Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Collaboration
Lately I have been thinking about the importance of collaboration, yes for our students but specifically for us teachers as well. What sparked this thought about collaboration is when we were working on our guide sheet actually. Amanda and I created a guide sheet and we both (or maybe just me) thought it was perfect and didn't need anymore editing! But then Jennifer looked at our guide sheet and made some comments that made perfect sense to me after reading them. What this sparked for me is the thought that it is probably very important that I don't become a teacher that doesn't work with my colleagues, talk with my colleagues, and essentially team teach together! I realized that sometimes when you work on something yourself, your brain only sees it that one way. But if you share it with others a fresh point of view it can be very helpful for your lesson or whatever you're creating. I have noticed that peer/colleague/teacher editing can give your work a real boost!
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Nice reflection "on action" and "for action." I am trying to think of ways to highlight this kind of writing so others in class can see what I mean by writing reflectively in the blogs.
ReplyDeleteIt's important to remember that teacher collaboration, with the right tools and administrative support, creates an overall school culture that the kids can learn from. When they see teachers demonstrating and modeling the collaborative spirit, it adds relevancy and immediacy to the collaborative tasks you seek to engage them in. For years, I taught with heterogeneous base groups in my classroom, all the while hearing snarky comments from colleagues who were under the mistaken assumption that "these kids" can't do group work. In fact, it was the adults who didn't know how to do group work!
If you are interested in learning more about professional reflection, you might enjoy this post by Mike Fisher, a tech trainer in New York state.