Good Ideas Require Good Professional Development

Hi,
I am a mother of four in New Jersey. Our school district rates on of the top in the state. Recently our superintendent of almost one year announced to the parents that she was going to make changes to the Middle School because it is "the weakest link" in an otherwise exemplary school district.The change is to team teaching and a block schedule.

My question is, how long does it take to implement such a change? The teachers have so far received no training and are themselves confused and agitated. I am concerned that these changes are being made too quickly and my seventh grader will suffer. Am I overreacting to the situation?

Two members of the National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform ( a group of national leaders in the field of middle grades education) responded to this mother's query:

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You are right that team teaching does require professioanl development over time. In the first years of collaborative work, however, teachers find that simply sharing conversations and general ideas about the very same children benefits students, and parents as well as teachers. Seeing your child through multiple lenses improves the odds that all your child's teachers will be more attentive, responsive and informed teachers.

Next year, you might only expect a more consistent and coordinated homework calendar, a team climate of caring community, team parent conferences, and possibly some team planned units of instruction. Instead of fragmented curriculum, teaming teachers can plan more whole and meaningful lessons that connect.

Wishing you well,

Nancy Doda, Ph.D.
Middle School Consultant

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In my school district, we have spent several years implementing teaming and in some schools, block scheduling. I believe Nancy already pointed out the benefits of teaming. We found that with training, teachers really enjoy teaming and get a lot out of it.

However, there are some things to consider: You might want to ask the Superintendent how teaming will be defined. If she says that teaming means the teachers will use an "interdisciplinary instructional approach" (teachers connect the subjects through units of study), then you and the teachers are in for quite a bit of work. If she means that teachers will simply work together, trying to coordinate their schedules, discussing students who need more help (or perhaps accelerated curriculum and instruction), and hosting joint parent conferences, then it should be smooth sailing and can be implemented with a little training up front.

The interdisciplinary instructional approach can work, but it takes a lot of training so that the units teachers develop are rigorous and challenging, and not just a gimmicky way to connect the subjects together.

As far as Block Scheduling goes -- I really hope your Superintendent will not implement this for at least a year. If your district is planning training in both the teaming concept and the block scheduling concept, your teachers will *need* a year.

We have found that without training in how to use longer blocks of time, teachers and students become frustrated. Block scheduling is a teacher and student's dream, *when* the teacher knows how to use a double block of time and is willing to meet with students every other day. Blocks can allow students to work on long-term assignments, and science teachers generally like it because it allows them to conduct labs, experiments and follow-up discussions without having to rush through a 50-minute period.

However, we have found that math teachers are much more resistent to the longer blocks of time. What typically happens is the math teachers will turn to the book and teach a lesson. The students will then do some math problems. Then, for the second half of class, they will start all over--going to the next page in the textbook. In addition, math teachers complain that they need to see their students every day so that they will not lose continuity in their math lessons.

The point I'm trying to make is that if Block Scheduling is going to work in your middle schools, the teachers will have to teach differently -- textbook lessons won't be enough. This takes a lot of training and time. Perhaps your superintendent would allow teams of teachers who are committed to the idea of Block Scheduling to pilot it for the first year, and then make recommendations for what works best. There are many different ways to create block schedules, and this would allow for some experimentation before everyone charges ahead.

I am not trying to be negative here. I just want you to be aware that your instincts are correct in assuming teachers will need training. However, you may be in a district that has kept up with current teaching trends and your teachers may be more ready for this than ours were when we started several years ago.

Good Luck!

Kristi Kahl
Assistant to the Superintendent
for Middle Grades Reform
Long Beach (CA) Unified School District

Here's a list of resources about teaming and block scheduling

AND don't miss the block scheduling resources here at MiddleWeb