https://padlet.com/ndd243/w3zxrrcv5o5o Communication patterns among educators en-us 2017-09-14 11:48:06 UTC 2017-09-14 13:25:40 UTC hello@padlet.com ndd243 https://padlet.com/ndd243/w3zxrrcv5o5o/wish/187520269 Mr. Checkowski is a high school math teacher for a school in Trenton, NJ. It is his 2nd year of teaching.

In my interview with Mr. Checkowski, we spoke a lot about co-teaching. He spoke about assistant teachers in his school. They would help him a lot when teaching a classroom with multiple students with IEPs. Communication with the assistant teachers prior to the class is something that he highly stressed. He talked about being on the same page and the importance of this for time and resource management.

He is a teacher in the Teach for America program. Mr. Checkowski said that he really did not have any classes on co-teaching so he was not as comfortable collaborating with other teachers on this subject. Something that has helped him a lot is the professional development his school does about once a week. Although it is not focused on co-teaching all the time, he says that some of the sessions that are focused on it have taught him a lot. ]]> 2017-09-14 12:29:58 UTC https://padlet.com/ndd243/w3zxrrcv5o5o/wish/187520269 ndd243 https://padlet.com/ndd243/w3zxrrcv5o5o/wish/187524185 Ms. Serafin is a 9th grade science teacher at a school in Philadelphia. She is part of a program in which she has worked in a cohort of students and has learned how to teach from a mentor teacher. Her experience in this program has made her much more comfortable with collaborating with other teachers. It is her 1st official year as a teacher at this school.

When I spoke with Ms. Serafin, we mainly spoke about the importance of collaboration. She is a heavy believer in collaboration and does not think she would survive without it. She thinks that one of the most important things necessary for effective collaboration is listening. She works with a team of other teachers that she called a grade level team because it consisted of the rest of the 9th grade teachers. She raved about the ways in which this team has personally helped her with so many things as a beginner teacher. From learning ideas to resource sharing, she does not think she would be able to function without her team.  Ms. Serafin says that "many brains make great teaching." ]]> 2017-09-14 12:39:00 UTC https://padlet.com/ndd243/w3zxrrcv5o5o/wish/187524185 ndd243 https://padlet.com/ndd243/w3zxrrcv5o5o/wish/187531197 Mr. Rooney is a 6th grade math teacher at Sandy Run Middle School, a school in the Upper Dublin School District. It is his 4th year teaching.

For the majority of the time, Mr. Rooney and I spoke about consultation. I thought he had a great definition of consultation. He would define it as "communicating with colleagues on advice, constructive criticism, and feedback." He believes that the ability to accept criticism is a very important part to effective consultation. Accepting that teachers might be better than you are is a huge part to educating students effectively.

One common thread I found in my discussion with Mr. Rooney is the importance of resources. One big resource is time. Educators need to be flexible with their resources in order to work well as a team. Sometimes, with a lack of resources, especially classroom resources for specific activities, you are forced to spend out of your own pocket. This is reality that is sometimes necessary for you to get the most out of collaborating and learning new ways to effectively educate. ]]> 2017-09-14 12:53:44 UTC https://padlet.com/ndd243/w3zxrrcv5o5o/wish/187531197