New Chapters in a Never-Ending Story: Teachers as Lifelong Learners

By way of introduction today I want to read aloud "On Making a Difference"

I like this story because when I think of myself as a teacher I think I'm that little boy (even though some of you would say he looks more like the grandfather) but when I found that story I thought it spoke of what I was all about as a teacher. I have tried for over twenty years to make a difference. It's a thought that I know many of you share.

I have taught for 12 years in primary classrooms, grades one, two and three, I have been a vice-principal for five of those years in addition to my classroom duties; Then I went to study and completed a master's degree and became a teacher-librarian for six more years of teaching. I decided then to take the big plunge and just "try for year" to see if I could do the Ph.D. Well low and behold.

During this final study time and certainly since then I have been in transition from school-based teaching to teaching with pre-service teachers at UPEI. It has been a time of great change for me personally and obviously over that same time period it has been a period of great change for all educators.

Today I want to share some thoughts of my own and few others that I have borrowed from others and brought to you today about the concept of lifelong learning and what it means for us as teachers. Certainly we would have to say that the education system has made impressive progress over the past three decades especially when we consider the training and experience of today's teachers, the complexity of the programs and services offered and the success we have had at meeting an ever-increasing number of societal demands.

However, we would also have to agree that we are now faced with major challenges. The widening reach and impact of information technologies, the gathering momentum of globalization and trade liberalization, the aging of the population, growing cultural and ethnic diversity and the changing nature of work. While these are major issues with which we struggle, they are combining to create new opportunities in a context in which knowledge and skills we have will play a more significant role. Across all aspects of society, we have seen many new political, economic and social policies aimed at harnessing the potential of "the global information economy" and they impacting of our daily social, work and family life. And they are part of the stress we feel in all aspects of the tremendous change we are experiencing today.

We hear everyday about the transition we are going from a post Industrial society to an electronic, "Learning society" where the products of that learning become marketed in a Knowledge Economy. In education we see a need for many new policies and initiatives that will support this transition a "learning society" so that equal opportunities are available for all, access is open, and individuals are encouraged and motivated to learn in their formal education as well as throughout life.

As always, the public expects and demands high quality and relevant education for all. Critics of the system suggest that students leave school facing a difficult transition from school to adult and work life because in their view they lack the necessary qualifications, the essential knowledge and skills, as well as a positive attitude towards learning itself. For them the system is failing to train workers for this "new economy" and they demand change in the system to accommodate their expectations. Many of these issues arise I think because of competing world views, two views of learning. One is our traditional model of learning which I call "learning for life" and the other is the concept of lifelong learning.

Learning for Life.

Learning for Life began with our home where we acquired our early language and social skills, our values and belief systems, and our early concept of self and self-esteem. Home was a time of nurturing and growth and for most people stability that met its first challenges when we started our formal schooling.

In school we were to learn new language and social skills that prepared us for life; we acquired knowledge of the world; our values and beliefs were for the most part reinforced and supported and we found what we were good at. We acquired the knowledge and skills that would ensure success in adulthood and prepared us to take our place in the social, economic and political world. Formal schooling to grade twelve assured success, but post-secondary education led to better jobs and professional work. Home and school were the two cornerstones of the foundation that would ensure our success as adults. Home had specific responsibilities; the formal school system had its responsibilities.

After school, we were ready to work and the skills we had developed to that point grew as we gained experience but essentially the same skills and knowledge we had acquired in school were enough to support and sustain a "good life.". We did have some support networks in place for people who were missed by the system or who "dropped-out" and later returned as adults or "mature students" to pick up their certifications from the system. This "upgrading" brought them in line with other successful people and helped them get better jobs and move up socially in society.

With this very linear model we were generally able to meet the fairly stable expectations of work, as well as our home and community responsibilities. But work has changed, how we live in the world has changed and the skills and knowledge we need to live are changing..

As a result we are seeing a new framework emerge referred to as "lifelong learning" which attempts to address some of the issues and challenges that are facing us today. Lifelong learning for all goes beyond providing adults with a second chance to learn what they missed and proposes that everyone should be able, motivated and actively encouraged to learn throughout life. It is a view of learning that embraces individual and social development of all kinds and in all settings.. Such as the formal settings of schools, vocational, tertiary and adult education institutions and the non-formal ones -- at home, at work and in the community.

This approach is conceptualized as system-wide and life-long it focuses on standards of knowledge and skills needed by everyone (not just elite) it emphasizes the need to prepare and motivate children at a young age for learning for a lifetime it directs efforts so that all adults, employed or unemployed who need to retrain or upgrade skills are provided with opportunities to do so. It encourages curiosity and incorporates deliberate efforts to satisfy it. It is a concept that serves several objectives; to foster personal development (at work, outside work and after work including retirement) to cultivate community life and democratic principles to promote innovation, productivity and economic growth.

