At a time when change in the educational system is imminent and the course of the teacher’s professional career unclear, participation in actionable surveys provides a step in the right direction for a positive and clear impact of a teacher’s voice.
Hope Street Group North Carolina Teacher Voice Network Fellows launched the 2017 Fall Survey on September 20th. This year’s focus for the survey is professional learning in the teaching profession. Requiring only ten minutes to complete the survey, Hope Street Group North Carolina Teacher Voice Network Fellows encourage teachers to participate in this annual collaboration between Hope Street Group and North Carolina educational policymakers.
The questions include a teacher’s perspective on challenges in relation to implementation of strategies learned to daily instruction, who is responsible for coordinating professional development, and what would increase your overall satisfaction with the professional development you attend. All information and data gathered drives changes and improvements in the North Carolina education system.
Rest assured the state is listening to your input in this yearly survey. In collaboration with the Department of Public Instruction, creation of the Hope Street Group surveys also take into account responses to the North Carolina Working Conditions Survey. The questions included in this fall survey come directly from insight and focus from you, the teacher.
As the policymakers and the lead educators in our state look for a more conducive environment to provide professional development and learning and conditions that would enhance the overall experience, they look to you as the educator to assist in improving the system that teaches you.
As you consider whether to take a few moments of your already busy schedule to complete the survey, think about your experiences in professional development situations. Joanna Schimizzi, a North Carolina Teacher Voice Network Fellow and NCVPS high school biology teacher, shared her experiences with professional development. When faced with a facilitator who has a focus on rushing through the information and presents a negative tone at the initiation of the workshop, Joanna shared, “I always cringe when that’s the first thing I hear.” “I think it sets people up for a negative mindset because you’re saying this isn’t valuable.”
Participating in the Hope Street Group survey offers you the opportunity to voice what you see as valuable professional development and learning experiences to improve the use of your extremely limited time. North Carolina Teacher Voice Fellows work to inspire teachers to share their experiences and input through the survey link. Consider taking a few minutes and voice your insight and experiences regarding professional development in North Carolina through October 1st.
Please only take this survey if you are a teacher or instructional staff. Thank you!
All survey responses are anonymous and will not be made public.
