Opening a Door for Teacher Learning
A door opens. A sliver of light slants across the floor, beckoning. A new and unrecognized sound is faintly audible. We are at an inflection point: do we choose to close the door, or open it a little wider and allow curiosity to sweep into the room?
For more than a dozen years, 2Revolutions has been building those doors and working with educators, encouraging them to open each one a little wider and let their curiosity take hold. Our motivation lies in engaging and exciting them about their own learning and discovering how that learning can have an outsized impact on their classrooms. We are never disappointed; the educators with whom we work are ready to open the door, dive deep into new approaches, and reconsider the design of their classrooms, schools, and districts.
All of the professional learning that we facilitate–whether 6-month Communities of Practice or full graduate programs–culminates in Celebrations of Learning. Over the course of 10 years, we have seen the mounting evidence of the impact of these experiences on participating educators and the invited guests who attend the Celebrations. These experiences provide educators with an opportunity to reflect upon and showcase their learning by sharing how their experience has shifted their practice and impacted them personally. The benefit of sharing these insights with an audience of peers often surpasses their own expectations.
The guidance we give learners in their Celebrations of Learning is to “show & tell”–start by choosing relevant artifacts that illustrate their learning and its application. Then, be able to explain that learning and reflect on the impact that it had on them and their practice. In our longer learning experiences, we ask learners to tell us a story of their learning journey, illustrating their personal growth as well as the impact that their journey has had on their students.
We consider successful presentations to be:
During each of the past six months, I was privileged to attend Celebrations of Learning in 2Revolutions’ partnerships around the country. I was completely blown away by the power of these experiences, not only for the participating learners, but also for peers who had been invited to join. I asked two participants–Sarah Weedman, an elementary school teacher leader from Louisville, Kentucky, and Fiona Butler, a special education teacher leader from Portsmouth, New Hampshire–to share their reflections on their Celebration of Learning.
“It was an empowering learning experience that has led to effective, profound and long lasting change in me … I reflect on the actions of my students from a ‘kinder,’ more empathetic place.” — Fiona Butler
Fiona Butler participated in an Anti-bias/Anti-racist Community of Practice during the Spring/Summer of 2021. As a veteran educator, she was eager to learn more and deepen her knowledge base. Participating in the Community of Practice had a profound impact on her. Read her reflection on her learning experience and Celebration of Learning here.
“Through my coursework and Celebration of Learning with 2Revolutions, I was finally able to experience what I had yearned for, for so long … It left me feeling valued, understood, confident and left me motivated and encouraged to give the same experience and feelings to as many students as possible.”
— Sarah Weedman
Sarah Weedman participated in a 2Revolutions M.Ed in Competency-Based Education in partnership with Spalding University from February 2020 to August 2021. She is an accomplished elementary educator in the Jefferson County Public Schools (KY) who has recently transitioned to a district leadership role in the Office of Deeper Learning. She has expressed the impact of the experience on her knowledge, skills, and overall perspective. View the full presentation that she created about her Celebration of Learning here.
***
Fiona and Sarah walked through the door. At 2Revolutions, we and our many partners are creating more and more opportunities for educators to do so, making this the norm in educator learning.