Collaborative practice to sustain professional growth

Collaborative practice provides a common teaching experience for all teachers that is analyzed at coaching sessions and at grade-level meetings. By making the classroom itself a learning site, we activate a powerful mechanism for changing teaching practice.

Together, teachers plan an instructional activity that they will enact in each classroom and later debrief the experience of each teacher.

Selecting which task to do is often one of the most challenging aspects but it is powerful as well. Teachers develop a shared ownership of the task, anticipate student responses and consider teacher interactions that will support the development of children’s mathematical thinking.

Debriefing the math experience in each classroom involves highlighting what worked, reflecting on teacher learning, and determining next steps.