teacher collaboration resources
Working together, teams can bring about strong student outcomes while also making individual teachers' jobs a little easier. In Visible Learning for Teachers (2012), John Hattie identifies five components of learning intentions and success criteria: challenge, commitment, confidence, student expectations, and conceptual understanding. Additionally, Hattie identifies three components of strong curriculums: what should be taught, choice of resources, and progression. These components are essential for student success, but must be carefully applied to classroom instruction; teacher collaboration works to ensure all teachers and all classes are being mindful of Hattie's work.
This section of the website will outline several resources for effective teacher collaboration while also aligning those practices with Hattie's criteria.
Resources About Teacher Collaboration:
Leana, C. (2011). The Missing Link in School Reform.
In her 2011 article, Carrie Leana argues that the school reform movement's focus on human capital leaves out the importance of relationships between teachers. Her research suggests that the key to increased student outcomes is a school's social capital. Social capital " is not a characteristic of the individual teacher but instead resides in the relationships among teachers" (Leana, para 12). The degree to which a school's culture values and fosters teacher collaboration is a strong factor in increasing effective teaching. (Alignment to Hattie: challenge, commitment, what should be taught, choice of resources, progression)
Jones, L. (2014). The Power of Teacher Collaboration.
This resource from the Teaching Channel pools together information on collaboration from a variety of sources. Of particular use are the attached videos which show teacher collaboration in action. Jones outlines three essentials for successful teacher collaboration: building relationships, finding time for collaboration, and sharing responsibility. (Alignment to Hattie: challenge, commitment, confidence, student expectations, conceptual understanding, what should be taught, choice of resources, progression)
Killion, J. (2015). High quality collaboration benefits teachers and students.
This presentation of the results of a three year study of over 9,000 teachers in Florida offers some of the best evidence for the need for and importance of collaboration. Specifically, the study found that "teachers’ rate of improvement increases more rapidly if they work in a school with higher-quality collaboration than they would if they worked in a school with lower-quality collaboration . . . [and that] collaboration has strong and positive effects on student achievement, particularly when the collaboration is about assessment" (Killion). (Alignment to Hattie: challenge, commitment, confidence, student expectations, conceptual understanding, what should be taught, choice of resources, progression)
Collaboration Strategies:
The research is clear on the value of teacher collaboration; however, for many schools collaboration is something given lip-service to without any real strategies for effective collaboration models. For the benefits to take effect, it is essential that proper time and care is taken to design models that work for teachers in real ways. In Visible Learning for Teachers (2012) the importance of collaborative teams in developing and implementing a strong curriculum was highlighted. Hattie points to one of the major messages of the text being "the power of teachers learning from and talking to each other about planning -- learning intentions, success criteria, what is valuable learning, progression, and what it means to be 'good at' a subject" (p. 67).
As teams are built out, keep in mind the following conditions for effective teacher collaboration:
1) Teams must have a clear purpose
2) All members of the team must have an individual commitment
3) Time must be provided for meaningful collaboration
According to Lily Jones (2014), successful collaboration requires teachers to work together to build relationships, carve out time for collaborating, and have shared responsibilities. The key to these kinds of highly effective teams is their foundation in strong relationships. Jones asserts that "just like building relationships with students lays the groundwork for academic success, building relationships with colleagues lays the groundwork for effective collaboration" (2014). Once the relationships are in place, the school must prioritize collaboration through intentional scheduling. All kinds of teams can be created with different purposes, but they will never be successful if dedicated time is not provided.
Ideas for Different Teams:
1) Grade level teams
2) Subject/Content teams
4) Vertical teams
5) Interdisciplinary teams
5) Professional learning communities
Once these conditions have been met, teams can work together for many purposes:
1) Lesson planning
2) Data analysis
3) Creating common assessments
4) Video lesson analysis
5) Book studies
6) Professional learning
Handling Time Efficiently:
A teachers' day is filled with a million demands on time and there is rarely enough of it on any given day. The last thing anyone needs is yet another meeting that doesn't make efficient use of time. In order for teacher collaboration to work, teams must maximize the time spent together. From discussion protocols to digital tools, there are many ways to effectively manage time in teams.
Google Apps: these shared resources enable groups to work collaboratively either together or virtually. From documents to spreadsheets to forms and presentations, Google has practically covered every need. Teams can use a spreadsheet to track student data and make comparisons, create a document for student use, or make a shared lesson on Google slides, and Google Drive provides a common space to store files.
