"When teachers have a strong sense of professional community their morale is better and teacher commitment is higher. Professional community helps support teaching practices, and helps teachers address the uncertainty that accompanies nonroutine teaching of the sort encouraged by many school reform initiatives."
Adam Gamoran

It is often said that the most important asset of any enterprise is the talent and enthusiasm of its workforce. Education is no exception to this premise.
Being teachers such a vital element in the educational process, when designing policies aimed at getting better academic results, what policymakers must not forget is that teachers are no different from employees in the private sector. They want to succeed in their jobs and they demand the tools, the respect, and the sense of empowerment necessary to reach this goal.
As University of Washington scholar Dan Goldhaber stands, "It appears that the most important thing a school can do, is to provide its students with good teachers".
But teachers are known to improve when they analyze, evaluate, and experiment with colleagues in purposeful learning communities (Fullan, 2001). Fullan also suggests that the school level change strategy is developing professional learning community within schools and emphasize the importance of strong teacher community. Therefore, teachers need to be enabled and encouraged to establish a community of learners among themselves (Lave & Wegner, 1991). Maclaughlin and Talbert (2001) also indicated that a collaborative community of practice in which teachers share instructional resources and reflections in practice appear essential to their persistence and success in innovating classroom practices (p.22).
Building up organizations that are able to learn – according to Kofman and Senge- requires basic changes in the ways people think and interact. “The heart of the learning organizations are communities of commitment. Without communities of people genuinely committed to the organizations’ goals, there is no real change”.

ARTIGAS, URUGUAY

"Shapers" 2007: the net is officially born

"Shapers" 2007: the net is officially born

NEW MESSAGE. CHECK IT OUT!


domingo, 31 de mayo de 2009

Anthony Marcuccio, "Fulbrighter" from Greenbay, USA, and teachers Nidia Balbuena and Beatriz Sendic, on the occasion of his visit to Artigas.

He promised to be back for our June 6 Sala Departamental.



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viernes, 29 de mayo de 2009

CONGRATULATIONS, MARÍA NOEL! YOU DESERVE IT!

Congratulations to María Noel Cabezas and her student Mario Braccini(1º "8", Liceo #3, Artigas)!
The poem they sent to the poetry contest has been selected to be published in TEN (Inspección's web page, remember?).
Have a look at what Mario wrote:


Yellow
Hi! What’s your name?


My name is yellow


Yellow is the colour of autumn


Yellow is the colour of leaves


Yellow tastes like...bananas


Yellow sounds like ...a bird


Yellow makes me...read, write, think and play


Yellow is my English book


Yellow is my favourite colour

















Mario being greeted by Prof. Adscripto Diego Leites de Moraes., who even bought him a present!













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miércoles, 27 de mayo de 2009

TWO WONDERFUL PEER-OBSERVATION EXPERIENCES

Teachers Nidia and Genny and their students were kind enough to let us share these images with you. The pictures were taken some days ago at liceo #4, Artigas, during a peer-observation experience in which PAD B.S. visited their classes. Both teachers' students were really engaged in what was going on, and everything went on smoothly. They were so happy that none of them seemed to be uncomfortable with the camera! It felt great.



























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