Reigniting Collaboration

As we perch on the cusp of the 2025 school year, it's hard not to pose and ponder the questions that may lie ahead.

Reading Derrick Wenmoth's blog post 'Creating the future' brings a few wonderings to mind.

It is very clear that, like no other year before that I have taught in, the government is going to have a huge impact on what is occurring within the walls of the classrooms. Whether it is due to:

• the stipulations placed on the teaching time allocated to the core curriculum areas of Reading, Writing, and Math.
• the new curriculum implementation.
• Implications of increased CRT on classroom continuity.

So many changes in a short time span can only be disruptive. 

As always, there is the disparity between the declarative knowledge of what the expectations are, and the functional knowledge actually being implemented within classrooms and kura. It is only as strong as the collective understanding.

Already I am seeing differentiation around the expectations that are held from teachers, Leadership Teams, Kura... In a situation where there appeared to have been a very clear and consistent message delivered, the message on the ground does not appear to have been received or interpreted quite as clearly.

Up until the middle of term 4, my Across School Leader role covered the implementation of the new curriculum, so I like to think that I have an in-depth understanding of it, due to the countless hours I delved into every document published, and the many posts of other who were also seeking to gain an in-depth understanding. I have found it somewhat confusing, disconcerting and alarming that many in our profession have picked up unusual lens' with which they are viewing the changes.

Collaboration.

One of the best innovations that I have seen within education in the past 15+ years can be summed up by collaboration.

Teachers used to hold resources, lessons, ideas anything they had created for themselves, or found from another source... It would be kept close to their chests. On the rare occasion somebody ventured into their classroom and spotted a fantastic specimen, the praise would be welcomely received, however, it wold often not be readily shared. Teachers were in silos and expected they needed to reinvent the wheel day in and day out. 

It is one of the best changes in education, having teachers eagerly sharing ideas, resources, and creations not only among their inner circle but happily with strangers across the motu. Is this not the type of society we wish to create?

Students learning to effectively collaborate is one of the most important foundations of social skills that has come to fruition in that same time period. It's long been known how much of an impact classroom design has on effective teaching and learning. Once upon a time, hours were spent on seating plans and desk layouts. I for one was a child for which this shirt would be appropriate:

 

As I said, it's been many a year since I ditched the desk layout. I had a collaborative space, where there was a mix of group tables and individual/pair seating options for students to explore working at. I firmly believe that this encourages them to be accountable for their learning by choosing an area they can work well, as well as those individuals among their peers that they work well with. They are also required to be accountable for positive learning behaviours. After a year of observing a highly teacher-directed learning environment, it is these key aspects that were missing. These were the key aspects of learning behaviour that I saw slipping. 

One of the first things I find myself observing when visiting a new classroom space, is the ability for learners to collaborate in learning tasks.

In the 1980's, open-plan classrooms first appeared under various names. They had sliding doors that were quickly utilised by teachers who didn't want to adapt their practice to embrace the change. Post-earthquake Christchurch saw schools demolishing walls to retrofit classrooms in preparation for replacement buildings that were being built. We learned from the past... well "We" did in the kura I was in. It was identified that teachers understanding the pedagogy behind collaborative teaching, and the various models was of utmost importance. Teachers who learned this, and adapted practice, thrived... and I like to think that their learners did too.

Fast forward to now. Many of our spaces have had doors installed, where walls were once removed. 

Where is the encouragement for the early adapters? Why are the reluctant adapters often in positions of decision-making?