What does collaborative teaching mean for you as a new teacher? How willing are you to invest in this important area of teaching relationships?
As I wrote in my article Teachers Network and Share, the process of teacher collaboration is almost always taken to be a given as a new teacher, but it is an important skill which both new and seasoned teachers need to learn and develop.
Collaborative relationships also take time to mature and grow. In the beginning, a new teacher might feel a need to bounce off ideas and share information about student x's grades and tests while another teacher provides modifications and recommendations. While working together is a necessary part of teacher survival, it means so much more than cooperation.
I wish I had read Sara Wilford's article "Collaboration: What Does it Mean for Your Program?" during my first few years of teaching. She defines collaboration to mean: (the six C's)
1. Conversation: the act of people talking together.
2. Confrontation: the act of expressing an alternative viewpoint, which is helpful in leading to bigger ideas. This should not be delivered in an angry way by the speaker or perceived as a threat by the listeners.
3. Communication: the understanding that occurs when people are making ocnnections with each other. This can happen through conversation, but also facial expression and gesture.
4. Cooperation: the willingness to work with others.
5. Collaboration: the building of communal knowledge.
6. Community: a group who has built a culture of mutual understanding through collaboration.
[Early Childhood Today, Scholastic, March 2006]
Notice that the word "collaboration" appears much later on, which implies that a great deal of talking and sharing is invested until you reach the actual nitty-gritty work of "collaboration" itself.
If you are still looking for some coaching support, read Teacher Mentor, Teacher Coach and Free Ways to Support New Teachers for more advice and teacher survival tips.
