Should teachers do group-work too?
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It's often with a twinge of guilt that teachers assign collaborative work to their students. May of us remember hating "group-work" in school and still aren't fans of it today. Unless our school requires us to collaborate with colleagues - teaching is something most of us do on our own. We don't have to work with anyone but our students when we close the classroom door - and most of us prefer it that way.
But like our students, we miss out on tremendous opportunities to grow and learn from one another when we do not find ways to work together. Think about it: you have a great storehouse of teaching ideas you've gathered up over the year and you've worked hard to develop them, so in some ways you may want to keep them to yourself. But now consider the fact that all the other teachers in your building are also hording loads of ideas - many you've never even considered. How much larger would your teaching toolkit be if you could add these ideas to the lot?
Research shows that a sense of isolation is one of the key factors teachers cite when leaving the profession. Reaching out to your colleagues may not only help to improve your practice, it may keep both of you in the field longer.
How do you break through the "closed door" mentality of the typical classroom and start collaborating with your colleagues? Here are a few suggestions:
Seek advice: All day long our students expect us to know the answers to everything so it makes sense that we fear exposing the fact we don't know it all. Reaching out to your peers with questions about your lesson, your students, your assessments, etc. can be a scary process. But once you show them that you're brave enough to admit you're not perfect chances are good your colleagues will feel safer doing the same.
Be a resource: If you have a lesson that went wonderfully, a classroom management technique that's really working, a test-review activity that actually helps students remember the material, or a teacher-resource that's making your job easier, SHARE IT! You may need to hoard copy paper and crayons but ideas are something you can give without losing anything in the process. Positioning yourself as a resource in the building is a great way to build community with your colleagues and to encourage them to follow suit.
Try team-teaching: If you have a colleague with whom you've begun to swap questions and resources, take things to the next level and consider swapping classes. (This works particularly well in elementary school where each teacher covers all subjects.) For example: you teach math and your colleague teaches science. You teach the same lesson twice, once to your class and then again to hers. While team teaching can cut down on the amount of time you spend planning lessons, it requires a good deal of communication and collaboration with your partner to ensure your grading systems are aligned and your understanding of individual student needs is being shared.
Propose in-house professional development: Instead of always bringing in outside professional developers peddling the latest trend in education, talk to your principal about having the teachers from your school share best practices at a training session. This will not only empower the staff within the school, but it will also begin important collaborative conversations that can continue throughout the year.
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| Teacher Resources |
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Teacher Collaboration in Urban Secondary Schools
This article outlines the things secondary schools can do to overcome the barriers to effective teacher collaboration.
Creating Professional Learning Communities
The Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement provides several guiding questions for teachers to consider when trying to create professional learning communities at their schools. This article also includes links to several relevant sites.
Steps for Starting Learning Teams
"A learning team is, quite simply, a small, collaborative group of teachers who work together in a very disciplined way to focus on a central issue all year long." This straightforward article outlines the steps you can take to start a learning team at your school.
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Sign up for the Inspired Teaching Institute
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If you're looking for an experience that will revolutionize your teaching practice, consider the Inspired Teaching Institute. It's a full year course, with an intensive 2 week introduction during the summer - it may sound like a lot of time but it is time WELL SPENT!
Click here to apply or learn more.
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Center for Inspired Teaching is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that exists to ensure schools make the most of children's innate desire to learn. We do this by investing in teachers. Please visit our website to learn more about our philosophy, programs, and results.
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