CUE Rock Star Black Label - TOSA: Saturday morning (Beyond Closed Doors & Echo Chambers: Creating a Culture of Collaboration and Sharing)

Beyond Closed Doors & Echo Chambers: Creating a Culture of Collaboration and Sharing
Adina Sullivan
@adinasullivan
adinaeducation.net
San Marcos Unified School District

All Resources

1. What are the barriers / biggest hurdle preventing teachers from collaborating and sharing?

• Time
• Fear
• Competition
• Feeling superior
• Feeling inferior
• Collaboration and sharing are not valued by colleagues
• Collaboration and sharing are not valued by administrators
• Don't know how

Time may be the excuse that people make, but I think of the quote I had posted in my classroom: "If it's important to you, you will find a way; if not, you'll find an excuse."  I think it goes back to "collaboration and sharing are not valued by colleagues".  If they saw the value that comes from it, they would make the time.

2. How do we move from a culture of "Me" to a culture of "We"

• It is "OUR" work, they are "OUR" kids
• FOUR ESSENTIAL CONDITIONS (summary sheet):
• They need a reason.  Why should I change?
• There must be value. What is the value to me? How is this valued by others? Why is this even good for me?  Is what I do even valued by anyone else?  If not, why bother?
• Opportunity. When would I do this?  We are all busy and have too many things on our plate? How can I fit it in?  It will feel like something "extra" you are asking the to do.
• Models.  What does it look like? What could it look like?

3. Examples shared

• Diigo - to share articles
• Staff Wikispace - to share lessons and curriculum
• ScoopIt! Boards - added link to certain boards on email signature.  Can make group ScoopIt page for all to add to
• Teacher lesson Share (use AwesomeTable to make it easily navigate-able)
• EdTech News website (EdTech Newsletter is just a blog)
• everything links back to the same place.  Lesson share, newsletter, demo slam, teacher spotlight, etc.  You get them there for one reason and they have everything else at their fingertips.
• Demo Slam with Technology Leader Teachers
• A lot of times they just share what they are doing.  What about what others on your site - what are they doing?
• Two minute share-out.  It's timed :)
• Post about all of the slams publicly to share with those who weren't there!
• Teacher Spotlight every month
• Don't pick the teachers everyone already knows are "stars"
• Google Plus - create communities for teachers to participate in

Other Takeaways:

• Pull new teachers in early.  Show and teach them things and they will think "oh, everybody does it here".  As they start talking and sharing about it, the other teachers will start feeling like they are "behind" and (hopefully) will want to learn about the new things.

Our Ideas:

See our slide and all the others here

• Demo Slam
• During late starts, have 2-3 teachers volunteer to be a part of a "traveling slam" and visit each department to share a tech tool or strategy they are using.  
• Other setup could be like "Speed Geeking" in that the first 15-20 minutes of a late start (before department time) is in a central location and teachers rotate through 3-4 stations with other designated teachers sharing their tool/strategy.
• If size of staff is concerning, split it up so half the departments come for one Wednesday and the other half the next Wednesday.
• Last option could be TeachMeet style where one teacher is sharing with the whole staff at one time (whole group) at the beginning of a late start.
• Look at Jon Corippo's Iron Chef Slides for how he does this with students