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    Teacher teams that lead to student learning

    By Diane Zimmerman and James Roussin
    Categories: Change management, Collaboration, Learning designs, Teacher leadership
    December 2023
    In many schools, teams come together primarily to plan events, build common assessments, or determine curriculum or grade-level planning. But teams often struggle to make teamwork an inquiry-driven process that focuses on problems of practice and student learning. The essential focus of teams should be on building collective responsibility (Hargreaves & O’Connor, 2017). Research shows that teacher teams that make links to teaching practices are more effective when compared to teams with less intense forms of collaboration (Meirink et al., 2010). In 2019, we collaborated with our colleague Robert Garmston on a book, Transforming Teamwork: Cultivating Collaborative Cultures, which focused on this question: What essential conditions have the most leverage for transforming collaborative groups? We drew on seminal work about professional learning communities and team

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    References

    Garmston, R. & Zimmerman, D. (2013, April). The collaborative compact: Operating principles lay the groundwork for successful group work. JSD, 34(2), 10-14.

    Hargreaves, A. & O’Connor, M.T. (2017). Cultures of professional collaboration: Their origins and opponents. Journal of Professional Capital and Community, 2, 74-85.

    Hord, S.M. (2008). Evolution of the professional learning community: Revolutionary concept is based on intentional collegial learning. JSD, 29(3), 10-13.

    Janis, I.L. (1973). Victims of groupthink: A psychological study of foreign-policy decisions and fiascoes. Houghton-Mifflin.

    Meirink, J., Imant, J., Meijer, P., & Verloop, N. (2010). Teacher learning and collaboration in innovative teams. Cambridge Journal of Education, 40(2), 161-181.

    Reynolds, M. (2014). The discomfort zone: How leaders turn difficult conversations into breakthroughs. Berrett-Koehler.

    Senge, Peter M. (1991). The fifth discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization. Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing

    Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge University Press.

    Wheatley, M. (1999, September). Bringing schools back to life: Schools as living systems. www.margaretwheatley.com/articles/lifetoschools.html


    Diane zimmerman
    + posts

    Diane P. Zimmerman (dpzimmer@gmail.com) is a retired superintendent and author.

    Jim roussin
    + posts

    James L. Roussin (jim.roussin@gmail.com) is executive director of Generative Learning.


    Categories: Change management, Collaboration, Learning designs, Teacher leadership

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