Learning Forward

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I Am A Professional

Learning communities elevate teachers' knowledge, skills, and identity

By Learning Forward
June 2012
Vol. 33 No. 3
On a highway that cuts through the downtown of a large urban city was a billboard that read: “Want to teach? When can you start?” It made us think long and hard about the message society sends to teachers: Anyone can teach. That phrase could come right out of the animated film, Ratatouille, in which the phrase “anyone can cook” is a central theme. In one sense, it’s true. Anyone can teach, and everyone does: Parents consciously and unconsciously teach their children, and we all teach others by our examples. We have all been taught to walk, talk in our native tongue, throw a ball, or drive a car. But what separates that form of teaching from those who teach professionally? There’s one scene in

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Authors

Edward F. Tobia and Shirley Hord

Edward F. Tobia (ed.tobia@sedl.org) works at SEDL in the Improving School Performance Unit in Austin, Texas. Shirley M. Hord (shirley.hord@learningforward.org) is scholar laureate for Learning Forward and scholar emerita at SEDL.

6 characteristics of an effective professional learning community

  • Structural conditions.
  • Intentional collective learning.
  • Supportive relational conditions.
  • Peers supporting peers.
  • Shared values and vision.
  • Shared and supportive leadership.

References

Bulger, P. (1972). Education as a profession. Washington, DC: ERIC Clearinghouse on Teacher Education.

Burbules, N. & Densmore, K. (1991, March). The limits of making teaching a profession. Educational Policy, 5(1), 44-63.

Hord, S.M. & Tobia, E.F. (2012). Reclaiming our teaching profession: The power of educators learning in community. New York: Teachers College Press.

Larson, M.S. (1977). The rise of professionalism: A sociological analysis. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

Monaghan, E.J. (1988, March). Literacy instruction and gender in colonial New England. American Quarterly, 40(1), 18-41.

National Commission on Excellence in Education. (1983, April). A nation at risk: The imperative for educational reform. Washington, DC: Author.

Neil, R. (1986). Eleven traditional methods of inservice teacher education (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 299 244).

Shanker, A. (1985, January 29). Speech presented at the National Press Club, Washington, DC. Available at www.reuther.wayne.edu/files/63.93.pdf.

Sugg, R.S. (1978). Motherteacher: The feminization of American education. Charlottesville, VA: University Press of Virginia.

Taylor, G. & Runte, R. (Eds.). (1995). Thinking about teaching: An introduction. Toronto: Harcourt Brace.

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Learning Forward is the only professional association devoted exclusively to those who work in educator professional development. We help our members plan, implement, and measure high-quality professional learning so they can achieve success with their systems, schools, and students.

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