For the International Field Experience part of my Teachers for Global Classrooms fellowship, my partner Tyler and I had to come up with a research question to guide our experience while in Senegal. Because we knew very little about the school system itself in Senegal, we decided to focus on something we know a lot about in America: the teachers. In America, standards for being a teacher are constantly changing, confusing, and different wherever you go. Being that Tyler and I teach in tumultuous, well-known systems (New York City for him, Washington DC for me), we decided to ask a question about something related to teachers. After we hashed out some ideas, we decided on:
What are the aims of Professional Development in the Senegalese school system?
We found that there was a lot information to be had about this particular topic, and lots of opinions, based on who we talked to. The aims of Professional Development are pretty consistent with America's-- to improve teacher pedagogy. However, Tyler and I got a bit bogged down with the wealth of information and opinions we were provided, so we broke up our research question into 4 parts to guide our research a little better. On the bottom of the page, you'll see a button for the "Research Question Reflection" page of the website; there, you'll find a more in-depth analysis of what I learned. Here are just tidbits of gathered info.
1) What are requirements of teachers for Professional Development?
From what we can gather, there are no minimum requirements for Professional Development or credit hours in Senegal. Once you have a job as a teacher, you are good to go. However, we did learn that the more Professional Development you choose to involve yourself in, the more chances you have for advancement, and the better it looks on your resume. Similarly in America, the best Professional Developments for your resume are ones you are not required to do-- like the Teachers for Global Classrooms program or something extra. However, in America there is some requirement of Professional Development to keep your license; it is important for teachers to be up on new methods and pedagogy to keep school systems competitive.
2) How has Professional Development impacted teaching and practice?
Professional Development in Senegal has affected teaching and practice in sort of a binary measure that makes total sense. Those people that choose to personally and professionally advance their knowledge are positively impacted by Professional Development with new strategies, methods, and technologies, and those who choose not to attend Professional Developments stay stagnant. A lot of times in the United States, entire systems or districts are impacted with wide-reaching change, for example the use of Everyday Math in all math classrooms in DC, or using TRC and DIBELS testing for all reading assessments; hence, the way teachers learn about widespread changes is through Professional Developments and trainings. Common Core changed most of our entire country. Being that there are not many mandatory changes for the Senegalese system, teachers are not required to go to Professional Developments and trainings, thus leaving the positive or nullified impact up to the teachers themselves.
3) How would teachers like to see Professional Development change?
Teachers that are passionate about their craft would love more Professional Development, and would like to see more people participate so the entire school system can keep advancing. Teachers that are passionate about their craft are also very interested in bettering themselves and their students, and wish for more teachers to contribute to that advancement. Keep in mind, that while in Senegal, I was hanging out with some teachers who are educational leaders in their country through the TEA and ILEP programs, which are international counterparts of the Teachers for Global Classrooms program, so most of the opinions and information I have is from passionate educators, so the general feel might be a little skewed.
4) What percentages are focused on student achievement, professional growth, and school improvement?
My partner Tyler and myself formulated this question based on our experience with Professional Development in America. In America, and in our urban school systems, Professional Development takes on all different forms-- student achievement, professional growth, and school improvement. From what we can gather, it seems that a lot of the Senegalese Professional Development is based on introducing and explaining new pedagogies and methods, currently which is moving to a more student-centered classroom. Although there is a commitment to student achievement, we thought it was interesting that in some cases, teachers have jobs at more than one school, which may explain the absence of Professional Development for school improvement, since teachers have loyalties and commitments to more than one school.
What are the aims of Professional Development in the Senegalese school system?
We found that there was a lot information to be had about this particular topic, and lots of opinions, based on who we talked to. The aims of Professional Development are pretty consistent with America's-- to improve teacher pedagogy. However, Tyler and I got a bit bogged down with the wealth of information and opinions we were provided, so we broke up our research question into 4 parts to guide our research a little better. On the bottom of the page, you'll see a button for the "Research Question Reflection" page of the website; there, you'll find a more in-depth analysis of what I learned. Here are just tidbits of gathered info.
1) What are requirements of teachers for Professional Development?
From what we can gather, there are no minimum requirements for Professional Development or credit hours in Senegal. Once you have a job as a teacher, you are good to go. However, we did learn that the more Professional Development you choose to involve yourself in, the more chances you have for advancement, and the better it looks on your resume. Similarly in America, the best Professional Developments for your resume are ones you are not required to do-- like the Teachers for Global Classrooms program or something extra. However, in America there is some requirement of Professional Development to keep your license; it is important for teachers to be up on new methods and pedagogy to keep school systems competitive.
2) How has Professional Development impacted teaching and practice?
Professional Development in Senegal has affected teaching and practice in sort of a binary measure that makes total sense. Those people that choose to personally and professionally advance their knowledge are positively impacted by Professional Development with new strategies, methods, and technologies, and those who choose not to attend Professional Developments stay stagnant. A lot of times in the United States, entire systems or districts are impacted with wide-reaching change, for example the use of Everyday Math in all math classrooms in DC, or using TRC and DIBELS testing for all reading assessments; hence, the way teachers learn about widespread changes is through Professional Developments and trainings. Common Core changed most of our entire country. Being that there are not many mandatory changes for the Senegalese system, teachers are not required to go to Professional Developments and trainings, thus leaving the positive or nullified impact up to the teachers themselves.
3) How would teachers like to see Professional Development change?
Teachers that are passionate about their craft would love more Professional Development, and would like to see more people participate so the entire school system can keep advancing. Teachers that are passionate about their craft are also very interested in bettering themselves and their students, and wish for more teachers to contribute to that advancement. Keep in mind, that while in Senegal, I was hanging out with some teachers who are educational leaders in their country through the TEA and ILEP programs, which are international counterparts of the Teachers for Global Classrooms program, so most of the opinions and information I have is from passionate educators, so the general feel might be a little skewed.
4) What percentages are focused on student achievement, professional growth, and school improvement?
My partner Tyler and myself formulated this question based on our experience with Professional Development in America. In America, and in our urban school systems, Professional Development takes on all different forms-- student achievement, professional growth, and school improvement. From what we can gather, it seems that a lot of the Senegalese Professional Development is based on introducing and explaining new pedagogies and methods, currently which is moving to a more student-centered classroom. Although there is a commitment to student achievement, we thought it was interesting that in some cases, teachers have jobs at more than one school, which may explain the absence of Professional Development for school improvement, since teachers have loyalties and commitments to more than one school.