Nearly all teachers feel that they would benefit from collaboration with other teachers. Unfortunately, due to time constraints and the design of most schools, very few teachers have the opportunity to collaborate with other teachers.
Occasionally the opportunity arises to work with teachers within the same discipline, which does have many benefits such as helping to develop new teaching strategies. Every teacher has their own teaching strategies, and it’s easy to get caught up in doing only what they're used to doing. Different teachers bring different teaching strength to the table. The teachers can learn from each other’s styles, and improve their learning techniques. In collaboration the teachers are able to talk over how to handle problems in the classroom, and that often lead themselves to reveal and rethink their teaching philosophies, as well as learn some handy tips and trick they may not have otherwise learned. (Rehling and Lindeman)
Collaboration can also serve as a great learning opportunity to for teachers. When teachers are able to collaborate across disciplines they are provided a great learning opportunity to gain a better understanding of another subject. When the teachers gain a better understanding of the relation between two subjects they can make those connections for their students as well. The connection between two different subjects will give the students a better understanding of each individual subject.
Collaboration also provides the opportunity to receive feedback on your teaching style. If the teacher you are collaborating with is able to sit in on the class they can provide you with instant feedback from the student's point of view (Breshnahan, Conderman, and Pedersen 2009.) This will allow you to determine if a lesson has been successful before the lesson is even over. Where a student might hesitate to ask a question during class, the collaborating teacher can interject and redirect a lesson.
As a student who has yet to have the chance to teach I think collaboration is a crucial component of first year teaching. Student teaching does provide collaboration before a first year teacher enters the classroom but I believe that collaboration should not stop after students teaching. Having a new teacher collaborate with an experienced teacher provides the new teacher with an opportunity to learn from a fellow colleague who could act as a mentor, and the experienced teacher has the opportunity to receive feedback from a colleague who still has the student mentality fresh in their mind (Roth and Tobin.)
Conderman, G., Bresnahan, V., & Pedersen, T. (2009). Purposeful Co-Teaching: Real case studies and effective strategies. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press
Rehling, L., & Lindeman, N. (2010). Vive la Difference: What We Learn from Each Other by Teaching Together. Business Communication Quarterly, 73(1), 91-96. Retrieved from ERIC database.
Roth, W., & Tobin, K. (2002). At the Elbow of Another: Learning to teach by co-teaching. New York: Peter Lang Publishing.
Whitney
ReplyDeleteWhen you start teaching, I hope that you have a good mentor. If not, seek out another teacher (preferably experienced) in your department with whom you would like to collaborate and gain insight from. I've been teaching for 12 years and there were too many years that I spent in isolation. The best, most rewarding, years that I've had were years when I worked closely with colleagues. One of my goals, as the 2010-2011 school year begins, is to collaborate with my colleagues on a consistent basis.
Matt,
ReplyDeleteI think we all have been inspired by the collaboration discussions. I, too, hope to do things a little differently this year with my colleagues.
Susan
Whitney,
ReplyDeleteI like your idea of having collaborating teachers observe one another. It's certainly different than being observed by superiors. I have had 2 observations per year in my 3 years with this district. One was done by the Asst Superintendent! Despite their "constructive" criticism, it was extremely stressful as my certification and tenure were riding on it. Having a colleague critique your work seems like a more casual approach; however, the teacher would have to be open to the comments, both good and bad.
Great job,
Susan