Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1480924
A S S C H E D U L E S fill up in the new school year, the practice of meeting as teacher teams can be tough to fit into the day. But there's tremendous value in establishing a consistent, structured routine of grade- or subject-focused meetings — especially when schools plan and carve out time for it. When teachers meet as teams, writes consultant Elisa B. MacDonald for the Association for Supervision and Curric- ulum Development (ASCD), they learn to "cultivate diverse perspectives, ground disagreement in text-based ideas (not personal attacks), promote intentional data use, and focus team meetings on what collaboration is ultimately about — improving student learning." There's no need to make it overly complicated: By keep- ing the work lean and focused on just a few discrete areas, teachers can benefit despite time constraints. "It's enough to start with small, intentional moves to gradually build a culture of trust," writes MacDonald, a former teacher and literacy coach. "In time your team will view reading together, observing one another teach, and looking at student work together not only as practices you do in meetings, but as healthy collaborative habits that transform learning." Here are three strategies MacDonald recommends for get- ting the most out of teacher teams: 1. Read and Listen Together While reading by yourself is beneficial, discussing articles, videos and podcasts with colleagues provides a rich oppor- tunity for team members to broaden their thinking and deepen their understanding of the content as they hear new ideas and challenge their own perspectives. If your school doesn't set time aside for professional devel- opment or collaborative team reading, start off with "short, engaging texts" — MacDonald suggests a relatable cartoon, a controversial quote or an inspirational excerpt from a podcast — then build up to longer texts and book studies as the year progresses and teachers' schedules allow. "Soon your colleagues will expect to engage in text-based discus- sions in your meetings," she says. In lieu of using text-based discussion protocols, such as the four A's or the final word*, which MacDonald notes can feel "time-consuming or restrictive," a well-formulated prompt can help structure a thoughtful conversation and encourage quality, relevant responses. When school Diver- sity, Equity and Inclusion director Osamagbe Osagie's team read the article "Growing up Black in All the Wrong Places," for example, she asked her team: "Given this article's provoc- ative title, what will it take for us to create a world that is comfortable and safe for individuals who are Black, Indige- nous, Latinx, Asian, and multiracial to grow and thrive in?" MacDonald writes. 2. Observe Colleagues in Classrooms In high-performing schools, teachers often visit colleagues' classrooms for peer observation, a practice MacDonald com- pares to the difference between "seeing a movie with friends, catching a bite afterwards, and talking about what you saw together " versus seeing the same movie alone. When team leaders establish clear goals for classroom vis- its, it helps keep the process streamlined and prevents team members from being overwhelmed by the variety of ideas they encounter. • Establish a clear objective for each observation: First visits can be unstructured, but subsequent visits should include clear guidance about what to look out for and should connect to whatever the team is learning about, MacDonald says. • Be specific about goals: Though your team may collaboratively write or review an entire lesson When time is tight — and the goal is to drive deeper student learning — here are ways to keep teacher teams focused and productive By Paige Tutt Brooke Cagle/Unsplash 3 Habits of Highly Effective Teacher Teams 47 O C T O B E R / N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 2 Teaching & Learning