When Berkeley County School District in South Carolina decided to introduce the use of learner profiles as a tool to help students develop ownership of their learning, instructional coaches decided to try the process out with adult learners first through the creation of Teacher-Learner Profiles.
“We asked teachers to complete one as an exercise in setting goals and identifying what kinds of information might be useful in classroom and school settings,” shared Melissa Meverden, instructional coach at Macedonia Middle School, in a discussion post with members of the Leading Change Professional Learning Community (PLC). “Basically, we asked them to try it on of themselves before trying it out with students.”
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The Macedona Middle School Teacher-Learner Profile, adapted from similar tools created by Linda Milligan from Marrington Middle School of the Arts and Hannah Studemeyer with Berkeley County School District, has three main components:
- Resources and questions on how to identify and reflect on personality traits and strengths that relate to work as teachers and colleagues
- Guidance on how to help align personal teaching goals with school-wide goals
- Opportunity to request specific, personalized support from coaches, administrators or peers
“It was very helpful for me as the coach to see what motivates each teacher and what language of appreciation and leadership style that individuals have, especially when considering group dynamics and conflicts,” shared Meverden. “I would like to revisit this again in the fall.”