By CHRISSY MILLS
Principal, Akron Elementary School

When teachers work in collaborative teams schools are more likely to see gains in student achievement, find higher quality solutions to problems, promote increased confidence among staff, create an environment in which teachers support one another’s strengths and accommodate weaknesses, provide support for new teachers, and provide all staff with access to an expanded pool of ideas, materials, and methods.

Teachers at all Tippecanoe Valley Schools spend a great deal of time collaborating; working together to make sure we are giving our students all the opportunities and support they need to be successful.

Collaboration occurs daily for teachers at Akron Elementary School. Akron teachers meet two mornings a week, before school for forty minutes each day. During the school day, schedules allow teachers the opportunity to collaborate together within their grade level teams.

During these meetings teachers take a closer look at student data, review academic state standards, discuss assessments, plan curriculum, and much more. Collaboration drives our instruction which in turn helps meet our students’ academic needs.

Teachers are not the only group that collaborates in our building. On a daily basis students are collaborating with peers and teachers. Collaborative learning can occur peer-to-peer or in large groups.

Peer learning, or peer instruction, is a type of collaborative learning that involves students working in pairs or small groups to discuss concepts, or find solutions to problems.

Collaboration often occurs during Reader’s, Writer’s, and Math Workshop after students are introduced to course material through readings, videos, or teacher lead discussion.

Teachers have found that through peer instruction, students teach each other by addressing misunderstandings and clarifying misconceptions. We have found that students who reach out to each other during collaborative time have better communication skills, which leads to deeper thinking and learning.

Collaboration is a daily commitment and a core value at Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation.

At all TVSC Schools:

• We value collaboration amongst students, staff, parents, and community.
• We believe in shared decision-making.
• We believe in seeking feedback and input.
• We believe collaboration is a lifelong skill.
• We believe that together we can accomplish more than we can on our own.

Tippecanoe Valley teachers are committed to working together every day to make our students and our schools successful and positive learning environments.