Conversations


 * How does your school/district currently support and or encourage collaboration between teachers?
 * How much do you seek to collaborate with teachers and how do you accomplish this?
 * To what extent do you think collaboration is of growing importance for teachers seeking to implement a 21st century classroom?

I think that Malden has done a good job of providing opportunities for teachers to collaborate. Whether through content meetings with the department, or this online course, the chance is there for us to collaborate on a regular basis. This is especially true in the history department. We have been working together all year in content teams on everything from curriculum planning to mid-term open responses.

I do seek to collaborate with other teachers as much as I can. I am fortunate to be on a content team with three solid contributors. I think that we all feed off each other and each of us brings to the table something to contribute to the group as a whole. As with everything else there is very little time in our busy schedule. We do our best to collaborate as much as possible, but it can be tough.

I think collaboration is of major importance when it comes to implementing a 21st century classroom. Some of the teaches are more technologically literate than others and can provide a great deal of help. If we are going to be successful in implementing these new technologies everyone needs to share their what they have tried so we can all work together to see what went well and what can be changed. It is through this process that the 21st century classroom will truly come alive and be what we all want it to be.