By Vicki Bechard,
LFKS Secretary
Last week, at the suggestion of one of our board members,
Learning Forward Kansas began posting
daily pictures on social media that reflected the importance of
collaboration. We know through research
and experience that, alone, we are not as effective as we are together. What we learn from others strengthens our own
understanding and provides us with perspectives we may not otherwise have
considered. We find the support and
feedback we receive from collaborative colleagues to be relevant and useful
rather than evaluative. We struck a
chord with many who “liked” and "favored" our posts and realized that these daily posts may
have sparked more conversation about the value of collaboration.
Collaboration can
be found in each one of the Standards of Professional Learning. As a
part of Learning Communities,
collaborative groups help us develop collective responsibility and engage in
continuous improvement through the discussions we have on our practice and
student results. Leadership is encouraged through collaborative efforts between
building leaders and educators as well providing a setting to build the
capacity for learning and leading. The
ideas and strategies we gain from our colleagues in a collaborative setting
provide us with more Resources for
our tool box. In collaborative sessions,
we examine both instructional and student Data
to determine progress toward achieving desired learning goals, as well as evaluate
the effectiveness of professional learning.
This information helps us plan for future learning and instruction. Collaboration can be an important part of Learning Designs as we plan and engage
in strategies to promote engagement and deep understanding of the intended
outcomes. Implementation requires that we practice the identified strategies
and receive the necessary support and feedback that a collaborative group can
provide. Finally, as Outcomes are aligned between
professional learning and student curriculum standards, the collaborative group
can address gaps and overlaps and build coherence to meet performance standards.
How are you using collaboration
to increase effectiveness? How might you
improve the use of collaboration to build trust, promote engagement and
collective responsibility, offer more support and feedback, or build
capacity? As you evaluate the
effectiveness of the implementation of identified changes in your district or
school, consider the role of collaboration
as you currently use it, and how you might use it in the future, as a vehicle
that helps transform teaching and learning.
