True Collaboration

In many classrooms, the first week is dedicated to getting to know you activities and then teachers dive into the curriculum that needs to be taught. This year, I did things a little differently than I normally do. Each day, I focused on a different essential question that would help our classroom develop as a community.Day one's question was "Who Am I?" Each activity we completed allowed students to learn abouot themselves as an individual. Students participated in games that allowed themselves to express their emotions, project their voices, and gave them the opportunity to share their personalities.

Day two's focus question was "Who am I as a learner?" We spent a great deal of time discovering what our strengths and weaknesses were as learners in our classroom, what stresses us out as learners, what do we need as learners.Day three's focus was "What is my role in a team?" The day consisted of MANY team building activities that forced students into roles they may have been uncomfortable with so I could see their leadership capabilities.
Day four and five focused on leadership and communication. We played games again and discussed what type of leaders are easiest to follow and how we communicated with one another.
The nature of my classroom is different than the way that I was taught in the 80s and 90s. At that time, students didn't have much of a voice in the way they learned. In my classroom, there are many times where I am a facilitator in the learning and my students are driving our lessons. It is an amazing thing to watch and to listen to. My students know exactly what they need in order to succeed. Some teachers are uncomfortable with this type of structure, but it has freed me up to really work with my students in more depth. I know exactly what they struggle with because they share that and recognize the challenges they are facing.

Collaboration is huge in my room. Students are ALWAYS working in groups, discussing with one another, and creating projects together. I feel that when true collaboration is taking place, the product or learning should be greater than what one person can create alone. This week we discussed this concept and my students now agree. We all feel that the work generated by a group should be far better.

I am so excited to see the end results of spending a week focusing on these team building concepts. I have an amazing group of students that I believe will rise to the challenge. Check back to see how things turn out.