knowledge into classroom instruction. However, the degree of teacher autonomy should equal their developmental needs.
“Adults have accumulated a vast reservoir of life experiences that should be tapped throughout the learning process.” Teachers value the experience they have gained through years of teaching. Ignoring these experiences can lead to resistance, defensiveness, or withdrawal from the learning activity. Thus, the more effectively innovations are linked to teachers’ previous experiences, the more likely they will accept new practices. Collaboration, when used appropriately, can help teachers make this connection. Because adults rely heavily on past experiences to learn new information, it is unrealistic to expect teachers to abandon everything they have previously used to fully and completely embrace new innovations. As a result, strategies implemented by teachers are seldom identical to the way strategies were originally presented.
“Adults learn when they feel a need to learn.” Knowles (1972) explains, “The adult . . . comes into an educational activity largely because he[she] is experiencing some inadequacy in coping with current life problems” (p. 36). Unless educators feel dissatisfied with some aspect of their teaching performance, chances are good they will not feel a need to learn something new. The secret to success is helping educators develop a strong desire or need to learn without discouraging them. Assessment and evaluation, when used appropriately, can create this need.
“Adults are performance centred.” For this reason, they are interested in learning practical information that can be applied to help them solve real-life problems. When planning professional development, ensure that each training session provides meaningful strategies that can be applied immediately; otherwise, teachers are unlikely to transfer what they learn to the classroom.
“Adult learning is primarily intrinsically motivated.” (Knowles, 1984). Teacher participation in learning activities is based on personal needs rather than externally imposed requirements to encourage teacher participation. According to Brookfield (1986), intimidation or coercion has no place in motivating adult participation.

These elements provide a framework for constructing professional development opportunities to cater to the ongoing needs of teaching staff. The challenge for Teacher Librarians who attempt to participate in the provision of professional development within their schools, is to be seen as relevant and meaningful for their target audience.

Bibliography:

Brookfield, S. (1986). Understanding and facilitating adult learning.  San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Knowles, M. S. (1972). Innovations in teaching styles and approaches based upon adult learning. Journal of Education for Social Work, 8 (2), 32–39.

Knowles, M. S. (1980). The modern practice of adult education: From pedagogy to andragogy  (2nd ed.). Chicago: Association/Follett.

Semadeni, J. H. (2009). Taking charge of professional development: A practical model for your school. Alexandria, Va: ASCD.