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When I started my teaching journey 11 years ago, I entered the field with a self-sufficient, “lone operator” mentality; when approaching a task or a problem, I did not even consider including others in the thinking. This mindset reflected my own high school and college experience of never having a chance to collaborate with peers. It wasn’t until I was in my teacher education program that I realized I was embodying a culture of individualism, rather than one of community. However, as soon as I started to consider myself as a part of a collaborative group, my mindset began to shift. I began to ask questions like, “How do I authentically engage with other teachers?”, “What ideas do other teachers have about teaching?”, and “How can I meaningfully collaborate with other teachers?”

The first year: listening and asking

When entering one’s first year of teaching, it is important to observe and take in how other teachers are engaging in their classrooms and in other contexts. Whether it be in the school building, a hallway, or the larger school community, the experts are the veteran teachers who have “been there”; they represent a wealth of knowledge that can be tapped into for all kinds of advice. Reaching out to these veteran teachers for ideas and support can be the push that starts building the bridge of collaboration.

In my first year of teaching, I wanted to form connections with my science department colleagues, but there wasn’t much opportunity to do so outside of department meetings. So, I asked some colleagues whether, during my prep period, I could observe their classes. I was nervous to ask this, because I thought they might be suspicious of my motivations. But to my surprise, every colleague said they’d be excited to have a guest in their classrooms! Each time I observed a class, I jotted down “noticing’s and wonderings” so that I could prepare to have conversations with these experienced colleagues. I also took the opportunity to harvest ideas to bring back into my own classroom.

One day, while observing a biology teacher colleague’s class, I noticed some effective classroom routines that seemed both simple and brilliant. At the start of class, the teacher gave the students a short quiz on vocabulary terms and ideas from the previous class session. When the students finished, they exchanged quizzes with others at their table and graded them with the teacher’s direction. I thought…this could save me some time grading! Equally impressive, after the quiz, the students apparently KNEW to pick up daily handouts from the back of the room, because it was clearly a part of a routine. The teacher had stacks of papers in a certain area, and students did not have to be asked to collect the day’s handouts. After observing how well that process worked, I never again spent valuable classroom time walking around the room to hand out papers.

Another useful routine I learned was from a different science teacher, who had bins in the back of the room for past and future handouts. The bins were organized by subject and class hour. While observing, I noticed that students who had been absent from the previous class headed straight to the bins when they walked into class to pick up the work they’d missed, without being told to by the teacher. In my opinion, the best part of this routine was that it eliminated students’ need to ask, “Did I miss anything yesterday?”

As a new teacher, observing experienced colleagues allowed me to see, firsthand, how effective simple changes in my classroom could be. To this day, I still use the routines that I picked up from my colleagues in those first years.

Finding new colleagues

Teachers may develop a connection and trust with certain colleagues, creating a small circle of support within the school building. But, by branching out beyond the building to connect with teachers who share other commonalities, valuable new perspectives can emerge. I have found advantages in collaborating in different groups with teachers who teach the same subject, have similar amounts of experience, or simply share similar teaching philosophies.

Figure 1. The author posing by his classroom sign for the first day of school.

These kinds of collaborations can support growth in diverse ways, because teachers can choose groups whose conversations and interactions allow them to focus in on certain ideas and to expand their own thinking. Furthermore, as teaching is a demanding job, those few colleagues in your building may not always have time to help you exactly when you need it. Collaborating with a variety of different groups can be practical, valuable, and fulfilling.

At my school, I am the only AP Chemistry teacher, so some of my questions and needs cannot be addressed by my immediate colleagues. This is why I decided to look for a community in which I could engage in such conversations. I tried to think of a way for me to practically explore, without it being too much of a lift — which is how I found Facebook group communities. I am now part of several Facebook communities of chemistry teachers from all over the world that regularly engage in conversation and collaboration.

My need to discuss questions and concerns about teaching AP Chemistry was best met by an AP Chemistry Facebook group. When I originally joined the group, I treated it like my first year of teaching, as I observed and silently collected ideas. Eventually, I developed the courage to ask questions, share resources, and ask for feedback. I don’t know what I was expecting, but the quick and thoughtful feedback I received from this community exceeded any expectation I may have had. Participating in this way has led to some of the most substantial learning so far in my career as an educator.

I once posted a question to the AP Chemistry Facebook group asking for activity suggestions for teaching molecular geometry. I shared that I, myself, had always found it boring when I’d just tell the students about the shapes and expect them to memorize the information. That post blew up, with many different teachers commenting and contributing activities in the chat, some sharing their own ideas and others recommending activities and tagging the people who originally shared them.

