As it is written in the standards and practices: “Teachers collaborate to design, plan and deliver the programme.” But what does it really mean? What is behind the word collaboration?
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What collaboration means in the PYP
I took the MTPYPH workshop twice. The first time was when I started as a PYP teacher, the second time was when I started as a PYP coordinator.
It is amazing how the content of a same workshop can seem completely different according to your experience. If you are a new coordinator, I really recommend that you take the next MTPYPH workshop at your school with new teachers. It will be a great refresh for you, and the perfect opportunity to connect with your new teachers.
It the second workshop, the workshop leader told us that collaboration is like saying to each other “you are not alone”. It resonated with me because of its simplicity.
When collaborating, teachers exchange ideas and reflections about their lessons and the students.
I think that the big idea behind the word collaboration is “sharing”.
Our responsibility as PYP coordinators is to provide all teachers with time and opportunities to discuss and share with others.
When documenting collaboration at your school, it is important that you are aware that collaboration can be found everywhere:
Collaboration can happen in grade meetings, in teaching teams, in teaching pairs, or as a whole school, for example when everybody gives ideas for class X’s UOI#3.
Collaboration can happen formally, during scheduled meetings, or informally, for example a teacher talking with her colleague at lunch about her next lesson, or what she did in her class that morning.
Collaboration can also happen across schools, if you’re lucky to have such partnerships.
Have you ever took a picture of two teachers randomly speaking about their class at lunchtime or in the hallway before going home? That could also be used as an evidence of casual collaboration happening at your school.
Making collaboration happen in an early-years setting
Collaboration happens formally (scheduled meetings) and informally (casual conversations)
Informal collaboration happens naturally, especially for the most talkative of us.
Formal collaboration needs to be planned and scheduled.
In early years settings, formal collaboration can happen in several ways:
Scheduled all-PYP staff meetings
Class teachers of a same grade share about what they have been doing with their students for the current unit. They exchange feedback and offer new ideas to each other.
Class meetings
Class teachers meet with the coordinator to plan for their next week of learning experiences. In these meetings, try not to speak too much and to let teachers plan on their own. Give them new ideas or suggest ways to improve their learning experiences and connect the contents of their discussion to the PYP elements when it is not obvious to teachers. This meeting can also be used to fill the planner. The content of this meeting is pretty flexible and depends on each teacher’s experience and familiarity with the PYP.
Scheduled meetings with single subjects teachers
Single subject teachers meet with class teachers throughout the unit. Class teachers may share the unit goals with the subject teachers and discuss how subject teachers can help. For example, the music teacher suggests songs to sing and how she can help reaching the unit goals in her class.
Of course, there are many other ways to incorporate subjects to a unit of inquiry, but as far as the early years are concerned, I think that this is sufficient and probably the best we can do. With this kind of collaboration, you should be able to cover the curriculum or scope and sequences learning outcomes within the programme of inquiry most of the time, so there is no need for stand-alone units.
Shared planners
This is probably the easiest to implement. All classes from a same grade share a single unit planner. I think that this is actually a requirement from IB. This is very efficient when you use online platform, such as Google Drive or Toddle. When a teacher plans a learning experience, she adds it to the planner. This way, all other teachers from that grade can see her lesson plan and choose to implement it in their class too. They can use it as is, or make a copy to edit on their own (and add it to the planner). All teachers also have access to past and current planners from all grades.
Final words
Despite the challenges that come with teacher collaboration, such as limited time and a lack of trust among colleagues, it is crucial for the success of a school's program. Collaboration takes effort and dedication, but the payoff is a stronger team, program, and school overall. The key is to create an environment that fosters collaboration, by providing time and resources, fostering trust and respect among colleagues, and encouraging open communication and dialogue.
Keep reading this blog to find other resources and information.
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