Opening your classroom
so your fellow teachers can just drop by and observe is a
low-pressure way to collaborate and share best practices.
In our
school, Northern Valley Regional High School in New Jersey, our local
professional development committee created our own version of the operating
theater (without spilling any blood). We called it our “Open Classrooms”
initiative.
The genesis
was simple enough: Many of us wanted the benefit of another set of eyes, or to
share a new tool or technique with colleagues. We also knew that even the best
explanation lacked the power of a real-time demonstration with students. So,
teachers invited others into their classrooms and received honest, non-evaluative
feedback, as well as validation and support from their colleagues.
What we did
not expect, though, was how much visiting others would energize us. Even more
unexpected? We were learning not just from our colleagues but
also from their students.
We liked
that other schools that had created similar practices used signs and charts to
indicate which classrooms were open to visitors. We chose a clipart picture of
a smiley face with a thumbs-up gesture, hoping that others would see the sign
and join in. Our goal was for the Open Classrooms concept to catch on
naturally, with people inviting and visiting because they wanted to. Several
teachers opened their classrooms daily.
When we
began, we were successful in many ways that we could not have planned. Some of
our committee members had the thoughtful idea to bring newer teachers along on
visits. Doing so enabled the new teachers to see veterans in their classrooms.
Traveling alongside established teachers also demonstrated that regardless of
how long you’ve taught, there are still new tricks worth learning.
We set
clear norms for visits. We agreed that they could be short, even just a few
minutes, because we wanted to encourage a casual atmosphere where people felt
comfortable dropping by a class. It was also OK to take your sign down if you
were not open to visitors. The informality led to a more authentic
professional development experience. Teachers could visit an Open Classroom and
then go back to planning or grading.
Finally, we
tried to discuss the status of our Open Classrooms at each monthly professional
development committee meeting so that we could share the wonderful things
we were seeing.
Though our
first year went well, visits tapered off as the school year concluded, and the
long summer break made it difficult to start again in the fall. We wanted to
get the momentum going again while maintaining the organic, grassroots feel. So,
we developed Open Classroom Wednesday as an add-on to our usual daily practice.
This monthly celebration encouraged staff to visit their colleagues’
classrooms, as well as to open their own.
Source:
Edutopia
