Supervision for Learning is about the Learning

I am currently part of the BCPVPA professional development initiative called Supervision for Learning.  The focus of this particular year-long experience is to improve student learning, by improving Learner-Focused Dialogues with teachers.   What makes this particular professional development initiative different from many of the pro-d events I have taken part in is the collaboration aspect.  At our initial gathering in Vancouver in September we met with table groups of six people from around the province.  From that group of six, we were broken into two triads.  We meet as a triad via Skype once per week to have a Joint Practice Development focusing on Learner-Focused Dialogue.  We also meet five or six times over the school year, via Skype, with our table groups and the Pro-D facilitator, Caroline Picard.  During these discussions we review highlights and key learnings from our experiences so far.

We have been at this now for about four weeks and I feel that I have gained some valuable insights from the experience so far. The most significant learning for me has been about the value of collaboration.  In our weekly meetings we are holding each other accountable for doing learning walks on a regular basis and having Learner-Focused Dialogues with our teaching staff.  I like to think that I am already good at getting into classrooms and having those conversations, but by actually tracking my progress I’ve come to realize that it’s difficult to get to everyone you need to.  Even with the focused intent of this program, there are still classrooms that I have not been to very often. 

The collaborative aspect of this project has also helped me to gain confidence in asking some of those more difficult questions.  The first ones are always the most difficult, but they get easier, the more often I venture outside of my previous comfort zone.  What I have noticed so far is that I’m not the only one looking for answers.  By asking the difficult questions, I enable the person to voice their own concerns and to question as well.  The collaborative approach to improving learning is underway.

I am looking forward to reporting more on how this particular process evolves over the year.  It’s about the learning.