Teaching together in a school can be great, or it can be a very challenging situation. Teacher collaboration occurs when members of a learning community work together to increase student learning and achievement. What happens when you have a few who do not want to go along with the team? There could be a few staff members who do not believe the children you serve can learn or improve.
If our ultimate destination as educators is student achievement, think of teacher collaboration as the journey. Collaboration is not a task to complete then move on; it’s an ever-changing and ongoing process. As a positive team member, it is your responsibility to help overcome those barriers in the journey to prevent student achievement from happening. Toxic cultures and climates impact student learning when teachers are not teaching together.
“Students will learn more and be more successful in an environment where all educators believe they can learn at high levels, and those educators work together to convince the students that they can achieve lofty academic goals teachers set for them.”-Transforming School Culture (pg.25) by Anthony Muhammad
Building a collaborative culture and a strong collaboration takes commitment to develop over time. The benefits are clear from these practices and beliefs. Authentic, collaborative communities address common issues, shared goals, school-wide initiatives, deeper teacher learning, and results in student achievement.
Strategies to build teacher collaboration
- Create shared vision and goals
- Identify group norms
- Build a sense of community
- Effective communication
- Professional learning
Working as a collaborative team with a common purpose supports all in the process. Choose to be the solution daily by designing climates and cultures for all learners.