7 Ways Collaborative Planning Improves Learning
Are there actually seven ways collaborative planning improves learning? Actually there are more than seven, but I will discuss the seven I know of below,
1. Group Brain Dumps lead to better ideas.
The more brains working on something the better. I recall watching the movie Apollo 13 awhile ago and thinking about the time an entire room full of NASA engineers were trying to figure out how to get a round hose into a smaller square portal using only what the astronauts have up in space.
There was so much tension during that scene because if they didn’t figure it out in time, all the astronauts would die due to high levels of CO2.
Now, grade level planning isn’t nearly as intense as this example, but you get the gist of what I’m saying. The more people working on a solution to a problem, the better.
And often someone has an idea for a project or lesson that is absolutely awesome, and you hadn’t thought of that. And boy are you glad they are on your team.
2. Teachers are able to share best practices.
One of the best
And why wouldn’t we want all students at our school in that particular grade to partake in that awesome lesson or project or event?
Before I continue farther, I want to be sure to offer you my FREE downloadable list of 101 Tips for Teachers. Fill out the form below and I will zip it right over to your email in-box.
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3. Working together leads to cohesive lessons and exams.
When teams plan together, they also naturally create exams together and test the whole group in a similar manner. This is an excellent all-around process since these exam scores allow the team to actually know which students have now mastered that content ACROSS THE WHOLE GRADE LEVEL!
HOW AWESOME IS THAT!!
You might be interested in reading another article I wrote in this blog on teacher organization. Here is the link:
Teacher Organization – How to Prepare and Stay Focused
4. By using the same exams teams are able to analyze results to improve instruction and learning.
When teams use the same exams, they are now able to utilize the data from those exam results to implement two HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PRACTICES;
(1) determine which lessons resulted in the highest retention of information (2) use the data to group students for remediation and extension.
This process is so powerful!
For the #1 practice above, teacher teams can take a constructive look at lessons, content
The #2 item above is where the true results lie. This is where grade level teams can flourish by working together. You can create a block of time where students are clustered by concept between all the classes and build in a “mini-camp” to work on mastery of the items that each student needs to master.
When you use data this way, students thrive and excel. Students who need to learn the concept in another way, or with more time are allowed the opportunity.
Those who just need a bit of practice are allowed this. And the ones who have totally mastered the content are given an “extension assignment” that uses the concept at the next level up.
5. Building relationships with colleagues improves your happiness and satisfaction with teaching.
Teachers are happier when they have a team or colleagues that they identify with. A friend that they can share frustrations with or that they can ask for advice. A colleague that they can get supplies from in a pinch and rely on to help in an emergency.
If you have just switched to this grade level, or are new to this school, or to teaching, then I have an article you might want to read.
How to Rock Your Grade-Level Change Like a Pro!
The list goes on and on regarding why teachers are happier and more satisfied with teaching when they are part of a team or have a few close colleagues.
6. Teachers share fun projects and share tasks such as homework.
When teachers work as a team, they are able to present many more fun projects each year.
They can do this because they all share the tasks with each other, and teachers often ask to do the task they like the best. And since they like it the best they can finish it quickly.
For example, I like to create graphics on notes and letters (or worksheets, etc.) so I would volunteer to create the letter to parents about the project, or the steps for students.
I was on a grade-level team that rotated who created the homework each week. So, with five teachers on the team, you only had to come up with homework once every five weeks.
Then you run off the copies for the entire grade level. The team should assign the weeks out for the entire quarter or semester. Then the organized teachers can get some help from parent volunteers to get theirs completed ahead of time.
7. The students also feel part of a “whole grade-level team.”
Often, teams such as what I’ve described above plan fun cohesive things for their students; like a craft or theme day. All students love to feel a part of those kinds of days. And parents love it too (as long as you give them plenty of notice if they need to buy something).
I have worked at schools that have incorporated a food prep activity after a certain story in the Language Arts series. The students would rotate to each teacher and make a different “food” item (simple with no cutting or heat required) and get to eat it too.
Each teacher would have one or two parent volunteers helping in the classroom and students rotated about every 20 minutes. It was a great activity and the students had a blast.
I hope these seven reasons for collaborating as a grade level team have convinced you to try to implement this at your school. You won’t regret it.
Until next time,
Your Teacher Buddy
