Introduction “Teacher collaboration can be described as an environment in which teachers continuously interact, collaborate, and engage in producing and sharing knowledge about classroom practices to improve student learning and motivation. There is strong evidence supporting the impact of teacher collaboration on student achievement” (Loera, Nakamoto, Rueda, Youn, Beck, & Cherry, 2013). “Collaborating is bringing people together for a common purpose” (Jao & McDougall, 2016). Teacher collaboration is a critical part of student success. “Teacher collaboration refers to the professional collaborative and cooperative practices and activities that teachers engage in to achieve their shared educational goals” (Ning, Lee & Lee, 2015). How teachers …show more content…
This is especially the case when teachers are focusing on student learning and evidence of such learning” (Jao & McDougall, 2016). Teachers that are collaborating are able to reflect openly on their practices, strengths, and struggles. By cooperating, they are able to get insight on how they can improve their practices and thus improve their instruction for students. “Effective collaboration between teachers has long been recognized as a vital component to teacher professional development and student success” (Ning, Lee, & Lee, 2015). When teachers are able to collaborate together they are better able to support the needs of all students and support the needs of each other. “Support from peers and mentors is a key influence on new teacher effectiveness” (Charner-Laird, Gordon, Kirkpatrick, Szczesiul, & Watson, 2016). Teacher collaboration can be broken down into two categories “authentic collegiality and contrived collegiality”. “The differences between authentic collegiality and contrived collegiality are as follows. Authentic collegiality comprises of evolutionary relationships of openness, trust, and support among teachers where they define and develop their own purposes as a community and contrived collegiality consists of administratively contrived interactions among teachers where they meet and work to implement the curricula and instructional strategies developed by others. It is found that …show more content…
Research has proven the immense importance of having teachers who work together. It is essential that we aim to overcome the barriers of conflict, time, and administrative support. In order to overcome the barrier of conflict, whether it be personality conflicts, conflict of dedication, conflict of willingness, or conflict due to individual differences, “teachers can instead focus on student work or school goals thus taking competing personal intentions out of the equation” (Jao & McDougall, 2016). In other instances where teachers are hesitant to participate due to personality conflicts, another solution is to put in place supportive mechanisms to encourage team members during uncomfortable moments” (Jao & McDougall,