Teacher/administrator communication, or its lack

Administrators and teachers are mostly in agreement about the importance of trying new tools and methods for instruction, yet each identifies the other as an obstacle, writes Jordan Shapiro in The Hechinger Report. Administrators want teachers to adopt new methods, but feel teachers resist change. Teachers yearn to be creative, but feel this is impossible within a rigid bureaucracy. Blame creates a gridlock that obstructs innovation. The problem may be that teachers and administrators lack a dependable shared language, says Shapiro. While educational innovation is big on trendy concepts and buzzwords, it's short on specifics. The absence of shared definitions makes it difficult to evaluate success rates and convey accomplishments. For instance, what counts as blended learning? What's the difference between game-based learning and gamification? Clear definitions and classifications are fundamental building blocks to good communication. Without this, administrators struggle to identify and reward teachers for finding and integrating innovative tools into their practice, and lacking good ways to incentivize trying new things, administrators can't provide the support that teachers want and deserve. More

Source:  Public Education News Blast

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Los Angeles Education Partnership (LAEP) is an education support organization that works as a collaborative partner in high-poverty communities.