Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Best Practice

David Warlick blogged about best practices - what are they and who defines them as such. I really liked Terry Freedman's response
The very concept of “best practice” is flawed: best practice for whom? Who says it’s “best” practice? In the UK we (ie the educational tech community, including government agencies, have moved away from highlighting so-called best practice and towards interesting practice. What can I, for example, take from watching you and bring back to my own school? What works for you may not work in my context — but there may be one or two ideas I can adapt, if not adopt.
What is really important is the notion of sharing. So many teachers still teach in classrooms with the doors closed, not welcoming collaboration. David Warlick has also been talking about designing a new school. I think a crucial aspect has to be time. Give teachers the time to prepare and to talk together about pedagogy. Overload is a serious issue.

I have a particular concern for my home turf.

In the province of Quebec there is a shortage of math teachers among others. People are being hired to teach who have the content background but not the teacher training. I really wonder if we will see any best practices coming out of those teachers or if they will turn to "chalk and talk" as their method of delivery. I hope they will be getting inservice and will truly become teachers and not just content deliverers.

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