New Report: Teacher Collaboration

Posted by on June 17, 2005

CREATING A CULTURE OF TEACHER COLLABORATION AND INQUIRY

Why does teacher collaboration take root in some schools and not in others? Robert Garmston, co-author of the influential book on effective collaboration, “The Adaptive School,” reflects on the factors that “differentiate schools that create a culture of inquiry” in this column from the Journal of Staff Development. Assuming that faculties have been well-trained in HOW to collaborate, Garmston finds that schools are most likely to work together productively if they have leaders who are public learners themselves and who locate and arrange time and space for teacher collaboration. A third key factor: The frequency and caliber of self-reflection that occurs after the professional development is done. “Any group that is too busy to reflect is too busy to improve,” says Garmston, who offers several ideas about improving the process of
self-examination.

http://www.nsdc.org/library/publications/jsd/garmston262.cfm