As schools move from mostly isolation when it comes to teacher work and efforts to greater collaboration, how do we foster dynamic conversation and collaboration?
Dynamic is defined as a force that stimulates change or progress in a system or process.
Many educators problem solve around similar issues and efforts each day--there's much to be learned from each other. Current in-house structures lend little time to this exchange. Therefore how can we rethink school structures, efforts and schedules to build greater dynamic conversation and action. PLCs (professional learning communities) have been a positive move in this direction.
One simple way to further develop dynamic collaboration is to create streams of sharing--streams that invite diverse voices. Sharing research, practice and ideas help to create positive debate, discussion and creativity in an organization.
A few years ago, in response to parent comments, leadership in my system held a number of open discussions related to gifted and talented education. I attended one of those discussions and was inspired by the ideas shared by the diverse group of parents, educators and leaders. Many of those ideas still affect the work I do each day with students and represent a shift in my teaching that happened after that meeting.
The movement from isolation to collaboration has fostered more meaningful and targeted conversation and efforts. I believe the next step is growing those efforts so that interaction, debate and exchange becomes a natural, invigorating part of our collective learning community's intersections.
As a classroom teacher, it is essential that I think about my role in this regard. As a blogger, I share regularly. Yet, I receive very little, if any, in-house feedback. I question blogging with respect to the responses I get, yet I continue to blog because the benefits to my work are substantial. While I receive little feedback in-house, I do receive some thoughtful and beneficial feedback from my PLN. Also, the public share of blogging commits me to the growth I seek, and helps me to solidify my convictions with regard to teaching children well. The blog provides a history of my practice--posts that I refer back to as I implement, revise and analyze teaching points, and the blog makes it easy for me to share curriculum ideas and practice with others. Further, the blog provides a platform to share one reality of a teacher's life since so often teachers are misrepresented in our culture--that's important to me. Hence, I'll continue to blog, but I'll also seek greater feedback about this practice so that I grow it with enriching effect.
In my role, I also share regularly at professional development meetings, via email, at PLCs and with grade-level colleagues. I will be thinking about how to develop that sharing with care and intent as well.
Most schools have instituted processes to develop greater collaboration and conversation, and now the goal remains as to how we deepen that practice to better effect the work we do to educate students for best effect. I welcome your thoughts and ideas on this topic.
