By design this has been a delayed leadership model, meaning that you would be protected for two years to transform your own teaching practice before being asked to facilitate the MEC MSP workshops in your area. From your perspective, has this model been effective and what specifically has made it so?
Because of this delayed leadership model, I feel much more prepared to facilitate the MEC MSP workshops. I HAVE LIVED it!! I OWN it! I have seen it work in my classroom and I have had SUCCESS with my students.
Regional Math Support Team Teacher, Middle School
It has given me the chance to transform my classroom and experiment and see what this teaching model really means for my students and myself. That has given me insights so I can honestly talk about how this looks in a classroom and what it has meant for my students – not just in theory but in reality. This perspective gives more credence to what we are saying during the workshops we lead.
Regional Math Support Team Teacher, Middle School
I’ve only been involved with MEC-MSP the last 9 mo. and even in that short time I have come to appreciate the delayed-release-of-leadership model because it allows us to actually have the paradigm shift SO CRITICALLY NEEED in math education before going out and disseminating the learning – making the 2nd generation (us) more credible as leaders / learners in the work. Great teachers want to be authentic and this model allows us to be authentic.
Regional Math Coordinator, Washington
Yes! It would be a huge disservice to the work if the passion in seeing change did not come through. Workshops allow teachers to play with the content but classrooms allow teachers to refine and change their practice. Without classroom change, facilitators would not have a “leg to stand on” so-to-speak.
Mathematics Instructor, Spokane Falls Community College
I won’t ever feel like I’ve mastered all MEC has shown me. I think it was very important that we were not allowed to facilitate the workshops without some evidence that we were able to implement the ideas. MEC has turned my entire classroom upside down. While I feel I am capable of following the facilitator’s guides and providing a solid workshop, I also think it’s important to really live and breathe these ideas. I wholeheartedly believe the work speaks for itself. That even if mistakes are made during a workshop, the end result will still be quality professional development. The material, the presenters’ guides are so strong that it would be tough to truly ruin the experience for anyone. And yet, I think that if a teacher had not made changes within their classroom and wasn’t really comfortable with the tasks, then when asked questions by participants as part of the workshop, during lunch etc., about how to implement or the challenges of the work, it would be obvious that they weren’t able to answer honestly. I cannot imagine turning over something this unique and special to a group of individuals with the hope that the work would continue with integrity and not be fearful. I think the choices that have been made are smart. I also hope that each of us truly takes the time to decide if we are ready to do this the “right” way before taking it on. The presentation of the work matters greatly.
Regional Math Support Team Teacher, Middle School
This model has been extremely effective. Allowing me two years to develop my practice of the lessons learned in the MEC MSP workshop gave me time to confront the challenges of change and make the needed adjustments. So by the time I was ready to present workshops, I could speak of the successes, barriers, and challenges from the perspective of someone who is actually doing this work in their classroom. This gives me the credibility and empathy necessary to serve as a trustworthy guide for my workshop participants as they prepare for and begin to make the same changes in their classrooms.
Math Instructor, Salish Kootenai College, Montana