In The Innovator's Mindset, George Couros proposed several "What if" questions to help us reflect on a new vision for schools. One of the questions that resonated with me in a particularly strong way was, "What if schools operated as if we should all be 'learners,' as opposed to students being the only learners?"
I see why teachers would be uncomfortable being categorized as learners. After all, teachers did not go through years of school, earning multiple degrees, to be put back in the place of learners. They see themselves as professionals. How disconcerting to think their expertise is being called into question. So if we are going to reframe teachers as learners, we need to be clear about what they are supposed to know as well as what they are supposed to learn.
Teachers need to know the standards they are to teach and how to translate them into student-friendly language; who their students are as people and learners both in and out of the classroom including their strengths and weaknesses, their hobbies and experiences; which resources are available to them and their students for learning, creating, and sharing; how to teach students to ask questions and find problems to solve...the list goes on.
What teachers need to be open to learn is how people learn! With a constantly changing population of students who bring new interests and experiences with them to school, new technology and other resources being developed every day, access to information and communication at a scale and rate that grows exponentially each week, and scientists studying and revealing new information about the human brain and how it learns...the learning must continue for teachers. It can continue as long as teachers have an innovator's mindset and remain ready to learn and connected to the sources of information available to them.
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