Learning Teams - Sharing Knowledge

Education Week recently published an article on Learning Teams and the Future of Teaching (June, 2010) which resonated with me (and probably other educators in my age group:).

Long ago, in a world far, far away, (1970s) teachers once collaborated in a new education effort called "Team Teaching." I have to admit, I was one of those who loved team teaching. Suddenly, you had a person (or persons) in your grade-level who helped fill in the "gaps." With team teaching, it was a win/win opportunity for everyone! The students had the benefit of more than one teacher's knowledge, the school benefited since teacher morale improved when you had someone to share the good, bad, and the ugly of managing your classroom, and the teachers were happier concentrating on teaching the areas in which they felt more confident. For example, one teacher might be better in mathematics and one more knowledgeable in social studies or state history. It was all good.

Today, there is an added advantage to team teaching: "Learning Teams" for additional teacher collaboration. The Education Week article states that teachers need additional opportunities to learn and increase their knowledge of 21st Century skills. It also quotes the survey findings from the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future:

The National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future, with the support of the Pearson Foundation, has conducted an extensive review of research reports and practitioner case studies to document the specific learning-team principles and practices that improve teaching effectiveness and student achievement. Based on our findings, we have concluded that the nation has a pressing need, and an unprecedented opportunity to improve school performance by using learning teams to systematically induct new teachers into a collaborative learning culture—teams that embed continuous professional development into the day-to-day fabric of work in schools that are constantly evolving to meet the needs of 21st-century learners. This calls for a cultural shift in schools, a shift that is gaining momentum across the country.

NCTAF’s review identified six learning-team principles and practices that are most effective in improving teaching and student achievement, described in the report “Team Up for 21st Century Teaching and Learning.” While there is no magic formula, we found that highly effective learning teams have the following:

Shared Values and Goals. The team members have a common vision of student learning needs and a well-defined understanding of how their collective teaching capabilities can be orchestrated to meet those needs. They clearly identify a learning challenge around which the team can join forces to improve student achievement.

Collective Responsibility. Team members have appropriately differentiated responsibilities based on their experience and knowledge levels. They hold themselves mutually responsible for each other’s success, and they are collectively accountable for improving the achievement of every student served by the team.

Authentic Assessment. Team members hold themselves personally and professionally accountable by using assessments that give them real-time feedback on student learning and teaching effectiveness. These assessments are valuable to them—not because they are linked to high-stakes consequences, but because they are essential tools to improve the team’s teaching effectiveness, as measured by student learning gains.

Self-Directed Reflection. Highly effective learning teams establish a reflective feedback loop of goal-setting, planning, standards, and assessment that is driven by the learning needs of the students and the corresponding professional-development needs of the teachers.

Stable Settings. Highly effective learning teams do not function within dysfunctional schools, but they can transform low-performing schools into successful learning organizations if they are given dedicated time, space, resources, and leadership for their collaborative work. Even the best teachers in the world can’t turn around a low-performing school by working alone.

Strong Leadership Support. Highly effective learning teams are supported by school leaders who build a climate of openness and trust that empowers team members to make decisions on how to improve teaching effectiveness that are directly linked to student needs. This support must be balanced with appropriate, positive pressure to continuously increase school performance with improvements in teaching effectiveness that are explicitly linked to specific student learning needs.

Transforming American education is the rallying cry heard throughout the country today. The Obama administration has focused the nation’s vision for education in 2020 on two basic goals: assuring that every student is college- and career-ready, and closing the achievement gaps for low-income students and children of color.

NCTAF is answering this call by creating “learning studios” for teaching the STEM subjects of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics that are based on the documented effectiveness of these six principles. Similar to architectural-design studios, these STEM Learning Studios enable learning teams composed of digital-age teachers, tech-savvy youths, veteran educators, and skill-based volunteers to develop innovative responses to complex learning challenges. Learning studios improve student achievement, increase teaching effectiveness, and amplify the impact of community resources. (Education Week, 2010).

Ah, so many good ideas in education are just re-invented for a new century. Team teaching and differentiated classroom instruction began long ago, and personally, I'm glad to see a new emphasis on learning teams and teacher collaboration.