Collaboration

Every great teaching idea I ever had was inspired by, harvested from or straight up stolen from another educator. There… I said it. We hate to admit it, but we need each other to be successful. When asked a question, I often need a minute to create my own opinion, then I want to talk to others and get their opinions and ask questions. Bouncing ideas off others is how we achieve great ideas.

This year I have started using Twitter and have experienced the power of connecting and collaborating with others. Teachers who don’t have grade level partners are no longer isolated, they can turn to Twitter to allow them to connect and collaborate. In February, I went to Parkland School Division to learn how teachers in that division are using technology effectively in their classrooms. George Couros, Divison Principal of Innovative Teaching and Learning in PSD, set me up with several innovative teachers. Through this experience, I was lucky enough to meet Kelli Holden , an exemplary grade 4 teacher. She explained to me the power of Skype and how she utilizes it in her classroom. I was immediately inspired and asked if I could be involved in her next project. Kelli created an amazing project to help students learn about the Canadian troops leaving Afghanistan. The five classes involved in the project were able to learn more about the troops through a Skype sessions.  One of the teachers,  Catherine Dohn, spoke to all 5 classes about her husband, who is a Peace Keeper. She provided pictures, information and a first hand account of what Peace Keepers do. She was able to give my students an experience that I would never have been able to supply on my own. We also had students use a site called Chatzy, which allowed the students from all 5 classrooms to chat with each other about what they knew and what they had learned. They were able to learn from each other’s facts and questions. This was all made possible for my students because I connected with other teachers.

As an adult, I love collaborating with others and getting to hear their view points. I constantly collaborate with other teachers at my school and have begun to also reach out to teachers through twitter. If collaboration is so beneficial to adults, then why in the classroom do we often ask students to work independently? Some reasons I have heard from fellow educators are: “Students don’t know how to work collaboratively”; “they will just copy off each other”; and “they can’t work in groups without getting off task”.

Just like every other skill they acquire, students need support, practice and some instruction on how to be collaborative. In my class I use a program called Kagan to help my kids work collaboratively. The program provides a structure to allow students to work together and participate equally. As educators, I believe we have to let go of the notion that students are “stealing ideas” from each other. Collaborating is not copying, it is a way to learn from others and to increase your own knowledge of a subject area. We need to allow students to work with each other to create projects, have conversations and ask questions. The old adage, 2 heads are better than one, is truthful and something we should consider for our students.