When we think of our school system we have to think we are part of it (lifelong learning).. Not the other way around. We are not the whole picture; we are part of the whole picture

Many of the policies that are driving the curriculum change underway across Canada are written within the parameters of lifelong learning. In fact it has become an objective or goal that as educators we are to incorporate into our teaching and learning situations. We are part of the process of lifelong learning and we are also expected to promote and encourage it as a life style or way of being in the world.

Look at two examples from the APEF documents.........

1) "Achievement of the Essential Graduation Learnings will prepare students to continue to learn throughout their lives." p.5 APEF Foundation document

2) Under the 4th essential Graduation Learning, Personal Development ..... "Graduates will be able to continue to learn and to pursue an active, healthy lifestyle."

Under this is a list of outcomes which includes...

Demonstrate preparedness for transition to work and further learning demonstrate intellectual curiosity, an entrepreneurial spirit and initiative..

Others too....

Nationally as well in other provincial documents and many government projects and initiatives similar language is used to outline the goals of lifelong learning....

With this model come new metaphors...

Learning is seen as a continuum from birth to death and something that we are active in all our lives.

Learning is an adventure, a journey with new and exciting challenges at every turn in the road.

Or as I chose for the title of this presentation,

Learning is a story, a never-ending story in which new chapters are added, new themes constantly emerge, settings change, characters develop and the plot is woven from complex, interconnected and dynamic events.

Possibly a story in here........

________________________________________

How do these two models look when we place them into the context of teachers and teaching?

Learning for Life as a Teacher

In the learning for life model, teachers began their career with a period of intense specialized training that took place in a university or teachers' college setting. Here you were learning the basics of teaching, the tools needed for a career as a teacher. You were given the knowledge and skills needed for a career as a teacher.

If we go back even further than the 30 year time span I'm using here into the early history of teachers, all you had to do was demonstrate proficiency at the knowledge and skills of a literate person and then you could teach. Those who wanted to be teachers took intense examinations and if they could pass them they could get a license to teach. Then we moved to the idea of a period of specialized training after high school was needed before entry into the profession.

This model has gone through several iterations but it was basically meant to start you in your career and give you everything you need for a career as a teacher. Throughout the 1960's and since then, we have seen the need for upgrading teachers at periodic points as new goals are set for education or new expectations are added.

We have developed extensive in-service programs for retooling teachers, upgrading skills and knowledge and generally developing our professional expertise. Many researchers have examined this "learning for life" model in an attempt to identify a career cycle for teachers as a lens for examining what our jobs are like. It can be outlined in several phases or stages that appear to move in a linear fashion from the entry point to retirement.....
Preparation for teaching

This was done at a university or teachers' college. It was usually a series of courses with some time to "practice" teaching in school setting. It was based on best-case scenarios, evidence of best practices and theory. It was a clinical model of observe, diagnose, treat. It was where students were looking for cookbooks and recipes for teaching....Show me the methods!

First years of teaching

Once the new teacher found a job, these early years could be called a time of survival! It was a time of reality and shock, a realization of the complexity of teaching and management; often there was frustration with the lofty goals of preparation and the daily grind of the classroom; frustration with meeting all the needs;

BUT it was also a time of Discovery!

The feeling of having my own class, my own students my own materials; and the feeling of being a teacher on a staff.
Competency-building years

This when confidence really starts to show; it's a period of stabilization and firming up style and teaching repertoire. I am a grade four teacher..... Teachers are working at improving teaching and management skills and they can run a classroom comfortably..They have settled into one area of comfort such as grade four....

Enthusiasm and growing years

This is a period of experimentation and a high level of competence.

Also a time when new skills are growing and people are receptive to change and innovation.
Deep commitment to the profession.

Teachers love their jobs, love to go to work.

Key ingredient here is enthusiasm and high job satisfaction.

These people are often supportive of in-service work in their schools.

Career frustration

Sort of a mid-career crisis where doubts about why I am doing this work start to settle in.

A sense of monotony and burnout can be the key feelings at this stage.

Many people comment on these feelings at other parts of the career as well.

Stable but stagnant

Teachers are doing an acceptable job but they are less committed to the pursuit of excellence or growing in their profession.

They tend to be passive consumers of in-service and more inclined to say they have been there and done that!

Career wind-down

Preparing to leave the profession.

