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What Exactly Is Teacher Professionalism, Anyway?

By Frederick Hess

10/09/2018

Last spring, I hosted a series of AEI dinners at which a cast of educational leaders sat down to discuss the universal enthusiasm for “personalized learning.” Before too long, the reason for this lovefest became clear: “personalized learning” means different things to different people, and everyone was hearing what they wanted to. When we dug into what people actually meant by “personalized learning,” the happy phrase proved to be a tarp thrown over a smoldering series of differences on pedagogy, policy, curriculum, school design, and the mission of schooling. Now, while that may sound frustrating, participants found the exercise remarkably illuminating and constructive. It revealed points of commonality, flagged baseless assumptions, and surfaced vital questions that we’ve been slow to ask.

A recent study from the RAND Corporation finds that nearly every teacher in America—99 percent of elementary teachers, 96 percent of secondary school—draws upon “materials I developed and/or selected myself” in teaching English language arts. And where do we find these materials? Among elementary school teachers, the most common answer is Google—94 percent—followed by Pinterest—87 percent. The numbers are virtually the same for math.

Personalized Learning Is a Distraction: Intentional and Effective Uses of Technology in the Classroom