Together is better…
I felt very privileged to begin the new year fueled by a tremendous workshop with Adrienne Gear, the author of Reading Powers. Adrienne is funny, honest, upbeat, a brilliant speaker and even more brilliant teacher. I could go on and on about the workshop itself, her fabulous storytelling, her sound reasoning, her clear instruction, her endless arsenal of ideas, and her many wonderful book recommendations.
flickr cc photo by Voj
But what really excited me about the workshop was the promise of working together. Attending with so many other teachers from my school provided us with an opportunity to consider how we can work together to implement the Reading Power approach in our school. Adrienne emphasized the importance of common language. She said “What matters most is that everyone on your staff is using the same words.” Sitting in that auditorium with my colleagues while listening to Adrienne, I couldn’t help thinking how lucky I am to be working with such a dedicated team.
flickr cc photo by rogiro
Teaching is a big job. It is too big to ‘go it alone’. And so coming together around an approach, such as Reading Powers, gives me hope that we can work together successfully for our students.
Coming together is a beginning.
Keeping together is a process.
Working together is success.
(Ford in Foofat and Pollock, 1993)
In fact, I think teamwork is the ingredient that really has me excited about my new position as one of two K/1 teachers at my school this year. I am team teaching with Mrs. M. this year. We both have K/1′s and intend on parallel planning and some sharing of lessons and regrouping of kids to allow for more personalized instruction.
And already I can tell, together is better. I know I am not alone. In fact, better than that… I know I have a supporter, a side-kick, a partner–someone to bounce ideas off of, to share observations and assessments with, to plan and prepare with, and to engage in meaningful conversations and reflections about our kids and our teaching.
flickr cc photo by Linnea Grondalen
I wonder what advice others who have been in a team teaching situation might have for Mrs. M and I as we embark on this journey together?? Would love to hear from you!
This entry was posted on Monday, September 13th, 2010 at 9:40 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
5 Responses to “Together is better…”
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September 13th, 2010 at 9:56 pm
I am in a team teaching situation right now. I absolutely love it. I’m not sure if I caught how your class will work, but I teach every morning until 11:30ish. I get to focus on math, science, some health, and writing across the curriculums. Then when I go do my Tech Coach job, my team teacher Erica (@stovere) comes in and works on language arts, social studies, language development (ELD) and more writing across the curriculums. We are very different in our approaches. She is very global, wants to see the big picture, and I’m very “in the moment” and love to take advantage of those “teaching moments” (not that she doesn’t). The contrast helps keep balance in the classroom. I also like the fact that we aren’t teaching the same subjects. I feel that brings some continuity to the classroom and the learning environment. By focusing on given content, the students are able to focus on the learning and not the constant changing of teaching styles or management. Classroom expectations and routines are the same for both of us, but our personalities definitely play into each of our times with the class.
My advice would to be constantly communicating. My other “half” and I are always talking. We even have Google doc that we use to reflect on in the evenings if we didn’t have a chance to talk at school. It also gives us a chance to perhaps further discuss other issues or concerns. In short, open, constant communication is vital.
I wish you the best of luck. It is an awesome opportunity.
September 13th, 2010 at 10:32 pm
Thanks Jeremy… I’m super excited to hear how well your team teaching situation is working for you! Mrs. M and I are not sharing one class, but each teaching parallel K/1 classes. Two classes of 20 each. So, we are planning together and also grouping our kids as K’s and as 1′s at times, to help ensure the 1′s get the more academic curriculum that is demanded. So far we are both really enjoying the experience. Like you and your partner, we bring different strengths and experiences to the classroom. I think you really hit the nail on the head when you mention the importance of communication. Thanks for the idea of the Google doc! Mrs. M & I are on email alot at night at the moment.
But, it is so great to have someone else to talk with about our kids and so fantastic to reflect on what’s working and what we can improve on. So far, together is definitely better!!