Well, there should be no disagreement about the title of this piece. Teachers do talk a lot - in the classroom or in staffrooms. Yet, the talk I would like to refer to is one that can lead to the development of a reflective school community.

Policy makers do not need to spend large amounts of money as they seek to introduce the "right" programme that would bring about marked improvement in a particular subject. What we need to focus on are teachers themselves. Teacher expertise is routinely devalued.

Many are the examples that can be cited of the devaluation of the teachers' position of expertise. As a result we often encounter teachers who have either plainly given up or else turned cynical about educational change and the role they play in determining success or failure in a child's education.

This is a tragic situation to be confronted with at a time when we should be facing exciting challenges. And, to me, the most exciting challenge will be that of transforming schools into learning communities. There is no better way to explore how teachers can be true professionals than in schools which can slowly develop into learning communities. For, let us not delude ourselves, change is a slow process which practically depends on the will of individuals.

Teachers can learn new skills, strategies and activities through a variety of ways, but not necessarily with the understanding and rationale necessary for meaningful application. Experience suggests that the impact on student learning and achievement would remain very limited without ongoing professional reading, reflection, sharing, thinking, collaboration, practice, revision, and continual discussion about all aspects of teaching, learning and evaluating.

Wherever I go I encourage teachers to organise weekly professional conversations so that they can become part of their school's culture. Teachers, all of us, need such conversations. We all need dialogue to remain professional, and conversation can change our teaching practice.

To my delight, in a number of schools where I urged teachers to begin ongoing professional conversations, teachers and school leaders have taken up the challenge. In one school, for example, one teacher volunteered to spearhead the effort and facilitate weekly meetings. In this school, 80 per cent of the staff came to each meeting. As is typical when such groups begin, they started by sharing ideas and talking about various teaching concerns.

Another group of teachers decided to meet weekly over the summer to discuss a professional area of concern - literacy. This autumn, staff decided to focus in depth on the teaching of reading, especially to struggling readers. As a result teachers are thinking more about teaching and what they are doing in their classrooms. As the weeks rolled by one could observe teachers looking carefully at theory and research and to make connections to their own beliefs and practices. Hence, the "why" will start to connect with the "how" of teaching.

Professional conversations have sparked an interest in learning. More teachers are reading articles from journals that are being made available. Staff are expressing more interest in identifying INSET courses that they wish to attend.

Although the teachers have not been meeting long enough to assess the impact of teacher conversation on student achievement, I believe that the increased staff collegiality will positively enhance student learning. There is evidence, as one teacher put it, "of greater unity between teachers that wasn't here before. We are now open to new ideas and always looking for opportunities to share. We have grown professionally as a staff".

This resonates what Moffett has noted, that "More than almost any other factor, the sense of a professional community in schools enhances student achievement" (2000, p.36).

Developing good conversation

As teachers start meeting regularly, typical conversations may be superficial and touch on all aspects of teaching. Initially, many teachers use the time to air their feelings about school life. Because they are not used to conversing, they may have to get these concerns out of the way. I have always encountered this phase, which I have called the moaning and groaning phase, a phase which we all need to go through. Unfortunately some of us remain stuck in it, or either feel more "comfortable" in such a situation and do not want to move on to pastures new, that is, to other new phases where we accept the challenge and responsibility to address the concerns of the organisation.

Additionally, many teachers are embarrassed to admit that they need help. They believe that everyone else must be a successful practitioner who already knows how to teach a particular topic or skill. I have encountered situations where it has taken years for some educators to feel safe enough to share and maybe admit that they need help. That often opens the floodgates, and more and more teachers begin to express similar concerns.

Thus, it can take years for meetings to start focusing on the curriculum and improving student learning.

Moving beyond superficial change

Initially most changes that occur in our schools take place at the superficial level. It is possible to walk into a classroom that appears to be based on the latest theory and practice - desks grouped in clusters, small groups of children working together, learning centres and computers switched on - only to discover that the change is cosmetic. The rationale for and understanding of the physical and learning configurations are missing.

This surface level change is not surprising. In a couple of schools that I visited, teachers had worked with outsiders on a number of topics - all in the past two years! How could teachers be expected to understand the "why" of their practice when so much was being piled onto their plates? There was no time for the reflection that is vital for all meaningful and lasting change. Maybe this is one of the reasons why so much work of the focus groups has not been as successful as envisaged.

We need to be continually asking:

¤ Why am I teaching this way?

¤ How will this activity or lesson contribute to the students' learning or development of particular skills?

¤ What theory, research and experiences inform my teaching?

¤ How do I know whether my students are learning?

If we do not ask such questions we are just going through the motions. Our students may learn the skills and strategies that we teach them, but application to meaningful contexts will be limited.

Making time for conversations

Teachers need time to develop in-depth knowledge through professional conversation, and time is in short supply. I have been arguing for longer periods since the late 1980s. Current practice sees the education authorities allowing only a few hours per term for professional development. Other schools, mainly secondary ones, fix around one period per week for subject and/or departmental meetings. Other meetings take place out of teachers own time.

Some possibilities for creating time for weekly discussions are to:

¤ Establish after-school support groups;

¤ Devote "year" and/or department meetings to issues of the profession;

¤ Create common planning times each week;

¤ Hire roving supply teachers;

¤ Add paid days to the school calendar;

¤ Introduce school-based in-service days; and

¤ Work out INSET on a cluster basis.

Making a commitment to weekly professional meetings is not easy, but it is one of the best ways to develop thoughtful practice schoolwide and to improve teaching and learning. Ongoing, on-site professional development through reflective, self-guided, weekly conversations about teaching practice is a necessity for sustained growth and transformation for both students and teachers.

Dr Bezzina is from the Office of Professional Practice, Department of Education Studies, Faculty of Education, University of Malta.

christopher.bezzina@um.edu.mt

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