The STAR project: teaching as a learning experience

Knowledge and its applicability nourish each other in schools where teachers critically analyze data and, through team discussions, have the opportunity to solve the challenges that education presents every day. The premise of this model is that all participants have an active role in the function of creating praxial knowledge. This article presents a model of action learning implemented during two school years, 2007--2009, by 26 teachers, their principal and two external advisors. Four pillars composed the core of this teacher-researcher model: two-fold observation of teaching practices, critical reflection, active planning and implementation of best practices. This four-dimensional approach allowed the participants to construct the ideal of a teacher who has the skills to lengthen her/his learning experience, to widen the spectrum of its application and to deepen the content of her/his inquiry. The outcomes of this project suggest that when teachers conceptualize teaching as a learning experience that requires uninterrupted observation, reflection and action, student performance increases. Most importantly, schools become dynamic educational organizations where knowledge is constructed, rather than instructed from teachers to students.