This can be a period of intense contribution to the profession,

a major career move as the last step;

it can also be a bitter period if for instance someone is forced to retire or they can't wait to get out of this job.

- a search for "quieter" times in our profession is a common feeling.

Career exit

A positive time for most; a period of disengagement and withdrawal, letting-go from the active profession.

It's a time of alternate career exploration for some.....

No one person passes through all these "stages" and

no real time periods can be applied to each one.

In fact, there is a tendency to view this career cycle as a linear process, with an individual entering at the pre-service level and progressing through the various stages. While there is a certain logic to this view, this is not an accurate picture of the process.

It is more likely to be an ebb and flow, with teachers moving in and out of stages in response to two very important factors that affect our careers personal and organizational influences.

In other words these stages are a lens for examining a process that is more complex and more dynamic.

What are some of these Personal factors that play a big part in our careers as teachers.

Our family circumstances -- size of it, special needs of members, support for each other....

Positive critical incidents -- marriage, children, religious experience

Life crises -- illness, death of loved one, finances, divorce.....

Other interests -- hobbies, travel, leisure activities

Individual dispositions -- your own life goals, personal value system, interpersonal relationships...

So do Organizational factors play a role....

The school you work in, the professionals that surround you, administrators' style, the community in which you teach, the professional organizations you belong to and contribute to, government and district support networks and their philosophical goals.

These factors remind us

We don't live and work in a vacuum and we don't learn in a vacuum.

Lifelong Learning

When we place the lifelong learning model into the teaching context, some important differences appear....

One of the major changes has taken place in how we get people ready to become teachers.

1) This is now an intense two-year time after one degree has been completed. Teachers need more background knowledge and expertise before they begin their preparation for teaching.

2) We no longer apply a clinical model for teacher preparation but we conceptualize it as a collaborative endeavor among the academic teacher at the university, the experienced teachers in the schools and the pre-service teachers.

3)They are not student teachers, practicing being a teacher; they are pre-service teachers moving toward in-service status.

4) Pre-service teachers are not empty vessels to be filled with information; they are active learners who are expected to reflect on their experience in school, their own learning style and their goals and motivations for being teachers.

5) Theory is not the work of the university and practice the role of the school. The two are connected and inter-related which is demonstrated in an extended practicum experience that is part of the overall program and not a time left at to the end where pre-service people apply what they have learned.

6) This program is part of an endeavor to build reflective teaching practice and is rooted in a belief that this is the beginning of the lifelong learning process all teachers experience.

Another major change takes place in how we conceptualize our careers.

1) It is no longer just stages and phases but a continuum of learning that places different demands on our learning at different times of our career. Beginning teachers have different needs than experienced teachers perhaps only five years left in active teaching.

2) The teacher preparation period is different; we have a teacher induction program where beginning teachers are not left to their own survival skills but are invited to take part in a mentoring program where they work with experienced teachers to make the transition into the teaching profession and they are supported with a program of in-service sessions with new and experienced teachers.

3) This induction is an excellent example of the strong partnership amongst university, department of education, school districts, the PEITF and individual schools and teachers.

4) The early skills and knowledge we acquire in our careers will not sustain us as viable teachers for 30 years.

Another major change is how we value experience.

1) In the lifelong learning concept teachers' experience becomes important resource for future learning. We build new experiences and new knowledge upon an understanding of past experiences and with an awareness that this past experience is something valued.

2) Connelly and Clandinin have outlined a concept they call "personal practical knowledge" which is "knowledge that is experiential, very practical and shaped by teachers' purposes and values."
This helps us talk about teachers as knowledgeable and knowing persons who have an extensive body of knowledge about curriculum materials and development, subject matter, teaching strategies and the classroom milieu.....

Our professional development and in-service work begins with this understanding of teachers' personal practical knowledge and with a respect for what they know and have experienced.
They are not lacking something that we have to give them.

Coupled with the concept of personal practical knowledge is the notion of reflective practice.

1) I tell my students at UPEI that the great thing about teaching is that you always get a second chance. If you go into the classroom and you come out feeling that you missed it, or that you didn't do a very good job or that you didn't get the idea across very well, you spend some time reflecting on what happened, what you could do differently and then you go in and try again. Poor teaching is defined when you don't reflect on what you have done or go back and reteach what you wanted students to learn in order to clarify or to help everyone get what you feel they need to know.

2) Reflective practice here means thinking that is not just ivory-tower contemplation, but thinking that is directly linked to practice... it is "thoughtful judgement within the actual practice of teaching itself." (Polland's definition).

3) This reflection-in-action or reflection-on-action is also complemented by a more critical reflection about action where we think about the social conditions that affect teaching and the consequences of one's actions as a teacher.

