Pauline’s Blog

I have been reading and thinking this week about the pursuit of excellence. One of the things that has been a repeated theme in my readings has been the need for regular focussed feedback. When students have clear goals to work towards, their learning will develop when the feedback they receive is related to their goals. So I began to wonder about using a blog as a means of teacher professional development. If teachers are all working towards a particular goal, they could put up examples of what they have tried, successes they have had, ideas to try out etc. In this way they could share their learning in a collaborative way, with specific feedback from their colleagues. I wonder if anyone has used a blog for teachers in this way.? Maybe it would also help with relationship building. How often do teachers get specific feedback on something they have tried, especially regular feedback that will help them monitor their progress and look at the journey they are taking.

For schools dipping into something new like Inquiry Learning, I can see lots of collaborative potential as teachers come to grips with new ideas and new approaches to teaching. A blog like this could lead to a really useful resource within a school or a cluster, especially as new teachers arrive and can see the journey being undertaken. As a structured means of reflection, I also see positive benefits for teachers. And what a great way to get to grips with using new technology!