Establish a Purpose and Provide Time for Collaborative Learning

Educators need regular and ongoing opportunities with their peers to collaborate around successes, challenges, and next steps for achieving the school's vision. Collaborative learning opportunities should be job-embedded, led by a skilled facilitator, and aligned to a shared, long-term goal for instructional improvement that will build trust and buy-in for the curriculum. Collaborative time should focus on the what, why, and how of instructional practices that support equitable and accessible learning environments and provide opportunities for educators to reflect on their beliefs about student learning.

Establish a purpose for team collaborative learning.

"Making commitments for shared learning is one concrete strategy that leaders can use to signal how seriously they take educators’ willingness to engage in productive collaboration around instruction.”

~ The Internal Coherence Framework, p. 43

How

A. Co-create commitments for shared learning with instructional staff.

B. Ensure the purpose of collaborative learning time aligns to school and district goals.

C. Communicate the purpose to all teachers and leaders.

Additional Resources

2. Set up structures and support.

“For meaningful improvement to occur, educators need intensive and sustained opportunities for professional learning—opportunities that are aligned with school and district goals.

When teachers improve student learning by working with their colleagues, they begin to see that powerful learning is primarily a function of the work they do with students and their colleagues, rather than mainly a function of factors beyond their control, such as students’ prior knowledge or background characteristics.”

~ The Internal Coherence Framework, p. 12

How

A. Create a schedule for PLCs that includes regular participation from instructional leaders to engage leaders in collaborative planning with teachers.

B. Identify a skilled facilitator with the mathematical content and pedagogical knowledge to lead discussions.

Additional Resources

Considerations for Responsive Facilitation

3. Provide expectations for collaborative learning.

“As educators see that improvements in student learning directly result from their own learning and action, they build a stronger sense of collective efficacy; they believe that they have the joint capability to affect students’ growth in outcomes that matter. As a result, educators are motivated to take responsibility for student success, experiment with new practices, and persevere in the face of challenges.”

~ The Internal Coherence Framework, p. 3

How

A. Identify protocols for collaboration, safety, and belonging.

See additional resources below for example protocols.

B. Share the purpose for collaborative time.

- Collaborative work should include time for shared planning and reflection for teachers and leaders that focuses on implementing equitable instructional strategies and evaluating the impact on student learning.

Additional Resources

IM Math Planning a Lesson Template (You will be prompted to make a copy.)
IM Math Planning a Unit Template (You will be prompted to make a copy.)
The IM Implementation Reflection Tool guide, Section B
Attributes of a Learning Community ▪ Community Agreements ▪ Feedback Principles
Protocols for collaborative planning, discussion, and reflection
- Cycle of Inquiry
- Student Work: Guide for Bringing Student Work ▪ Learning from Student Work ▪ Examples of Debriefing Questions at the End of a Looking at Student Work Session
- Data Analysis: Data Driven Dialogue
- Observing Peers: First Classroom Visits
- Additional: Examining Assessments ▪ Guide to Good Probing Questions ▪ A Change in Practice

Back

The IMplementation Reflection Tool

References

Establish a Purpose and Provide Time for Collaborative Learning

Establish a purpose for team collaborative learning.

How

Additional Resources

2. Set up structures and support.

How

Additional Resources

3. Provide expectations for collaborative learning.

How

Additional Resources