Team Monday is a time set aside for Teacher Collaboration.

Teacher collaboration occurs when members of a learning community work together to increase student learning and achievement. If our ultimate destination as educators is student achievement, think of teacher collaboration as the journey. This time has been created for teachers of each grade level or department to meet all together to analyze data, assess student achievement, and make consistent plans from the information discussed.

What are the benefits of Teacher Collaboration?

When we get teachers co-planning and co-teaching based on a shared vision, here are some of the benefits we can expect:

• Increased Academic Effort—Since teachers who collaborate on instruction are all on the same page, they can increase the level of academic rigor to match the core competencies they want students to meet.

• Increased Understanding of Student Data—Teachers are better equipped to deconstruct relevant data (and implement effective solutions) from both formative and summative assessments. They also have a sense of shared responsibility for celebrating success and analyzing failure.

• More Creative Lesson Plans—When teachers communicate and share ideas, they also share an enlarged repertoire of instructional strategies that encourage creative instruction. Colleagues may be influenced to try different approaches or have opportunities to help a peer with a new approach.