Teachers' collaboration is where they share ideas to improve student learning and performance. Collaboration isn't something you do once and then forget about; it's an ever-evolving, continuing process that's only made better by cyberspace and access to new technologies.
Collaboration is important not just because it allows workers to tap into other views and ideas but also because it will enable the teachers to share responsibility for learners' development. If more people invested in a student's education, it will create more chances for students to succeed in their studies.
Currently, public and some private school collaboration between teachers do not happen. They have to wait for workshop meetings to gain new knowledge. This could be because some teachers do not know the myriad benefits or haven't invested the time or effort required for the knowledge management system.
The Benefits of Teachers Collaboration
Learning becomes more accessible and successful for students when teachers collaborate to share information, resources, ideas, and experience. According to aiim, collaboration is a working practice whereby individuals work together for a common purpose to achieve business benefit.
Here are some of the advantages we may expect when we encourage educators to co-plan and co-teach based on a shared vision:
Improved Academic Effort—Because educators who collaborate on instruction are on the same page, they may increase the academic performance to match the essential competencies they want students to succeed.
More Creative Lesson Plans—When teachers communicate and share ideas, they also share an enlarged repertoire of instructional strategies that encourage creative instruction. Colleagues may be influenced to try different approaches or have opportunities to help a peer with a new approach.
Strong collaboration and collaborative cultures develop over time and require a commitment to the process. While the benefits are clear, genuine collaboration is complex. Patience at the moment and anticipation for the outcome can lead to deep teacher learning that translates into tangible student achievement.
Technology plays a major role in modern teacher collaboration. According to Elizabeth Trach, a personal learning network (PLN) is a group of colleagues, mentors, and professionals that you connect with to enhance your learning and take charge of your own professional development. Actively participating in a PLN on a social network gives you direct access to the knowledge, experience, and resources of countless educators who you may have never connected within your immediate professional circles. The following are technologies that can be used in PLN:
Social Media Groups -- Teachers can start their own community by starting a group on WhatsApp, Facebook, or LinkedIn. Invite colleagues to share ideas with each other. Build engagement by posting questions or articles that promote discussion and that will be useful. If they share knowledge, other teachers will suddenly expand their own PLN by tapping into theirs.
Webinars -- Record lessons to use for professional development and coaching in collaborative meetings. Or collaborate with teams of teachers in other schools via video chat applications like MS Teams or Zoom.