Profdevtypes

Reflective Practitioner:
A teacher who is a refective practitioner allows himself time to think about his teaching. Such reflections could focus on but are not limited to critiquing lesson plans, watching a video tape of his teaching, or think of the variety of needs of his students. Some helpful places to start with this reflection would be questioning styles. When asking questions, a teacher can do so in a way to get at students thinking rather than just yes or no. When a teacher analyzes a video tape of the class period, they can find out a variety of information such as: who understands, who needs more help, what were good questions, what should you review again, and other ways to improve their teaching style. Any chance that a teacher has to reflect on his classroom is an opporunity to improve the level of quality education a student is receiving.

Critical Friends:
     Within a school system, there are a number of things that faculty can do to improve their level of teaching. As critical friends, teachers in groups of two or more can develop critiquing relationships. In these groups, teachers join together to reflect on each other's teaching and new educational ideas. This pracitice is cost effective and a time saver. To impliment a critical friend relationship, teachers will need implimentation time outside of the classroom. They can gather together on inservices days, after school, or during planning periods. Some of the researched outcomes are seenin the following documentaion.

     "As teachers became comfortable teaching in front of their peers and sharingobservations and reflections in a collegial manner, the culture of school began to change in a positive way (Panasuk, 1999).
     "Now I feel more comfortable and in better control when using manipulatives andvisuals in my classroom. I have also discoveredan increae in student involvment and understanding upon reflecting on these lessons ... Probably one of the most poitive outcomes of the project was the increase in sommunications that occuredamong teachers. We have probably for thefirst time in our careers. Spent time reflecting on our teaching (Kathleen).

     For peer reflection to be worth while, teachers do need time set aside to focus on ways for each to improve. By sharing lesson plans,analyzing video tapes,and observing each other, a great deal of knowledge can be shared witin the faculty.

Teacher Leader, Mentoring, or Coaching:
    A teacher leader, mentor, or coach is an experienced teacher who acts as a guide for a less experienced teacher.   In each of these models, there is a slight difference in emphasis, but all are directed in developing new teachers. It is imparative to give new teachers support. It is important to provide resources and help answer their questions.
     "The NCTAF report cited grim statistics that include the following:
~ Annually, over 50,000 untrained people enter teaching on either emergency or substandard licenses.
~ Nearly one fourth (23%) of all secondary teachers do not have even a college minor in their main
     teaching field. More than 30% of mathematics teachers fall into this category.
~ More than half (56%) of high school students taking physical science courses, 21% in English, and
     27% in mathematics courses are taught by teachers who do not have backgrounds in these fields.
~ In high poverty schools and in lower track classes, the proportion of teachers inadequately
     prepared is even higher" (Elmore, 1996; National Commission on Teaching & America's Future
     [NCTAF], 1996; National Education Goals Panel, 1995).
     Currently our country is in need of qualified teachers. Since it is impossible to be fully prepared as a college graduate, many school districst are choosing to impliment the programs stated above. Some of the techniques teacher leaders, mentors, or coaches use to help new teachers are similar to the critical friend techniques. They discuss how class went, what they need to work on, how to plan, and work through managment issues. (Ballard, 2000)

Outside Resources:
    When a teacher attends a conference, he has the opportunity to meet with a myriad of professionals from his field. Along with meeting fellow teachers, one can meet educational merchants, administrators, and national reformers. through communicating with these individuals, a teacher will braden his view of mathematics, what can be done inside a classroom, and other innovative ideas. Such conferences and seminars do have a cost involved, thus school distericts must be willing to provide financial backingto teacher improvement.
     "Clearly, professional developpment in the larger arena of systemic reform annot be conceived or carried out in isolation, cannot be accompished inthe same way for all teachers, and cannot occur exclusively outside the normal teching day" (Long, 1996).
     Besides conferences, teachers are also required to attend classes at a university. This continuing education helps teachers stay up on new innovations in education, technology, and mathematics. A great deal of research performed with help from professors at universities. They will know the research proticol and where to attain funds for materials.