Here is a question that was submitted to me by an instructional coach requesting my thoughts: When working with teams during planning or PLCs, how do I encourage all teachers to participate?  I find that there are a couple of teachers who are there to plan and learn and the rest of them are closed […]

I was asked to engage an entire faculty in some experiences that would illustrate PLC kinds of conversations. I requested that each grade level (could be department if working with secondary) bring a set of student work in some common area to the faculty meeting. One grade level group brought a piece of writing their […]

I have been promoting the phrase for some time now that “Teaching is a Team Sport and a Public Act.” I’ve suggested that teams require trust and that being public with our work and our results is necessary to building that trust. In a recent article, “Build trust for professional learning”,  from Learningforward, we are reminded that […]

Here is a request I received from an instructional coach. I read your blog titled, “Coaching Teachers’ Dual Roles”  , and the following resonated with me: “I think it’s necessary that coaches and instructional school leaders provide facilitation and training for PLC members to experience effective collaboration, debate, and reflection that produce new teaching and learning […]

In many of my presentations and work sessions I discuss the importance of teaching as a “team sport’ and  the critical role of collegiality in teaching. Often if I ask participants to assess the current degree of team, I’ll get a comment like this: Our department is a strong team. We are always sharing. Or […]

The September 2013 issue of Educational Leadership, titled Resilience and Learning, has several thought provoking articles. Two of them connected with the work I am doing with a few districts examining grading, motivation, and engagement. A Conversation with Angela Lee Duckworth (pages 14-20) explores the significance of grit (earlier blog).  She states that “grit and […]