In order for the learning environment to be successful for all stakeholders involved, efforts to initiate and foster collaboration must be made throughout the entire school. If used effectively, collaboration between staff, faculty, families, and community can lead to undeniable gains in student learning and success. However, if collaboration is not supported throughout the school environment, it may end up becoming detrimental. Therefore, it is critical that the learning environment of the school not only promote the collaborative process, but continuously support it.
Over the course of the past semester, I have observed tremendous amounts of successful collaboration within the school in which I will complete my student teaching experience. Throughout the school day, my cooperating teacher works closely with several other individuals in order to ensure students are successfully supported in learning. …show more content…
The most common manner in which this collaboration occurs is through weekly grade level team meetings. At these meetings, team members discuss a variety of topics such as curriculum pacing, RtI groupings, and student assessment data. At these meetings, team members analyze student performance on district summative assessments, their words correct per minute (WCPM), and student reading levels. Team members use the data to identify areas of instruction in which students demonstrate areas of need. However, when making instructional decisions or groupings, teachers never place sole responsibility on any one person. According to Steele and Boudett (2008), “To build a collaborative culture and promote instructional improvement, the data-use process needs to emphasize solving problems, not passing