Collaborative Culture

In their book Leaders of Learning, DuFour and Marzano write the following on p. 67: "The focus must shift from helping individuals to become more effective in their isolated classrooms and schools, to creating a new collaborative culture based on interdependence, shared responsibility, and mutual accountability."  I've been thinking about some of the different parts of that statement, specifically: 1) isolated classrooms; 2) collaborative culture; and 3) mutual accountability.

First, what do we mean by "isolated"? Is it location?  Is it a work habit?  Is it the way that teacher is treated by others in the building?  I'm confident that the authors meant that we needed to go from focusing on individual teachers to targeting collaborative communities.  But, teachers can still be and/or feel "isolated" even when part of a collaborative community, if the community is not committed to equal partnership. And, some teachers in a building teach stand-alone courses; thus, even if they are part of a larger department, teachers can feel isolated.

I think the answer lies in how the second term, "collaborative culture," is understood and implemented.  As the authors write on p. 69: "Educators...are asked to relate to colleagues and students in new ways."  In a sense, we must forget the past and work toward a new future.  Everyone has the capacity to grow and change, and we must provide them an opportunity to do so.  Just like we would not give up on a student in our classroom, we must never give up on a colleague.  Culture is how we operate; the "feel" to what we are doing.  A successful collaborative culture means that everyone is committed to the process, even when it is hard and long.

However, we must be accountable to each other in some way that is meaningful.  Who among us doesn't have a horror story about being part of a group working on a project when someone didn't pull their weight? As teachers, we know the value of group work for our students, so why don't we value the same among ourselves?  Is it a lack of trust?  Is it an issue of control?  Is it our past experiences with some of the people in our group?  Just as teachers must ensure accountability among group members in the classroom, I suggest that a principal or other building leader must ensure accountability among teacher members of a collaborative community.  Not as a "hammer," but more a measuring tape or guide of full support (maybe the sawhorse?  Never mind).  And, teachers need to acknowledge and own their mutual accountability to each other.

Instructional coaches can be very helpful in assisting principals to set up successful collaborative teams, and thus help foster a positive collaborative culture.  But ultimately, the teachers need to make it work.  I believe that given the right atmosphere, all teachers would want to collaborate (and not be isolated).  But the field of education hasn't always done a good job of creating that atmosphere.  Let's hope we've turned the corner.

JW