Collaboration is Visible

"The first step in learning to work together is to become a team - an entity unto itself that is more than the mere sum of the individuals who comprise the team."
- Guide to Effective Teacher Teams

Being the first week that PLC's met for teacher teams, I had collaboration on the mind. As I started to walk through classrooms I realized that collaboration and team work were evident throughout the entire building.

Teachers had already started to teach their students about teamwork to ensure they were setting them up for success within the classroom and productive groups. 

In Mr. Boes' 5th grade class, it was clear that these students had practiced collaboration for years, since they were so equipped to work productively with partners and small groups on the second week of school. The expectations for the 5th grade class were clear and attainable with students on task, sharing how they came to a solution in math, and working together to find the solutions. 

Amy Rallis allowed students the option to read together during independent time. These two students did not know I was behind them, and their teacher was across the room, and they were on task reading, discussing, and learning together. I knew this had to have come from an environment that fosters peer collaboration and teamwork, not just a random moment in time. 

When students see teachers collaborating with students, other teachers, anyone in the building, it is a visual model for them of what can be accomplished when we learn to work together. 

I continue to be so impressed and excited every day at the opportunity I was given to come work and collaborate with the amazing teachers and students at Hoover. This was reinforced again when I was able to be a part of the first PLC's of the school year with each team. 

Teachers came to the meeting ready to set goals, talk about student data, share ideas, and embody the definition of collaboration. 

I know that through productive PLC's we will continue to move from Great to Greater!