A centerpiece of the Teacher Leadership and Compensation (TLC) program is collaboration. One of the five state TLC goals is to promote collaboration by developing and supporting opportunities for teachers in schools and school districts statewide to learn from each other.
A common role for a teacher leader is to help create a culture to support shared leadership and collaboration.
Here are some teacher leader roles to support collaboration suggested in “10 Obstacles to Collaboration: the Role of a Teacher Leader” from k12teacherleadership, April 2016.
- Encourage teachers to share their ideas and practices by building a relationship to decrease the teacher’s resistance to engage in collaboration.
- Educate teachers about the advantages for collaboration and its simplicity.
- Clearly communicate the purpose and vision of school-wide collaboration and how it promotes teacher development.
- Support the school principal and other leaders in implementing collaboration that impacts student learning and professional practice.
- Advocate for time, space, and resources toward collaborative efforts.
- Embed professional learning and collaboration into daily practice.
- Facilitate opportunities of collaboration to ensure that the experience is positive. Furthermore, collect feedback from all teachers to identify ways to continuously improve collaboration.
- Work with teachers to develop group norms and ensure collaboration is open to diverse perspectives.
A collaborative culture is built in teachers’ willingness to share support and explore together. This type of culture will increase teacher retention, improve student learning, and improve professional learning.
For more information, contact Lora Rasey at lora.rasey@iowa.gov or 515-281-6719.