What emerges when these two concepts work in concert is a new view of teacher professionalism that is referred to as reflective professionalism.

1) This view deconstructs our traditional view of teacher professionalism in which we use scientific research methods to identify what we need to do as teachers and in many ways ignore the lived experience of teachers in schools.

So we might say, that "Research indicates that students need to do such and such ...", and yet when we examine that research it may have been done out of the context of the reality of the classroom or without the benefit of the teachers' input.

We have moved away from the view that "experts" can provide real answers and we rely heavily on the ideas of experienced teachers who have drawn their conclusions by applying a reflective framework to their experience and are willing to share what they have "learned".

2) Reflective professionalism is rooted in the lifelong learning principle that every teacher is a learner and every learner is a teacher. We are all part of a community of learning and learners

and we work within a culture of learning.

These are powerful concepts that are the topic of many professional articles and books for teachers and ideas that are affecting the type of programs we are planning for future teachers.

As well, lifelong learning presents us with a different view of our professional development.

Within the traditional model, a teacher's career began with a time of preparation where we received our "teacher training"; a time that taught us what we needed to know to be a teacher. Then we found work and started to practice our profession. We received in-service training along the way

but mostly in response to some deficit that others perceived we had and that had to be corrected.

A new program came along and we needed training in how to teach it. First, we had to be convinced that it was good and useful and then shown how to add it on to what we already do or to replace what we were doing with the innovation.

It was a deficit model, a system of plus and minuses.

Lifelong learning puts adult learners in charge of their own learning and lets them decide what they need to learn at this point in their career. They also have responsibility to keep their skills and knowledge growing and vital. They develop a "curriculum for life."

Messages from the Popular Press

As well as being a pervasive concept in educational policy, the pressure to be aware of lifelong learning comes from a variety of sources.

There are many popular writers that use this concept as a basis for arguing their point of view;

Lifelong learning is a concept that is tossed around by all sorts of corporate and government people. It is also part of the popular writing common in books like Megatrends, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and the many books of Tom Peters . Peters is a guru of popular business management who has transferred his expert advice into the wider world of personal development. On education, he gives this advice to his students:

"Remember that (One - 1) education is the only ticket to success and (Two -2) education doesn't stop with the last certificate you pick up. Studenthood for life is a necessity, by definition in our future society."

Almost 30 years ago, John Holt argued in his seminal work How Children Fail,

that "since we can't know what knowledge will be most needed in the future, it is senseless to teach it in advance. Instead we should try to turn out people who love learning so much and learn so well, that they will be able to learn whatever needs to be learned."

While we would argue with Holt that there is a basic knowledge that we all need to share, the information age and the demands that it places on education underscores the essence of Holt's argument.

Some writers take a more critical view and warn us that we need new skills to live in the future. Neil Postman wrote in Teaching as a Subversive Activity:

"When you plug something into the wall, remember, someone is also getting plugged into you. Which means you need new patterns of defense, perception, understanding and evaluation. You need a new kind of education."

Central to that "new kind of education" is the view that it is a lifelong process of learning new things, making informed decisions, critically thinking and acting as well as taking control of your learning.

Another writer who speaks of similar ideas is not quite so famous (although I think that is just a matter of time), but who is closer to home and that is our Dean at the Faculty of Education, Dr, Vianne Timmons,

In a recent article in Canadian Learning, She cautions us not to reduce all this talk about lifelong learning to the simplistic view that lifelong learning is just living.

Of course we learn all our lives.

Dean Timmons advises us that "lifelong learning is not just living; it is much more and it requires deliberation, structure and promotion. This suggests to me that lifelong learning is a way of being in the world; the way we approach life and work; a change from the notion that once I received my formal training, I was set for life.

Issues Raised by Lifelong Learning

If lifelong learning is such a pervasive and influential concept, what then are the issues it raises for educators and other decision makers.

Many of these are personal reflections but they are also common in the professional writing in this area...

1) We need to seriously address the ways to improve the foundations for lifelong learning, principally in my mind, primary education.

When on PEI will we seriously look at formalizing our early childhood programs and explore kindergarten and primary programs as crucial parts of lifelong learning for all?

Although we have some very good early childhood programs, we need to ensure that all families have access to comprehensive programs, that these programs do nurture lifelong learning goals and that education at this stage fosters interest, motivation and the capacity for learning in all children.

We need to remember that "Educational disadvantage not addressed early in life is likely to persist."

