Collaboration is a foundation of success in a school building. Collaboration between administrators, teachers, and students is equally important. In this article, author Ben Johnson discusses the importance of teacher collaboration as well as how to get the most out of teacher collaboration.

The first piece of advice that Johnson gives us when it comes to teacher collaboration is to avoid teacher isolation. Johnson has witnessed too many teachers who like to isolate themselves in their classrooms. This is not beneficial for the teacher or for the teacher’s students. Collaboration is a part of professional development.

Next, Johnson gave us some steps on how to get the most out of teacher collaboration. His five suggestions are to build relationships, observe the best, ask questions, share, and come prepared. First, it is very important to build relationships with your professional peers. I think this is especially important for new teachers. Building relationships with other teachers sets the stage for collaboration. Second, observe as many teachers as you can. This gives you the opportunity to gain classroom management skills, group work ideas, ideas for classwork, and so much more. Luckily, I have been given this opportunity quite a bit during my 50 hour, 80 hour, and 100 hour observations at multiple schools with multiple teachers. Third, ask questions to foster teacher collaboration. Johnson suggests creating a “how to” and “why for” questions list about when, how, and why other teaching professionals do something. I did this the other day in my student teaching classroom when my mentor teacher had to discipline a student. I asked “how to” discipline in that circumstance. Fourth, is to share what you are struggling with in your own classroom. It is okay to not be the perfect teacher 24/7! One of the best ways to fix your classroom struggles is to talk to other teachers and search for their suggestions. Lastly, come prepared to collaborative meetings. The more you give the more you will gain in these collaborative settings. Remember… collaboration is a two way street!