Teachers can learn a lot from each other and some school leaders are recognizing this and encouraging them to collaborate more. I recently read an article on the topic that offered some ways for teachers to collaborate more effectively. Are teachers encouraged to collaborate in your building? Does it actually take place? Do you find it effective? What improvements could you make to this process? Let’s look at some of the suggestions to make collaboration efforts in your school more effective.
1) The team must work to build trust by creating a safe environment to discuss professional issues while respecting the ideas, opinions, and views of the collaborative team members.
2) Student learning should be the focus of the collaborators to determine any changes that may be needed to meet the student needs.
3) Collaborators should work to keep change manageable by setting realistic and achievable goals to work toward.
4) The collaborative team should be supportive of each other when sharing ideas, participating in discussions, and building upon shared ideas and discussions.
5) Collaborators should consider privacy of team members. As a team, discuss what team members are willing to share and the audience. -Foltos, L. Teachers Learn Better Together (2018)
How do teachers in your building collaborate? What are some ways that your team has established the collaborative effort in your school? Are there any other suggestions that you have found to be effective for your team? Let’s hear it!