Making Time for Teacher Collaboration

Research shows that for schools to be successful, teachers need time outside the classroom to work with their peers and with coaches and instructional leaders on addressing student needs and strengthening instruction. Successful ELT schools not only expand time for student learning, they also expand time for teachers to plan, learn, develop skills, and work collaboratively with their colleagues. In fact, strong ELT schools build a professional culture of teacher leadership and collaboration. For a deeper discussion of the characteristics of schools that made significant progress in this area, see Expectation IV of the ELT Expectations and Indicators.

ELT schools expand teacher time for professional development and for collaborative planning time. Professional development focuses on advancing excellence in teaching, while collaborative planning time is a means to advance student academic outcomes by allowing teachers more time to analyze and discuss student data, plan lessons together, and identify ways to address student needs. Strong ELT schools add time in both of these areas. In either case, the additional time should be organized around specific student needs and the school-wide academic focus. 

Case Studies & Helpful Resources

Managing Common Planning Time at the Kuss Middle School

Moving from Collaborative Conversation to Collaborative Planning: How Structure and Focus Transformed Collaborative Planning Time at the Martin Luther King, Jr. School

Videos

More Time for Teacher Leadership and Collaboration