Colleague guidance

Teachers develop together

Society is changing and our children and young people are increasingly using the internet to search for information, communicate and publish. For our young people, technology is a natural tool in the learning process and the school today has a challenge in meeting the young people in this. Many teachers feel that there is a clear need for support when the computer is to be lifted into the learning environment and students are to use ICT to a greater extent as a tool for their learning.

Research shows that lectures and workshops in how to handle technology are not enough to bring about a noticeable and lasting change in the pedagogical work, but for a real change, a structured form of collaboration, feedback and reflection is required. Teachers who have received support from a supervisor use strategies and new skills to a greater extent, and they also continue to develop after the supervision period. Teachers who have received guidance also show an increased understanding of the school’s core process and the importance of developing strategies for learning (Joyce and Showers 2002).

What is peer tutoring?

Peer guidance is a structured and proven model for competence development of teachers that aims to strengthen the integration of ICT in learning environments. Through a clear methodology, the supervisor supports colleagues in the planning, implementation and evaluation of committed lesson activities with technology as a tool. Peer guidance takes place at the individual school, lasts for a longer period of time, focuses on activities in the learning environment and assumes that teachers ‘exchange of experience and cooperation benefits pedagogical development and students’ learning (cf. McKinsey report 2010).

Peer guidance opens up the learning environment and facilitates the dialogue around the school’s core process, ie how the school can best support students to meaningful learning and increased goal fulfillment. Peer supervision aims for the individual school to increasingly move towards a learning organization where experience-based learning and joint reflection on our learning mission and students’ results is central.

Implementation

The course Peer supervision is carried out over four days with certain elements that are carried out by the participants between the course days. The course structure is flexible and adapted to the course participants’ varying prior knowledge and needs. The activities carried out during the course days are based on experience-based learning as the participants are active in the process and interact with each other. The purpose of the training is to prepare teachers so that they can best supervise colleagues at the individual school.

By taking part in a structured supervision model and by training communication skills, the course participants get the opportunity to develop their supervision ability.

By taking part in good examples and by creating engaging activities for learning together with other course participants, the participants get the opportunity to increase their competence in how ICT can be used in the learning environment.

By reflecting on their own role as a Peer Supervisor and by formulating a supervision plan for the individual school, the participants get a structure for supervision.