Collaborating – Sharing – Learning

In the early nineties, Roland Barth wrote about the power of school improvement through teacher collaboration in his book Improving Schools from Within. He placed teachers in one of three groups when describing the initial resistance to collaboration. It may be useful to personally reflect on these group descriptions and place where one personally stands now, how one has moved, and the possibilities yet to come.

(1)  Teachers who are unable and unwilling to critically examine their teaching practice and unable to have other adults – teachers, principals, parents – examine what and how they are teaching …

(2)  Teachers who are quite able and willing to continually scrutinize and reflect on what they do and make use of their insights to effect periodic change. They plan tomorrow on the basis of how things went today. But these teachers are uncomfortable accepting examination of their practice by other adults …

(3)  A small number of teachers who are able and willing to critically scrutinize their practice and are quite able and willing, even desirous, of making their practice accessible to other adults …

                                                                                                            Barth, 1990, p.53