{"id":4666,"date":"2017-01-24T09:30:26","date_gmt":"2017-01-24T14:30:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grafton.local\/?p=4666"},"modified":"2017-01-19T15:57:33","modified_gmt":"2017-01-19T20:57:33","slug":"the-benefits-of-collaboration-in-the-classroom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/the-benefits-of-collaboration-in-the-classroom\/","title":{"rendered":"The Benefits of Collaboration in the Classroom"},"content":{"rendered":"

Teachers often experience a sense of isolation. Most often a routine is developed in which the teacher arrives at school, walks into a classroom, shuts the door, and for many and varied reasons does not emerge again until it is time to go home. In this scenario the only places for teacher interaction is in the hallway or parking lot as they come and go.\u00a0 \u00a0There are many teachers who like it or even prefer it this way, but this limited interaction does not encourage teacher professional growth. To be a truly effective teacher one must learn from others in the profession. One proven way to accomplish this is through collaboration.<\/p>\n

What is collaboration?<\/strong><\/p>\n

In many schools, teachers have opportunities to gather in hallways, cafeterias, lounges, or other areas in the school to talk. The topics of these conversations tend to be personal in nature and have very little to do with teaching or the teaching profession.\u00a0 The one exception to this may be if two or more teachers are working towards an advanced degree and they are in the same class. In this case, very often the topic of the conversation will be about what they are learning in their class and how it applies to their classrooms. \u00a0These conversations may be helpful from the stand point of stress relief and building camaraderie among teachers but are not times of collaboration.<\/p>\n

Professional Learning Communities co-creators Rick DuFour, Rebecca DuFour, and Robert Eaker would define collaboration as teams of teachers who work interdependently to achieve common goals \u2014 goals linked to the purpose of learning for all \u2014 for which members are held mutually accountable. This type of definition seems to take all the fun out of teacher planning time, but it is exactly what needs to be in place in order to build strong students and strong teachers.<\/p>\n

It can be said that creating a culture of collaboration is often met with resistance. Teachers may feel that this is an invasion of their classrooms where their mentality is one of \u201cthey know what their students need because they know their students best\u201d or \u201cthey have been teaching for a long time and have not had any problems yet\u201d. Harry K. Wong, a well-known educational author, states that the trademark of effective schools is a culture where all<\/u> teachers take responsibility for the learning of all<\/u> students. The key to strong collaboration is recognizing that a student shouldn\u2019t be the responsibility of only one teacher, but of all teachers. In this way, all areas of a student\u2019s growth and development is shared among professionals, thus leading to a better rounded education. Effective collaboration also improves teacher performance. Increased effective collaboration exposes teachers to improved practices, which leads to stronger teachers.<\/p>\n

There are 2 critical factors that will have impact upon the success of teacher collaboration.\u00a0 The individual teachers who \u201cbuy in\u201d to the idea of collaboration will determine the level of participation and thus the outcomes.\u00a0\u00a0 Secondly, an understanding of how to effectively engage in collaborative work with fellow teachers is critical to the process.\u00a0\u00a0 Here are some ideas to consider as you think about collaboration in your school:<\/p>\n