Teacher Collaboration Essay

Educators working closely together will allows students to receive the best possible instruction in the classroom. “Strong collaboration for the delivery of education services involves all the various education professionals serving a school building or district” (pg. 3). One of the major issues with the identification of poor performing students is if it has anything to do with the delivery of the instruction, or the instruction itself. Collaboration is an excellent way to make sure that the students receiving the best possible instruction to increase the academic knowledge. Teachers that are struggling have the opportunity to work with reading and special education professionals to work on implementing appropriate lessons in the classroom. “The classroom teachers, reading specialists, and special education professionals collaborate in planning and implementing the intervention” (pg. 3). This intervention and collaboration should not be seen as a negative, but as a positive because they are all working together to help the teacher use the correct instruction that is going to benefit each and every

(2012). A Social Network Perspective on Teacher Collaboration in Schools: Theory, Methodology, and Applications. American Journal of Education, Vol. 119, Iss 1, pp. 7-39. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/stable/pdf/10.1086/667715.pdf

Being able to develop a culture of collaboration and high student achievement requires rigorous curriculum development at the school and district levels. Curriculum and instruction work together to enhance student learning. Curriculum revolves around what is taught in school and instruction centers around how something is taught. (Sorenson, 2011, p. 32-35) To be more specific instruction can be defined as, “the strategies, techniques, materials, media, and place where the curriculum is implemented in schools.” If instruction, or the how, of a teacher does not match up to the curriculum, or the what, then student achievement will suffer. Vertically and horizontally aligning curriculum with the instruction that is happening within the classroom and school will in the end lead to greater student achievement which will be reflected on student assessments. (Sorenson, 2011, p.

Teacher Collaboration measures the degree to which teachers engage in constructive dialogue that furthers the educational vision of the school.

By using the artwork of the fantastic four (John Haward 2001) Appendix 1, I will explore how a team is different from a group. For this I will describe an award given to me as part of a team while working in a nurse led minor injury unit (MIU). By comparing the differences I shall highlight what makes a team effective rather than a collection of people.

Collaboration supports children to engage meaningfully with each other. When children collaborate with their teachers and peers, they effectively combine together to join in a deep and wilful desire to co-labour or unpack a series of events on topics of interest and importance. Collaboration has the capacity to provide rich learning environments for children with diverse, corresponding motivations and learning practices. It also produces new engaging challenges and opportunities for children to express their thoughts and feelings. These combine to enrich and transform the relationships children have with the subject material and enhance their relationships with peers and

Librarian-teacher collaboration is fundamental to improve student academic achievement through the implementation of the curriculum, supporting active learning, engaging students, providing differentiated instruction, and facilitating the use of multiple and varied educational resources.

Collaboration between teachers is a key component to professional development that will lead to higher student achievement. There is a need for schools to set up time for teachers to be able to collaborate together. This allows for teachers to help each other, matchup content, teach each other new and best practices, troubleshoot student issues just to name a few of the areas that collaboration time can help foster within a school. The key is to build time for teachers to be able to collaborate during the school day or week. This collaboration time needs to be between grade levels, departments, and cross curricular when needed. For many schools this is an afterthought to the school schedule or a fleeting thought after the master schedule is completed. A principal needs to keep an open mind to any strategy that will enable the teachers to be able to collaborate for the good of the students and the school.

The district needs to create more time in the schedule for the students to work collaboratively on projects and activities. Grade level teams of teachers need to be created. These teams will have a common schedule and common planning times which will allow for greater flexibility when creating lessons and activities. The team will also have the ability to meet regularly to deal with common issues, planning, and creating learning that differentiated to individual student needs (Brown & Knowles p. 77).

During my second preclinical experience at Westview Hills Middle School, I learned the importance of cooperation and collaboration among teachers at a school. I was able to observe team and department meetings during this experience. It became clear that it is important for teachers to work together in order to provide a positive atmosphere at a school and in a specific department. Although it became obvious that personalities and teaching styles were different throughout the school, the teachers still acted professionally and used each other as resources in

METHOD The study is descriptive, qualitative research on teachers as they attempted to meet new standards. Specifically it is a case study of an elementary school faculty, done in an attempt to

In any collaborative environment, an open-line of communication is a critical factor. Communication is a two way interaction of listening and speaking in turn. One speaks while the other listens for true comprehension is a key factor. One must get an understanding before the vision can be implemented within any leadership role. The presence of collaboration in schools are the result of principals, educators, parents, and administrative leadership in working as a team. The purpose of this essay is to explain the importance of teacher leadership, the principal 's role in developing teacher leaders, and their connection to the development of a collaborative culture in schools.

Fundamentally the role of the classroom teacher is to implement strategies to support, engage and extend the learning of all individuals. In order for this to occur we need to also consider how we involve, collaborate and communicate with parents, fellow colleagues and specialised teachers. Ashman and Elkins (2008) state that teachers need to make themselves aware of the support systems they can access or create to support the needs of all students. This in turn will ultimately enhance teaching potential allowing teachers to fully maximise learning for all. I personally believe that collaboration is not only essential to the professional growth of teachers (Cramer & Stivers, 2007), but a vital key when acting in the best interest of the students and their families.

“Teamwork fuels group spirit, develops process skills that help teachers interact in more productive ways, and fosters a more intellectual atmosphere.” (Maeroff, 1993).

Teachers’ leadership and collective expertise are tightly linked to student achievement. A sophisticated new study has found that schools staffed by credentialed and experienced teachers who work together over an extended time generate the largest student achievement gains. Students of less-experienced teachers who had access to the most accomplished colleagues made the very greatest achievement growth gains. Obviously, less-experienced teachers had the greatest margin for improvement. But this finding nonetheless implies that the “master” teachers with whom they worked are spreading their expertise among colleagues. (Wayne, 2003) The question is whether teachers have time to lead or learn from their peers, either informally or through structured professional development experiences. Case studies find that they do not, limiting the cultivation of teacher leaders who can spread their expertise to their colleagues. Teachers Network survey respondents joined their professional networks for a broad variety of reasons, including the ability to secure funding for projects in their classrooms or schools and involvement in