TEA Collaborative Learning Group
FINAL Report

Demello

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Overall, in what ways did your collaboration with your team impact your professional growth? (e.g., how did this work impact your approach to and understanding of: content knowledge, pedagogy, process of science, teaching standards, use of technology, etc.)?
By necessity, the TEA experience caused me to increase my knowledge and use of technology, and I believe this is what became the common thread in working with other teachers. As a result of TEA, we are all much more proficient in the various uses of technology. In terms of content - because I had to find ways to explain facts, concepts, lessons, etc. to others, I gained a deeper understanding of polar science and technology. I also had to be sure to find ways to show the connections to our state frameworks. The entire project afforded me many more opportunities to work with colleagues in my district and in other communities, and so I have a much larger network of educators that I now communicate with and would feel comfortable collaborating with in the future.

In what ways do you think your colleagues were impacted by being a part of this collaborative team?
Each teacher certainly learned a great deal about Polar Science and Antarctica in parcticular that they did not know before. I think they enjoyed their joint collaborations, but also the opportunity to focus on project that were grade specific. They too learned a great deal of new technology uses as a result of this project.

How does this experience compare to / contrast with other professional interactions you have had with your colleagues?
The experience was very positive. In comparison to other experiences, I think this worked well because the people who were involved volunteered to be involved and were invested in the program. However, I do think the entire mentoring component was stressful for everyone due to the significant number of hours involved. Requesting this type of commitment from someone's personal time is really a tremendous sacrifice. I was pleased that some grant money was available at times over the past three years so that I was able to provide some stipends to them for their contributions. Mostly, I was incredibly fortunate to have asked three very professional and committed teachers to team with me and each one remained supportive throughout.

Overall, what were the most significant outcomes of the mentoring experience?
Significant Outcomes:

1. Working with great colleagues... strengthening our professional relationships. 2. Drastic increase in polar related knowledge. 3. Significant increase in technology skills. 4. For one member of my team, Mara Carey, it lead to a terrific experience in a summer TEA workshop which increased her confidence with respect to teaching science and her willingness to become involved in science opportunities outside of her classroom and district. 5. For Susan Rice-Patton she was afforded the opportunity to collaborate with other high school teachers in different disciplines which under regular circumstances probably would not have occurred. 6. For Melinda Learning, the experience provided her with more time to expand and enrich her pre-existing polar unit; and to create new ways to incorporate technology into her classroom.

What do you believe are the key elements to a successful mentoring experience?
Selecting the right people to begin your project. There needs to be a rapport and comfort. When that is not present, it can be improved upon, but nothing can replace that natural "connection" that either exists between people or it doesn't. When I was thinking about who I might ask to be part of my team, I though about people that I felt I shared an easy rapport with.

Keys (In no parcticular order): 1. Similar professional views / philosophy 2. Mutual respect 3. Humor 4. Professionalism 5. Commitment 6. Follow through 7. Flexibility 8. Creativity 9. Willingness to grow & experiement 10. Not afraid to be wrong

What recommendations do you have for other TEAs who are working with colleagues to transfer their TEA experience?
My recommendations would be those listed in the previous sections of this report.

But if the program cycle was to start again with the same guidelines, I think I would stress the importance of WHO to ask to join your team. I think it is helpful to know the people you are going to work with and to have a positive "history" with them. I had great people to work with and they are why it worked!

What, if any, resources/products were created by your team? How can we best make these available to the broader TEA community?
I think the TEA Activities page does this best. Those activities are designed specifically to be shared with others. On an individual basis, I think that TEAs being willing to communicate with other educators nation-wide is a great way to continue to make resources and information available. A terrific network has been created and I think it is important to preserve this component more than any other. I hope the TEA website will remain accessible for as long as possible.

What are your recommendations for improving or modifying the mentoring experience?
I absolutely think the requirements were too long and that fewer hours with more people would have been more beneficial.

Some thoughts:

1. For most colleges, 130 hours translates to about 8.5 credits. That many hours of professional development in polar science starts to create a "burn out" factor. You don't want people to get so overexposed to something that they no longer want to do it... they get bored.

2. Less hours, maybe 20, but with six or seven teachers means you increase the number of students you reach. That to me is very important. Grades K-12 are not really about specializing, but rather generating an interest and exposing students to things. I'd rather know I reached many, many more students with the hope of stimulating a few enough to want to "learn more about it " than to focus on a few and maybe miss the chance to reach someone.

3. Teachers are under tremendous pressure from administrators and states to follow a very specific curriculum. In talking with various TEA teachers and Associates over the past three years, I think the 130 hour commitment scared many people off. Teachers felt they would be expected to implement a huge polar component to their teaching and that's just not possible in most situations. However, a less intimidating commitment might lead one to become creative in finding a way of infusing some polar science into some of their units.

Additional Reflections:
I enjoyed my experience and I am grateful to my colleagues for their contributions.