Sprinthall & Thies-Sprinthall (1983) mention that “adult learning theory suggests that adults learn more readily when they have the opportunity to interact with peers.”
If this theory is true, then why do we seek out learning opportunities through interaction with others? Today, 2011, we can learn just about anything and everything on the internet, so why still seek out knowledge from our peers?
As adults (and teachers), do we find that we feel more confident in our own shoes to seek out knowledge from our peers (i.e. to discuss issues and methods/practices)? Do we do this (as teachers) to justify our teaching approaches? To find out how others teach differently? To incorporate other teaching methods/practices with our own?
Or, do we feel less confident as teachers (especially when we venture, or are placed, into new environments) that we seek out approval or “approved methods/practices of teaching” from our peers?
Either way, is approval from our peers just as important today as ever? Do we continually strive to learn from others, and if so, why?
What are your comments?
I firmly believe that we do learn most readily by interacting with peers. That is the philosophy at the core of the National Writing Project (“teachers teaching teachers”) and a principle that I see confirmed every semester in the discussions in my classes.
That is also why I don’t resort to books or the internet to answer a question I have about my students. I want to talk through the issue or problem with someone familiar with my students. Furthermore, even if I am looking for an answer and turn to research, I am most likely to discuss that research with a colleague before I put it into practice. That is all a part of my making that knowledge my own.
I’m sure at some level I am seeking approval from my peers, but that is not my motivating reason for discussing my practice or the questions and issues I have. I have a lot of social power in my position, so rarely do I feel the need for peer approval. I just generally like to talk and think about improving my pedagogy.
Talking with my colleagues is for me the most important way of addressing issues with students. Collegues have the same students from the same environments and socio-economic backgounds as I have. This allows clear communications that help me address students’ needs.
I have attended workshops for this issue in the past, but I find them mostly a waste of time. All they can do is present a one-size-fits-all program, and, while they are well-intentioned, they usually fall short of expectations. In-house conferences and interactions are far more productive.
I have learned a lot from books, and I’ve learned some good stuff from some excellent workshops from time to time as well. But I turn to colleagues for information on the institutional culture (as, for instance, when I ask people to share their syllabi or assignments with me) and when I want to talk through a situation that has arisen. I talk to a colleague instead of turning to a book for several reasons. I can get a specific (and institutionally contextualized) answer to a specific question. I can feel listened to. I can bounce ideas and perceptions off of another person as I work towards understanding. I can hear somebody else’s story (usually high relevant, because they work at the same place I do) about a similar experience, which makes me feel like I’m not alone as well as giving me something to think about and learn from. I can talk through my feelings. (I might be confused, disappointed, frustrated, angry, elated, hopeful . . . we bring all of ourselves to a conversation, and the colleagues we go back to a second time tend to be the ones who get that.) Before I can take advice on what to do in a certain situation, I may need help understanding the situation: theorizing why things happened as they did. I come into a conversation with perceptions that I may not be entirely sure of, hypotheses, guesses, fears: I often need to talk through why something is happening or has happened before I can get to the question of what to do about it. Writing is discovery, of course. Talking can be discovery too. Sometimes I need both to talk and to listen to someone else talk as the two of us work together towards discovering insights and strategies that make sense in a particular situation.
While I do sometimes look online for ideas and I relied heavily on books before I began teaching, I get the best advice about teaching from my colleagues. Teachers at my colleges have students from similar backgrounds and must adhere to similar course requirements. I’m confident that I’m a good teacher, and it does feel good when I share something that I do with my students that works well. But at the same time, I know I’m far from perfect, and I like to hear from my fellow instructors about teaching methods that they find work well, even if they are in opposition to my own. I agree with Lesley that talking to my colleagues makes me feel less alone. (“None of your students read the novels either?” “You also have trouble getting the middle-aged working mamas to take you seriously?”)