On Education
October 20, 2024
MENTAL MAP REFLECTION
Educational leaders can effectively integrate global education perspectives into local policies to enhance both teacher efficacy and student outcomes through many approaches. First – they should consider the research that exists about hands-on education versus standardized testing approaches. They should also address raising concerns about inclusive policies versus inclusive education being enacted. I wrote in my first professional reflection: “some unintended consequences of education policies such as high-stakes testing could be burnout, stress, or create larger achievement gaps for students from different backgrounds. Policies have also had issues in the past of unintentional biases, and as we learn to teach in today’s world, we need to have policies that benefit and lift-up all students. To mitigate, we can create assessments that are collaborative, creative, and focus less on “teaching to the test”. We can keep in mind the burnout new teachers feel by providing feedback sessions and/or mentorships.”
By having effective leaders at a school, you can mitigate burnout, stress, and fight policies that have unintentional biases on behalf of your staff. All policies not only should address the immediate needs of students but also have long-term implications for inclusivity, teacher preparedness, and student success. Policies are often written but not enacted. In my last professional reflection, again, the authors stated the policies are in place for inclusive education, but inclusive classrooms have not been fully accepted by teachers; however, teachers with higher efficacy are more willing to accept students with disabilities in their mainstream school, and more willing to teach students with disabilities in their own class.
Innovative pedagogies, including the use of artificial intelligence (AI), can significantly strengthen teacher efficacy and contribute to improved student learning in several ways. AI enables personalized learning by analyzing student data to create tailored learning paths which allows teachers to meet individual needs and boosting their confidence in addressing diverse learning styles. AI tools can provide real-time feedback to students which reduces the burden of grading the assessment on teachers and enabling them to focus on instruction and support. AI can help enrich lesson planning and get the teacher more prepared. Access to a vast array of resources, including multimedia content and interactive simulations, enriches lesson planning and helps teachers feel more prepared. AI can help differentiate instruction, give insight into student data to help the teacher make informed instructional decisions.
Teacher efficacy leads to confidence in the teachers that allow the teachers to adjust and shift to changes.
When teachers believe in their ability to impact student learning and successfully implement new strategies, they are more likely to embrace and experiment with innovative pedagogies. High teacher efficacy fosters a willingness to take risks, adapt to new instructional approaches, and integrate global perspectives into their teaching. Teachers with high efficacy are more likely to create supportive and responsive learning environments, which are essential for fostering student engagement and motivation. As they model a growth mindset and embrace continuous improvement, they encourage students to develop their own efficacy, leading to enhanced learning outcomes.
Educational leaders should set realistic, time-sensitive goals for their staff and celebrate them. They should encourage and prioritize successful innovative practices among teachers. They should also involve teachers in the policy development process, ensuring that educators’ insights and experiences inform the policies. This helps create policies that are both practical and relevant to classroom realities. By providing targeted training that focuses on global education and innovative pedagogies, leaders can empower teachers to effectively implement policies while enhancing their instructional strategies. Additionally, creating a supportive environment that encourages experimentation and risk-taking allows teachers to explore new methods without the fear of failure. Policy (decision) makers should listen to teachers and experts, not think tanks pushing political agendas. If collective efficacy (mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, social persuasion, and affective states) works for teachers, why not use that same approach to attend to students?
This course had a lot of interesting topics. I enjoyed reading about them all. I think the Teacher Efficacy Blueprint is really great because it gives you a goal for you to set that you decide. I think this would be helpful for people that do not have a supportive education leadership team. I personally will be using it. I also enjoyed learning about LSAs, laws about special education, and about the policymakers and the lobbyists behind them.