2) Connected to this issue and even more important as adults is the view that we need to pull all partners together to work towards lifelong learning. The education system does not have the sole responsibility for education; in fact it is the individual who has responsibility for their own learning and they need to be supported in their efforts to grow and develop throughout life.

The formal school system is only one aspect of lifelong learning and we need policies that develop unemployment programs, retraining programs, health education and the many other aspects of learning.

We see a lot of evidence of the demand for all governments and their partners to take on new roles and responsibilities for education.

A touchstone for this seems to be the private-public sector partnerships that we are told will ensure the viability of education in the future.

For educators this is difficult and for some they are threatening relationships.

We are pressured to work with others that we traditionally have not worked with in order to ensure the achievement of goals we don't see as part of what we do.

The debate about education and training intensifies,

the tug-of-war continues between academic and professional programs and

the debate over process and product divides us rather than being conceptualized as part of the whole picture.

Assessment of the whole group and assessment of the achievement of individuals are still seen as competing rather than completing components of our development.

3) A third issue is the development of quality programs for adult learners that are rooted in the principles of adult learning and not developed as second best programs that give people a second chance.

No matter what our career, we will all need "workplace learning" in the future, opportunities to learn new skills and gain new knowledge just to stay viable members of the organization and we need to develop in our students a commitment to this concept.
Our personal development will also demand new and better programs that respond to our individual learning styles and learning needs, as well as our personal and professional aspirations.
4) An issue for me is the need for educators to fully realize the importance of this concept of lifelong learning and stop thinking of it as another idea that will pass in time.

We only have to reflect on our own careers and we know that the successful ones were the ones that embraced lifelong learning with the passion they embraced all aspects of teaching.

We need to give our present and future students the attitude toward lifelong learning that has sustained and propelled us in our work.

In fact, the difference may be that while the adoption of a lifelong learning attitude and modus operand ensured us of success, in the future it will be essential just for survival.

What Can We Do Now?

With these issues identified and believe me there are others, what do we need to do to become part of the dialogue that will continue in spite of what we do and that is affecting the decision-making that is going on around us....

1) We need to look for opportunities to join the dialogue with other educational agencies in society. Yes we are part of the public school system that deals with grades 1-12 but we need to get involved in reviews and policy decisions affecting pre-school education, vocational and technical education, the transition from school to work, tertiary institutions like universities and adult education institutions.

2) explore alternative visions of schools... Will it become a community learning centre? Will it be a community based resource-centre for all? How will technologies affect and advance pedagogy?

3) We need to learn and apply the teaching and learning strategies appropriate to the lifelong learning concept. These include resource-based learning, project-based learning, enterprise education and many other learning how to learn approaches.

4) We need as a teaching profession to discuss and explore the implications of a world seen as a "learning society". What will be the implications for education of such a world view?

5) We can examine what we are doing right now to take control of our learning as a professional teacher. What am I reading, what skills am I practicing, what new knowledge am I adding to my teaching?

Closing

Some basic ideas that summarize the talk

Lifelong learning is a key fact of life for everyone

Our passion for teaching complements this lifelong learning goal

Teachers should be encouraged to plan their "curriculum for life" as a teacher

An open-minded search for new ideas will be central to success

Lifelong learning is not just "living"; It just doesn't happen: it requires deliberation, structure and promotion.

If we go back to our metaphors again, Lifelong learning as a never-ending story......

We see that lifelong learning is not a book of short stories which is series of short stories gathered under one unifying theme or topic, each one about a different episode or incident in our teaching lives.

Our stories are not summaries of each phase in the career cycle. Rather, it is a series of new chapters added to the never-ending story of teaching.

A chapter is not written separate from the preceding events, settings and characterizations. Each chapter builds upon the previous ones to add complexity, surprise, emotion and dimension to the whole work.

It may be prefaced with an opening scene that sets the stage for my choosing of teaching as a career and then move through a series of early chapters in which we see my teacher character develop, the story setting established and the key players identified.

It will move on to where the plot thickens, new and surprising characters and events develop and impact on the main character. There is a growth and maturing of the main character as new experiences are added and reflected upon in the course of the denouement and settling of lives in the closing chapters of the story.

However, just as with, Bastion, the main character of The Never-ending Story by Michael Ende, the story is left for someone else to discover on a visit to a book store, to pick up, buy, read, learn from and add to it with new chapters and new adventures.
When we welcome new teachers to the profession, whether that is as a pre-service teacher at UPEI, as a sponsoring teacher during their practicum or when they join the staff as new teachers, we should be inviting them to read and share the stories of those who came before them and then pass them the pen (or for future teachers, the word-processor) and challenge them to write and create new adventures, new chapters in this never-ending story.

Thank you.