THOMASVILLE, Ga. — Southern Regional Technical College faculty recently hosted and served as leadership staff for the Fourth Annual Georgia Master Teacher Experience (GMTE), gathering technical college instructors from throughout Georgia.

Claudia Grooms served as director of GMTE and Neil Clements as co-director.  Jessica Barfield, Chad Faircloth, Hannah Holmes, Sharon Poitevint, and Buffie Spencer served as GMTE leadership staff.  

The event, held at Southern Regional Technical College in Thomasville the week of Oct. 22-26, was designed to bring together teachers from the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) for an intensive week of professional development, focused on instructional innovations, motivational techniques, situational problem-solving, contextual learning, and information exchange.

The concept of a seminar designed expressly for teachers originated in 1962 by Roger Garrison at Westbrook College in Portland, Maine. Since that time, the concept has become a national movement with programs in numerous states across the nation and around the world.  

The Georgia Master Teacher event is designed as an experiential learning event developed by teachers for teachers. The mission of the Georgia Master Teacher Experience is to improve instruction by revitalizing faculty through interdisciplinary collaboration, according to a press release from SRTC.

GMTE leadership staff must have been participants in previous GMTE cohorts.  Staff are selected by the GMTE director based on the following criteria: excellence in teaching, high ethical and leadership standards, the ability to collaborate and facilitate, and a willingness to serve others.

GMTE leadership staff facilitated experiential sessions with teachers from the Technical College System as an exchange of learning, teaching, and philosophy. Leadership staff led participants in the sharing of experiences, strategies, and instructional methods in the quest of improving teaching. The focus of discussion and activities for the week was on innovations and challenges of instruction in technical college education.

“The strength of this experience is in the support that each teacher receives from the other teachers that have gathered from throughout the state,” said Grooms, RN, MSN. “GMTE leadership staff facilitate the week-long exchange of ideas and collaboration and help to develop a network of support and encouragement among participants that can be taken back to individual colleges to improve teaching and learning.

“The premise of ‘Teachers Teach Teachers’ requires that GMTE leadership staff model excellence in service, inter-disciplinary collaboration as well as facilitation and instructional methodologies.”  

In the words of one staff member, “Seeing the excitement for teaching return in an instructor who has become weary, or watching an instructor as they realize their worth is an experience that cannot be matched.”