The creation of a collaborative culture requires skillful leadership
By Dennis Sparks
Teacher isolation is so deeply ingrained in the traditional fabric of schools that leaders cannot simply invite teachers to create a collaborative culture. They must identify and implement specific, strategic interventions that help teachers work together rather than alone. —Richard DuFour
If the goal is quality teaching in all classrooms for the benefit of all students, then it is essential that principals and teacher leaders create a high-performance culture which has professional learning and meaningful teamwork at its core.
The creation and maintenance of such a culture against the forces of entropy require intentional, skillful leadership. It does not happen by accident.
Successful principals and teacher leaders are clear about the attributes of such cultures and take daily actions to promote them.
They understand, for instance, the importance of:
- collective efficacy (together we can achieve our goals),
- candor (we say what we think in our meeting rooms, not the parking lot),
- and promise keeping (we understand that continuous progress requires making and keeping our promises to one another).
In your experience, what specific, strategic interventions help teachers work together rather than alone?
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