Before we begin: How familiar are you with the expression, “Always be Learning?” Tip #4 in our tips for educator series invites you to make continuing education a part of your professional practice. Educators by the very nature of their profession, spend the majority of their time helping others to learn. What they sometimes forget, is that they should be always be learning. The educational landscape is evolving rapidly and educators must take care to remain agile, informed, and reflective. Learning is a lifelong activity. It is not a matter of going to professional development classes as required by various licensing and administrative rules. It is a matter of committing to one’s intellectual and professional growth. The lives of students and the demands of working as an educator require educators to honor the fact that students’ lives are complex, administrative demands are ever growing and changing, and no matter what is going on politically, education should be equitable and inclusive.
What Always be Learning Means
Always be learning means that educators must be ever vigilant in seeking knowledge. They must look for ways to improve their education practice. In order to do this educators must be open to new ideas, perspectives, and ways of carrying out their educational practice. Ideally, educators will be happy to always be learning. It is a matter of mindset, not merely a mandate from licensing and administrative mandates. There are three particularly important pedagogical connection between educators and continuing to educate themselves: the use of culturally responsive teaching, narrative pedagogy, and equity-centered leadership.
- Culturally responsive teaching – educators who are teachers must always be learning so that they can understand their students’ lives and culture. This will enable those teachers to better understand their students, reach their students where they are, and thus be able to help their students learn and grow on their educational journeys.
- Narrative pedagogy – educators can learn through stories, their own stories, and stories told by their students. When educators have a mindset to always be learning, they will look for ways to learn. Sometimes that learning is found in the stories students tell. It is in the stories found in their words, and the stories that are told in the homework, school assignments. When one learns through stories, it deepens ones empathy and helps improve their insight. By engaging in narrative pedagogy, educators are able to strengthen their skills and be better educators. This underscores the need for educators to always be learning.
- Equity-centered leadership – when educators have a mindset to always be learning, they recognize that learning is a way to dismantle systemic barriers. It may also be a way to reimagine possibilities for their educational practice.
Classroom Applications
There are many of ways in which the always be learning mindset can be used by classroom teachers. Some of which include: learning logs, learning circle, and journaling with reflective prompts.
1.Learning Logs – teachers can document insights, questions, or breakthroughs. These logs are useful because they encourage educators to learn, reflect on what they learn, to ask questions, and look for breakthroughs. These logs may be useful tools for educators as they use them each week and to look back on after time has passed.
- Teach and Learn Circles – peer lead groups where teachers share research, wins in the classroom, and challenges. These learning circles encourage educators to learn through the subtle use of peer pressure. When educators are part of learning circles where they are expected to talk with their peers about what they learn the subtle peer pressure encourages them to engage in learning activities.
- Journaling with reflective Prompts – not all learning takes place in classrooms. It is possible for educators to learn through journaling. Educators can journal using prompts such as “What did my students teach me this week?” or “How did I grow as an educator this week?” These prompts encourage educators to find ways to learn from what they experience at work each week.
- Professional Education Opportunities – others ways in which educators can always be learning include webinars, reading diverse authors, and cross-disciplinary conversations.
Conclusion
It is important for educators to always be learning. When they engage in lifelong learning, it shows their students and colleagues that learning is always possible. It shows that everyone can learn. In other words, you can teach old dogs new tricks. Educators benefit from continued education activities whether it is from formal professional development programs, reflection, collaboration, and sharing learning journeys with peers. If you are an educator, remember, you should always be learning.
Further Reading
20 Tips for Educators: A Powerful and Informative Series
Phenomenal Woman: Four Poems Celebrating Women by Maya Angelou
The Complete Poetry by Maya Angelou
Unleash the Fire Within: Maya Angelou’s Lifegiving Wisdom for Educators
About the Author
Dr. Janeane Davis is Founder and Principal Consultant at Janeane Davis and Associates: Educational Consultants. Most of her writing begins at a well-lit desk where strategy meets storytelling and systems take shape around real lives. Her consulting work centers families, scholars, and institutions committed to equity—and she writes to bring clarity to complex questions, especially those often left unasked.
Desk light on. Pages open. Always listening.