Protocols: various protocols exist that can help teams stay focused during a meeting and ensuring a good use of time. Beyond the efficiency standpoint, a protocol "creates a structure that makes it safe to ask challenging questions . . . ensures that there is some equity and parity in terms of how each person’s issue is attended to . . . [and] build in a space for listening, and often give people a license to listen, without having to continually respond" (Teaching Matters, 2017). Linked below are a variety of protocols for examining student work. All resources are from Teaching Matters.
This section of the website will outline several resources for effective teacher collaboration while also aligning those practices with Hattie's criteria.
Resources About Teacher Collaboration:
Leana, C. (2011). The Missing Link in School Reform.
In her 2011 article, Carrie Leana argues that the school reform movement's focus on human capital leaves out the importance of relationships between teachers. Her research suggests that the key to increased student outcomes is a school's social capital. Social capital " is not a characteristic of the individual teacher but instead resides in the relationships among teachers" (Leana, para 12). The degree to which a school's culture values and fosters teacher collaboration is a strong factor in increasing effective teaching. (Alignment to Hattie: challenge, commitment, what should be taught, choice of resources, progression)
Jones, L. (2014). The Power of Teacher Collaboration.
This resource from the Teaching Channel pools together information on collaboration from a variety of sources. Of particular use are the attached videos which show teacher collaboration in action. Jones outlines three essentials for successful teacher collaboration: building relationships, finding time for collaboration, and sharing responsibility. (Alignment to Hattie: challenge, commitment, confidence, student expectations, conceptual understanding, what should be taught, choice of resources, progression)
Killion, J. (2015). High quality collaboration benefits teachers and students.
This presentation of the results of a three year study of over 9,000 teachers in Florida offers some of the best evidence for the need for and importance of collaboration. Specifically, the study found that "teachers’ rate of improvement increases more rapidly if they work in a school with higher-quality collaboration than they would if they worked in a school with lower-quality collaboration . . . [and that] collaboration has strong and positive effects on student achievement, particularly when the collaboration is about assessment" (Killion). (Alignment to Hattie: challenge, commitment, confidence, student expectations, conceptual understanding, what should be taught, choice of resources, progression)
Collaboration Strategies:
The research is clear on the value of teacher collaboration; however, for many schools collaboration is something given lip-service to without any real strategies for effective collaboration models. For the benefits to take effect, it is essential that proper time and care is taken to design models that work for teachers in real ways. In Visible Learning for Teachers (2012) the importance of collaborative teams in developing and implementing a strong curriculum was highlighted. Hattie points to one of the major messages of the text being "the power of teachers learning from and talking to each other about planning -- learning intentions, success criteria, what is valuable learning, progression, and what it means to be 'good at' a subject" (p. 67).
As teams are built out, keep in mind the following conditions for effective teacher collaboration:
1) Teams must have a clear purpose
2) All members of the team must have an individual commitment
3) Time must be provided for meaningful collaboration
According to Lily Jones (2014), successful collaboration requires teachers to work together to build relationships, carve out time for collaborating, and have shared responsibilities. The key to these kinds of highly effective teams is their foundation in strong relationships. Jones asserts that "just like building relationships with students lays the groundwork for academic success, building relationships with colleagues lays the groundwork for effective collaboration" (2014). Once the relationships are in place, the school must prioritize collaboration through intentional scheduling. All kinds of teams can be created with different purposes, but they will never be successful if dedicated time is not provided.
Ideas for Different Teams:
1) Grade level teams
2) Subject/Content teams
4) Vertical teams
5) Interdisciplinary teams
5) Professional learning communities
Once these conditions have been met, teams can work together for many purposes:
1) Lesson planning
2) Data analysis
3) Creating common assessments
4) Video lesson analysis
5) Book studies
6) Professional learning
Handling Time Efficiently:
A teachers' day is filled with a million demands on time and there is rarely enough of it on any given day. The last thing anyone needs is yet another meeting that doesn't make efficient use of time. In order for teacher collaboration to work, teams must maximize the time spent together. From discussion protocols to digital tools, there are many ways to effectively manage time in teams.
Google Apps: these shared resources enable groups to work collaboratively either together or virtually. From documents to spreadsheets to forms and presentations, Google has practically covered every need. Teams can use a spreadsheet to track student data and make comparisons, create a document for student use, or make a shared lesson on Google slides, and Google Drive provides a common space to store files.
Protocols: various protocols exist that can help teams stay focused during a meeting and ensuring a good use of time. Beyond the efficiency standpoint, a protocol "creates a structure that makes it safe to ask challenging questions . . . ensures that there is some equity and parity in terms of how each person’s issue is attended to . . . [and] build in a space for listening, and often give people a license to listen, without having to continually respond" (Teaching Matters, 2017). Linked below are a variety of protocols for examining student work. All resources are from Teaching Matters.
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