When great minds come together that share the common goal of enhancing student learning and achievement, great things happen. Educators are incredibly creative and effective at what they do. Coming together benefits everybody: educators and students.
Dr Leyton Schnellert, UBC Professor
There is a trend across North America, around collaboration. It’s 30, 35 years old. In the States, one of their 5 required by law approaches is co-teaching. So this is not a unique fad, as much as something we know as human beings. We need community, and we should be creating communities, and diversity is a strength. And so by taking this community based, strength oriented, but yet diverse approach to our teaching and learning and planning, we’re going to see great outcomes. Because we’re actually responding to who our classes are.
Anita Strang, Former Resource Teacher
In a recent in-service sessions that I attended people were asked about what was a powerful time in their teaching career, and almost to a person people were saying it was a time when they had a collaborative team environment and that’s what ended up happening here. And it started to some extent with that UDL piece. It was already there to some extent but it started, a big part of it started there, and has continued til now, as administrators have come through and as different things have changed, that piece has been sustainable and when something’s sustainable you really got to look at that.
Anita Mosher, Princess Margaret Secondary
The collaboration piece is really helpful. So we are in groups of about 8, and well there’s a bigger group and then we sometimes divide off. And we just discuss what we’re doing. And sometimes you listen to somebody else and they give you a really, really good idea about how to, you know, maybe that idea with the popsicle sticks. How to make partners. Or whatever. And also it’s helpful to be listened to by other people even though they’re not language teachers and have them make suggestions of how you could make something, something better. So the collaboration piece is huge. It’s really, really helpful.
Josh Angiola, Math Facilitator, SD 40
Well we decided to do a collaborative lesson together and as part of my role in the district I often go and work with teachers and we will co-plan or co-teach together. So we both learn from one another and it’s a great part of my job, my role. And I think it brings something extra to the classroom because while one is teaching, the other teacher really gets to observe and see a different perspective of the students and really see where are the problem areas or what’s, you know, really successful. And then at the end of the lesson we get to meet up again ad debrief, talk about how we can make the lesson even better.
Tannis Calder, Prince Rupert Middle
The planning process was wonderful because we collaboratively came together all the grade 8 science teachers came together to plan. So that was really, really worthwhile. There’s a huge range of abilities and backgrounds within the science teachers. Also coming at it from a UDL angle, some of us were very ,very new to it and others had some experience. And so coming in at that angle was really important.
Jeff Fitton, Skaha Lake Middle
Here we get into a room with four or five creative minds and it’s amazing the synergy. What happens, all of a sudden, it starts with one kind of basic unit and the next thing you know we’ve incorporated songs, movement, authentic tasks. Kids get to do the project any way they want. We’re looking at whole new interesting ways to teach using things we’re finding on the internet. Resources, other teachers, and connecting with them.
Nick Korvin, McNicoll Park Middle
it’s neat, it’s really inspiring to sit with, to sit and talk with, my favourite part of the project is to sit and talk with teachers, teaching similar stuff, that aren’t afraid to do new things.
Pam Rutton, K.V.R. Middle
I think it’s really important just to step out of your comfort zone and observe what other people are doing. And at least, if you’re not going to go watch what they’re doing at least have the conversation. And let them share with you what they’re doing. But I really do think if you’re actually going to make it happen, you’ll have to see it happen in the classroom.
Naryn Searcy, Princess Margaret Secondary
We do work with kids that school is not by nature of their home lives, their backgrounds, school is a difficult place for them sometimes, and they can be difficult for a teacher. You know, it’s, you feel like you’re not winning the battle trying to help these students, you wish you could do more, and so in that aspect, having other colleagues who are just reminding you that are making a difference, to keep working, and then the professional side, of just, you know,I’m trying a new assessment strategy. What do you think? Or have you tried this? And having five different people working on something instead of one can move things along quicker. You can save yourself years of time if someone’s further along the road than you, trying things, they can help you out, so I guess it works emotionally and practically as well.
Jeff Fitton, Skaha Lake Middle
You know, sometimes you’ll be like oh I can’t spare that two hours, I’m busy, I’ve got basketball, I’ve got family, I’ve got dinners that I have to do. And I would argue that that two hours spent with a colleague can save you twenty hours in the long term because of the strategies you’re going to get, because of the lesson plans that you’ll co-create, it’s invaluable, and it’ll save you time, but you’ve got to just invest a little bit of it.
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