Collaborate with Others

Students thrive in classrooms in which teachers have worked together to develop lessons and a community of learners.10 Many of the strategies described here can be implemented successfully only after months and, in many cases, years of experience. More experienced teachers have a wealth of knowledge gained from hard-won successes and painstaking challenges; it is their responsibility to share this resource with less-experienced teachers, just as it is the privilege of those newer to the profession to learn from the wisdom of those who know what it is to put theory into practice.

At the same time, young teachers often bring enthusiasm, ideas from leading educators, and a familiarity with recent educational research, which can benefit everyone in a school. Since every teacher has a unique teaching style and range of teaching and learning experiences, everyone benefits from collaboration. Teachers can learn from area business and industry volunteers who are willing to share how they use mathematics in the workplace. Higher education faculty in the mathematical sciences can also be a valuable resource.

Lesson study: A model of collaboration

Lesson study is an innovative professional development method that uses teacher collaboration as its cornerstone. Through extensive team planning, observation, and systematic feedback, teachers work together to maximize each other's effectiveness in order to best benefit the students.

To learn more about lesson study, see the lesson study page of the RBS Web site, http://www.rbs.org/lesson_study/.

Jeremy Kilpatrick, et al., Adding It Up: Helping Children Learn Mathematics (Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 2001), pp. 344-45.