Many schools, including my former school, Thoreau Middle School in Fairfax County Public Schools, Virginia, have master schedules that enable teachers who teach the same grade level (elementary schools) or the same subjects (middle or high schools) to meet regularly within the school day.
Adults have the time during their work day to address the needs of children as well as opportunities to talk with peers about the best instructional practices to use to achieve greater student learning.
The power hour team professional#
While middle school interdisciplinary teams focus on the students that the teachers had in common, the addition of professional learning communities allow teachers to meet in curriculum teams and confer about the common content they taught. More recently, we established professional learning communities in our school. Noted educational scholar Roland Barth expressed it this way: “The relationship among the adults in the building has more impact on the quality and character of the school and the accomplishments of its youngsters than any other factor.” Time and again in team meetings I saw the positive impact of collective inquiry and problem solving on student achievement. Middle schools “got it right” when they adopted the philosophical belief that the interests of students could best be served when teachers meet regularly to discuss student learning and the unique needs of early adolescents. One structure that has a positive impact on student learning as well as the relationship of adults in the workplace is teaming. As a strong culture is created, it is important to establish structures that support that culture so that beliefs and attitudes can be translated into actions and results. This month I continue that theme elaborating on the need for school leaders to create an environment for learning and promote the attitude and belief that all students can achieve at high levels. In recent issues of Just for the ASKing! my columns have focused on Creating a Culture for Learning. Bruce facilitating a Leading the Learning ® workshop
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