I've been wanting to elaborate on my views about collaboration for awhile, but after a visit to a Chinese restaurant this past week, I decided now was the time...
So, the big question: How can we collaborate effectively to attain desired results?
(NOTE: I am not talking about SpEd/GenEd classroom collaboration or team teaching; rather, my goal here is to discuss content team collaboration and what I believe that should look like.)
(2nd NOTE: I can't go any further without thanking the two department/content leaders I have worked with over the last few years, who have executed fairly successfully the strategies that I am about to share.)
Collaboration is the process of working together to achieve a common goal. For us, as educators, that goal should be ensuring that all of our students learn and perform at high levels. There are many ways to make this happen. And working together doesn't mean "doing the same thing." In fact, I believe that in order for my students to be successful AND the students of other history teachers to be successful, we will, for the most part, NOT do the same thing in our classrooms.
Here's why:
- Our students are different. Because each student has different interests and learning styles, what may work for some students, might not work for others. Students also come in to the classroom with different readiness levels. And, because of the mix of students within a classroom, each class will take on its own personality. Teachers know this. What teachers (including myself) must do better is respond to this by delivering lessons that meet the needs of each class.
- We are different. We, as teachers, have varied interests and teaching styles. I often stand on desks when I move around the room. I don't recommend that everyone do this. I like to bring competition into the classroom (whether it's trying to race the clock or beat a teammate). Other teachers stray away from competition for good reasons. I love baseball, but I'd never suggest that my teammates who don't like baseball play my baseball review game if they don't know the rules to, or have any interest in, the sport. We are different; and, we must teach in ways that are different in order to feel competent, confident, and enthusiastic; but also, we must teach differently to meet the needs of each student in each class.
If teachers are coming to team meetings only to get material from other teachers, make sure they are all on the same pace, or with the hope of coming to some consensus on how to teach a particular topic, they're coming in with the wrong mindset.
First off, using materials from other people just so that you don't have to make your own could be a sign of laziness, or at least shows a lack of drive and creativity. You really need to ask yourself, "Is this activity going to help my students learn the content?" If so, great! If not, you should ask, "Can I adapt this material/lesson so that it will work for my students?" If so, do it!
Second, why must every teacher in one content area teach the same content every day? I say you set the test date well in advance and let teachers teach however, whatever, and whenever they want to, knowing that their kids have to be ready for a test on a particular date. If I want to spend more time on the Battle of Gettysburg and less on the Gettysburg Address, why shouldn't I be able to as long as I teach what needs to be taught in time for the test? My teammates can do the opposite if they feel like it fits their style and interests and also meets the needs of their students. In fact, they should do just the opposite if that's the case!
Furthermore, we shouldn't feel like we need to teach the same material in identical ways. If I want to teach about artifacts by going outside on a hot day and having my students "dig" for them because I buried them the night before, my co-workers shouldn't feel like they have to do that too. There are plenty of other acceptable methods to teach about artifacts: field trips, a classroom 'museum', bringing in a guest speaker, artifact inquiry/analysis, etc. Along similar lines, if I feel like my students need a homework assignment or a quiz, I'll give it. My teammates may or may not feel that their students need the same assignments. Depending on our teaching styles and interests, and the learning styles, interests, and readiness levels of our students, our lessons and assignments will vary. And, I would argue, that's a good thing. I'll never forget being told a few years ago by another teacher that she didn't think I could use the essay rubric I created because they had another one they had used for years. Well, I had seen the other one, didn't like it, made my own, and used it. No one got hurt.
http://www.jarche.com/2011/12/create-collaborate/
True collaboration should involve teachers sharing ideas and discussing them in light of the goal of seeing students be successful. My teammates think of lesson ideas that I could have never thought of. Some I use, others I don't. They give me feedback about my own ideas that never occurred to me. Some feedback I put into practice, some I don't, but all of it is appreciated. I have never felt pressured to teach a lesson in particular way or spend a particular amount of time on a particular subject. We know what content we need to teach, and we trust that each is doing all they can to see their students achieve at their highest levels.
As a novice teacher a few years ago, my team leader instilled confidence in me by trusting me to teach in ways that I thought were best for my students. On numerous occasions, this meant I taught differently than she did. She understood the notion that there is no one right way to do things. She shared many resources and ideas on how to teach particular content, but knew that I was competent enough to decide whether I'd use those materials and lesson ideas in my own classroom. She was never offended when I didn't use her stuff--she understood we were different, and so were our students.
And, year after year we make adjustments. One year I took my kids outside to re-enact the Battle of Gettysburg (more on that another time). My teammates thought my plan was a little crazy and not ideal for their students. I think they even had doubts about its success for my students as well. But, nothing was holding me back, so we reenacted it. It went GREAT! The next year, other teachers and their students were outside re-enacting the battle with my class. My teammates have also taught in ways that I have mimicked. So, I don't think it's necessarily wrong to teach the same way, I just think it's wrong to feel like you have to teach the same way or to use other teacher's materials without considering the students you teach in your own classroom.
The idea that a program/lesson/resource that has worked for my neighboring teacher will also work for me is a flawed one. Despite my Battle of Gettysburg reenactment working well for me, the other teachers still could have decided that there were other, more suitable, ways to teach that content than a reenactment. Either conclusion is a good one as long as they are considering the needs of their students each time. Collaboration should increase the pool of ideas and materials. It should not necessarily lead to everyone narrowing in on one identical unit/lesson plan without first considering numerous options. To paraphrase Dave Burgess, the author of Teach Like A Pirate, we ought to engage in collaboration not killaboration.
I've begun to believe that one of the worst things about standardized testing is that is seems to encourage standardized teaching and not beneficial collaboration. In other words, teachers feel like they all need to teach the same material in the same way. Part of this is forced, as school administrators might set quiz/test dates or buy a reading or math program that they expect to be used regularly. Another part; however, we can control. We need to overcome whatever it is that's holding us back and put our creative engines to work in our classroom. Eventually, others will be encouraged to do the same.
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