Speaker 1: If we want true ownership of the learning experience for our students, then we have to make it a reality for our teachers. Hi, I'm Courtney from Education Elements, and in this video, my colleague Justin and I will share why a competency approach is so important to teacher development.

Speaker 2: Hey everyone, I'm Justin from Education Elements. This is the first video in our Teacher Competencies series. Make sure you subscribe to get notifications about upcoming episodes. Before we dive into Teacher Competencies, I want to share a story with you. It was the summer of 2001. A few friends and I were setting out to hike a 50-mile section of the Appalachian Trail out in New York State. The goal was to hike 12.5 miles a day over four days, and this was an adventure I felt pretty optimistic about, but I had no experience doing. At the same time, I kind of felt like walking from point A to point B, even though it was pretty far, it felt doable enough. On our first day, we set out really optimistic. I had my backpack loaded to the gills with food and water and all of my gear, and I figured I would just follow my friends and we would know how to walk the trail and it would be pretty clear and obvious. But after about three miles of walking, I kind of felt blisters forming on my feet. I was sweating through my clothes. My back was hurting from carrying this gear. I'd never done anything like this before. And I remember thinking to myself, I'm like, you know, Justin, if you turn back now, you can definitely make it back to the car. Like that's a guaranteed thing. However, walking another 47 miles to get to the other end of the trail that you're trying to get to, maybe you won't do that. So I felt a little bit unsure about what I should do. Luckily, we stopped for lunch and I was eating with my friends, all experienced backpackers, and I was asking them for some advice and they told me to shed some gear. So get rid of some of the extra clothes that I brought. Get rid of some of that extra one or two. I was adding a lot of weight to my pack and they also encouraged me to shift some stuff around in my bag. So take some of the heaviest things in my bag and put it at the bottom closest to my back so my hips were carrying the weight and it would be easier for me to walk. So I made those adjustments and it actually helped quite a bit. And then once we started walking again, I started to get lost and I got lost because I didn't know what trailblazers were or how to follow the trailblazers on the Appalachian Trail. And for those of you who are hikers, you'll know what I'm talking about. But if you're like me and you weren't a hiker before, you wouldn't know that blazers are these little six-inch strips of white paint that are on trees. And what they do is they essentially mark the trail. So they tell you where to go and they also tell you where to turn. Needless to say, I didn't really know how to follow those blazers or even that blazers existed. So when I took this first trip, I learned pretty quickly where my skills were, which were not many, and where I was deficient. The way I felt during that first backpacking trip reflected how I felt during my first year teaching. Very tired, certainly confused, and definitely lost at times. That's why we're here to talk to you today about teacher competencies, what they are, why they matter, and how to put them into practice. Through reflection and planning, we can better position teachers to be successful on their very first days in the classroom all the way through the later years of their career.

Speaker 1: When we talk about competencies, we anchor our definition in the work of the Aurora Institute. You'll see that this definition is student-focused. But if we embrace the idea that all teachers are learners too, then you'll see how applicable and relevant a competency-based approach is for teachers as well as students. Let's take a look. Let's replace the word student with the word teacher. If we empower teachers to make decisions about their learning experiences, provide them with timely, differentiated supports to progress based on evidence of mastery, and give them opportunities to participate in a learning environment rooted in equity and held to explicit, transparent, measurable, and transferable learning experiences, then we rethink teacher onboarding, development, and career growth, and in turn, can positively impact our teacher retention. Now that we've talked about what competency-based education for teachers means, let's talk about why teacher competencies are so important. First, we need to practice what we preach. We need to build empathy for and a foundational knowledge of the learning experience we want students to have. If we want a student-driven learning experience for students, then that needs to be the reality for teachers as well. Secondly, we need coherent, teacher-driven professional development. In many school systems, PD is compliance-driven, not need- or interest-driven. On top of that, too often it becomes repeating the sessions we always do instead of focusing on our vision for moving forward. When we use competencies for teachers, we pinpoint specific and meaningful experiences, and we align professional development to individual needs. Thirdly, we need to clarify reform and district change. Competencies show us what we value most, the skills and practices we believe are most important. When we take a competency-based approach to teacher development, we're not just enhancing their experience with onboarding and career growth, we're also uniting around a common vision for what the district believes in and how we're moving forward.

Speaker 2: So, how do you transition to a competency-based approach for teachers? The first step is to get a deeper understanding of the knowledge and skills students need to be successful in the context of your community and in the larger global and education context of our world. Just like I had to consult with experts on the trail to understand the skills I needed to be successful, I encourage you to connect with the experts in your community to understand what skills are needed for students to be successful and in turn, what skills teachers will need to help those learners be successful. A couple of guiding questions that you might consider to guide you in this are, what are the skills that students will need to be productive and successful members of their communities? And how can teachers support their development of these skills? What does research suggest are the most effective skills to drive student success? What does it look like for a teacher to be effective in practicing these skills? Use live events, either in-person or virtual, to connect with your community. Ask them what skills will be needed by students to be successful and productive members of their communities. Engage your community members to help you identify the actions, skills, and mindsets that teachers will need to help them be successful and in turn, help their students be successful.

Speaker 1: These are great questions to ask to get you started in identifying the right skills and practices your community needs. How do you know when a teacher is successful in your district? Drop your answer in the comments and we'll be sure to respond. The next episode in our Developing Teacher Competency series dives more deeply into the what of teacher competencies and what it can look like in your school district. Make sure to subscribe and click the bell to get notified when the video comes out. And if you like the content we shared, please like the video. See you next time.