Teacher collaboration within school ecosystems

Abstract

Background of the Study: As teacher educators, we observe teachers collaborating in different social contexts. Yet, although we could see that there are many benefits for teachers who collaborate, authentic collaboration is not easy to achieve. This is partly due to the lack of opportunities in schools for teachers to observe each other and share practices, and also due to lack of cultures which encourage and reward teachers who work together. We thus find it important to explore these practices with the purpose of informing our future work in schools and with teachers. Methodology: Discussions with two, purposefully selected, groups of teachers working in different schools were held. Our decision to select these groups was based on the fact that we knew these teachers well and had established a good rapport with them as a result of our work as teacher educators. One group consisted of nine teacher mentors and the other consisted of two teachers doing co-teaching. Findings: Using schools as ecosystems, we identify four key dimensions to understand teachers’ learning environment. These dimensions draw on the work of Toutain, Gaujard, Mueller and Bornard (2014). ). The main themes discussed are Framework, Culture, Network, & Learning spaces.