1. 1. TEACHER STUDY GROUPS? What is a teacher study group? A teacher study group is when teachers come together collectively to share their ideas and experiences. Teacher study groups can be a form of professional development because it is a part of a continuous process to gain new knowledge and skills. Teacher study groups are developed to create a comfortable homespace where teachers collaborate with the purpose of helping one another. Participants in the groups will focus on students, their practice and bigger educational issues they may not understand.
2. 2. HOW TO FORM THESE STUDY GROUPS? 1. School leaders can organize these study groups by putting together teachers by grade level or subject. 2. Groups should be allowed to meet once a week or every other week. 3. Each study group should have a group leader or facilitator to plan where meetings will take place and to lay out what each meeting will focus on that day. The facilitator should be well trained in professional development to ensure the study group is effective. 4. Facilitator should observe other teacher study groups to see how they are conducted.
3. 3. BENEFITS Teacher study groups are very beneficial for teachers, administrators and students. Student achievement is the primary focus of each group. Each teacher in the group is learning to become more effective to ensure the success of his/her students. Administrators or school leaders are promoting more positive and effective professional development through these learning groups because teachers are learning from one another. Administrators also create community sense of belonging and increasing student success.
4. 4. BENEFITS CONTD These groups equip teachers with basic qualitative research knowledge and skills to conduct participatory action research. Teachers can share lesson planning ideas or specific classroom activities during weekly meetings or discuss the positive and negative parts of a project for the other educators to learn from.
5. 5. ROLES WITHIN THE STUDY GROUP Each study group should have leader. Everyone in the group should be involved and present research they have gathered. Plan out what is to be discussed at each meeting so time is not wasted and chaos minimized. Principal or school leaders should receive reports and feedback from each meeting.
6. 6. WHAT TEACHERS AND EXPERTS ARE SAYING ABOUT STUDY GROUPS.. A first grade teacher said, Teacher Study Groups gave us the opportunity to work and share with other teachers. The topics we covered were exactly what I needed to be doing on a daily basis. Dr. Sharon Vaughn says, During the Teacher Study Group, teachers will acquire knowledge and skills that they will use repeatedly. The Teacher Study Group process allows teachers to develop lessons that incorporate instructional practices with a strong research base; they learn 'how' to effectively teach. Ingram, Louis, and Schroeder (2004) report that teachers are more likely to collect and use data systematically when working as a group.
7. 7. CONCLUSION Research has proven that teachers who collaborate are much more effective than teachers that dont. In order for teacher study groups to be effective, everyone must be willing to learn, listen and share. It is a continuous process but it is worth it all in the end.