I began teaching in Katy ISD in the Fall of 2010. It was my 5th district to work in and my 17th year as a teacher and I felt like I was "well tuned" in my profession. I had received glowing observations from administrators, my students had found success in standardized tests, my students had learned and grown and their parents had appreciated my efforts with their children. However, I had no idea the surprises working with my new team at BHE would give me. I had never planned as a team before. Yes, I had worked with people that taught the same thing as me. We would discuss topics and ideas we were teaching. We would follow the general scope and sequence that the district would give us. We would adhere to the TEKS provided by the state to guide our teaching. But I would plan alone. I would decide when I would teach a concept and how. I would find activities, guiding documents, games, enrichment, assessments, etc. on my own. Sometimes I would do a great job, and sometimes I would come up dry. I would find myself in ruts at times, or I would spend countless time and energy creating something new. I'm not the best at keeping up with documents from year to year so I would have to rely on my memory year to year (thank goodness I was younger!), or come up with new ideas each year. Looking back, I really don't know how I did it. I don't know how I kept up with it all. Or did I?
Well, when I joined the team at BHE they were team planning. I'm not going to lie, we didn't do it especially well that year. I was overwhelmed at the idea of having to work so closely when I had held so much control over my teaching for so long. It was hard giving that up! We weren't efficient with our sharing and we had some different ideas about a lot of things. We had several different teaching styles among the four of us and we had all been successful with our own styles. They had never had someone so hard to work with as me before and perhaps the other new person on our team. I think that they were used to people just saying "yes" to their ideas and what they had done last year. It was nonnegotiable on our campus that we would team plan. Thank goodness we worked through the kinks that year. We went on to be a great team. None of those ladies are still on my team, but I still consider them all friends.
I feel my current team is powerful. We are four veteran teachers of 10 years or more teaching experience each. Our teaching styles vary somewhat, but I think that only makes us stronger as a team. Here are what I believe makes a "powerful" planning team.
1. A safe sharing environment- everyone's ideas must be accepted. We may not use every idea, but everyone's opinion is validated.
2. Everyone must bring ideas. You may not have an idea for every topic, but you need to pull your weight. You can't always rely on others to carry you.
3. Try someone else's ideas, even if they scare you a little. I have taught some of my best lessons from these very type of lessons. Get out of your box! You may not hit the jackpot every time, but your students will always love that you aren't in a rut!
4. Roadmap together to keep a good pace. We work together before the 9 week period to map out the whole 9 weeks. Now, sometimes we have to stretch a topic a little if we feel our students need more time, or move on faster if they are doing better than we expected, but we keep each other accountable for a pace that will cover all TEKS before year end.
5. Encourage and support one another! If someone is having trouble reaching a certain student, or struggling to teach a certain skill to their class, help them! Counsel them, switch classes for a day, whatever it takes! Be the teammate you would want to have!
6. Always give common assessments. For the most part, we teach concepts and skills with the same method and resources. But sometimes because of class needs, teaching styles or other reasons we might vary a little. However, we ALWAYS give common assessments. This holds accountability for us and our students. If we have tested the same way, we can disaggregate the data together and compare. We can help each other with any gaps we have (see #5).
7. Laugh together. Yes, we are here for our students, but if we are having fun we are happier and better at our job.
If you aren't team planning, start! If there isn't anyone at your school, find another teacher of your grade level in your district, town, or state. The benefits will outway the time and effort!
Do you team plan? What are your keys to success with team planning?
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