Help with working with colleagues

by Luisa

Jul 30, 2016

I could desperately use advice with lesson planning with colleagues. This year I will be teaching along side a couple other teachers in Spanish 3. Prior to that I taught a different level alone so it's been a while since I've had to work with a group. How do I go about making suggestions or creating new assignments without offending the others? There is one assignment in particular that I would like to revise without hurting anyone's feelings. Do I just make an alternative and use it in my class and keep my mouth shut? Do I ask ahead of time? Do I go ahead and make up my version and share it with them? All of the teachers agreed that this assignment didn't go well and the students had a very tough time with it but plan on using it again this year. Also, like any school, there are cliques and a decent level of gossip behind the scenes. I tend to keep a low profile and don't want to put anyone off right from the start.

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gloria Just for me personally, I would make up a second version of the difficult assignment and let the teachers know you are doing the same assignment but are making some changes to it in hopes that it will go better. If they seem receptive to the idea, share your version with them. Most teachers I have worked with in the past welcome suggestions, ideas...See More

Aug 2, 2016

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Luisa Thank you so much Gloria! Great advice!

On 8/02/16, gloria wrote: > > Just for me personally, I would make up a second version of > the difficult assignment and let the teachers know you are > doing the same assignment but are making some changes to > it in hopes that it will go better. If they seem receptive to the > id...See More

Aug 7, 2016

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James in Belgium First of all, be glad that there is discussion and a will to collaborate among teachers.

Next, your team should define the parameters of your collaboration and the extent to which they would like the different sections to be the same. Here, a backward design approach works well, starting with the lesson/unit test, < quizzes < a few ...See MoreFirst of all, be glad that there is discussion and a will to collaborate among teachers.

Next, your team should define the parameters of your collaboration and the extent to which they would like the different sections to be the same. Here, a backward design approach works well, starting with the lesson/unit test, < quizzes < a few assignments < core vocabulary & grammar.

Visually, a Vinn diagram can be used to show what will be common to each course section and to show how each teacher maintains individuality and freedom of choice. If you are 3 teachers, draw 3 intersecting circles. This is the same advice for the tests. A test need not be 100&37; common to all teachers.

You wrote that from the previous year a problem was noted with an assignment. Don't be bashful about seeking improvement. Including your team is a positive gesture. Be scientific in your approach to improvement. Don't expect perfection and you should be content with the results.

When your team agrees on common and non-common assignments and also variations, your team is truly working collaboratively.

Good luck,

James

On 7/30/16, Luisa wrote: > I could desperately use advice with lesson planning with > colleagues. This year I will be teaching along side a > couple other teachers in Spanish 3. Prior to that I > taught a different level alone so it's been a while since > I've had to work with a group. How do I go about making > suggestions or creating new assignments without offending > the others? There is one assignment in particular that I > would like to revise without hurting anyone's feelings. > Do I just make an alternative and use it in my class and > keep my mouth shut? Do I ask ahead of time? Do I go > ahead and make up my version and share it with them? > All of the teachers agreed that this assignment didn't go > well and the students had a very tough time with it but > plan on using it again this year. Also, like any school, > there are cliques and a decent level of gossip behind the > scenes. I tend to keep a low profile and don't want to > put anyone off right from the start.

Aug 9, 2016

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