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  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
The Initiation of Professional Collaboration in an Independent School: Establishing the Groundwork for a Professional Learning Community.

The Initiation of Professional Collaboration in an Independent School: Establishing the Groundwork for a Professional Learning Community.

Kiefer, Katharin

Paperback

General Education

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ISBN10: 1244081531
ISBN13: 9781244081536
Publisher: Proquest Umi Dissertation Pub
Pages: 170
Weight: 0.69
Height: 0.36 Width: 7.44 Depth: 9.69
Language: English
Current research supports the premise that regular collaboration among teachers leads to enhanced learning on the part of students and teachers, an increase in student achievement, and a high level of job satisfaction for educational professionals. This study examines the events that occurred in an unsuccessful initiative to embed collaborative, professional learning into the routine lives of ninth and tenth grade teachers through grade-level meetings. Its purpose was to address two questions: What effect do the traditional structure and culture of the school have on an initiative to develop productive collaboration among ninth and tenth grade teachers? How do teachers and administrators involved in this initiative perceive the role of collaboration and professional learning in the life of the school? In this study I used my role as Director of Ninth and Tenth Grade Programs to facilitate the development of grade-level collaboration among teachers in the form of regularly scheduled meetings to discuss student progress. Feedback from these meetings was used to determine the participants' reactions to the initiative. Interviews were conducted to investigate how the teachers and administrators involved with ninth and tenth grade programs perceived the roles of collaboration and professional learning in the life of the school. A school culture survey provided quantitative insight into perceptions about collaboration, collegiality and efficacy in the professional community. What emerged was a picture of a school steeped in a culture of individualism. The structural obstacles that impeded the development of collective inquiry among ninth and tenth grade teachers were an artifact of a deeply held assumption that professional collaboration is not a priority for student achievement. The specific challenges defined by this study are being used to inform current initiatives to guide the community toward a more collaborative culture.

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