I eventually chose one of those activities, originally posted on ChemEdX, and it fit my needs perfectly. In this activity, students created 3-dimensional molecular models using Styrofoam and sticks while investigating shape and structure using a PhET simulation. I was very excited to introduce this activity to my class, and I could tell that my students really enjoyed it! Following common practices of this Facebook group, I took pictures during my lesson to share in a post, along with a commentary of my thoughts and experiences.

For me, asking the AP Chemistry Facebook group for ideas was a big step toward more effective collaboration. The responses I received inspired me to bravely start sharing my own resources. My first contribution was a set of documents I had created based on a resource available through AP Classroom, an online platform used by AP Chemistry teachers and students for testing and review resources specific to the AP Chemistry exam. These documents represented a lengthy effort on my part to create a template for making my own review questions, and I thought others might appreciate having the template without needing to spend time curating and formatting it.

The reception I got from the community was overwhelmingly positive, and it felt great to be able to contribute! That move empowered me to become more of a “giver” in the community, and I am now a regular contributor of both resources and advice — and I still continue to ask questions as well.

The power of giving and collaborating

During the last school year, I was interested in learning about a curriculum that is gaining popularity in science education: OpenSciEd. OpenSciEd uses an instructional model, based on the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), that has been thoughtfully curated over the last few years to help teachers guide students to learn scientific concepts through natural world phenomena.

Teachers in my various communities had been sharing mixed opinions on this curriculum, so I had to ask myself, “Is OpenSciEd the right curriculum for my current context?” I decided the best way to answer this would be to engage in meaningful discussions with teachers who use this curriculum. So, I created a presentation about the curriculum to share what I knew and to invite discussion about my questions and concerns. I then wrote a proposal to share the presentation at the NSTA spring conference and was excited when it was accepted!

Before the conference, I decided to try out my presentation during a district professional development session. In addition to the feedback and ideas that were shared throughout my presentation, many of my colleagues also gave me honest and thoughtful feedback about the presentation itself and suggested questions I should be able to answer during my NSTA presentation. A few of my colleagues were even interested in joining me on this journey. I had to wonder; would we have been able to have such collaborative discourse if I hadn’t started building that relationship with them in my first years?

In my 60-minute presentation at the NSTA conference, I had participants work through parts of one of the OpenSciEd lessons and consider how it might work in their own chemistry classrooms. I shared my thoughts, along with those of my colleagues, and invited discussion among the participants. The discussions centered around similarities and differences of this lesson as related to our current practices, and implications of adopting this curriculum into our schools.

After this lively and productive session, I had gathered a list of teachers who wanted to continue engaging around this curriculum after the conference. In forming this collaborative space by proposing a session, I was able to learn more about the curriculum while also creating a network of collaborators I can work with along this journey. Further, I had a lot of thoughts and ideas to bring back to my department colleagues to continue the conversation in my own school. This presentation, and its results, are great examples of the momentum that naturally builds when collaboration is embraced.

Getting started as a collaborator

Collaboration is an important practice for sustainability in the teaching profession. Without realizing it, teachers can drift into working in isolation: they enter the building in the morning, teach all day, and then leave in the afternoon, often without having had a single conversation with another adult. This kind of habit threatens to make teaching as a career seem lonely and inconsequential. Finding connections with other teachers can break down the walls of isolation, adding meaning to a career and leading to powerful effects in the classroom.

I suggest that if you want to start collaborating with other teachers, start small. Show other educators that you value their thoughts and opinions by asking for ideas and listening. This initial move can open the door to collaboration with your colleagues or with other teacher communities. When you ask for support, you open a dialogue and begin to build community; in building this “community of asking,” you are forming a brave and collaborative space in which participants can grow in both comfort and confidence.

Collaborative spaces do not just appear out of thin air. Somebody must create the space and invite others to join. Somebody else must be open to joining that space. There are a lot of different ways an individual teacher, like you, could expand your collaborative opportunities. You could facilitate a workshop during scheduled professional development time or consider presenting at a national conference. You could send out a social media request to propose a discussion topic, gauge interest in something you hope to talk about, or even create a new group with a specific focus. If you are new to collaboration, you can search for groups on social media and start participating with local and national associations related to what you teach.

No matter how you start, at least two great things are likely to happen: (1) you’ll feel validated by learning that other teachers have similar needs as you do; and (2) you’ll hold yourself accountable for growing through collaboration. In the momentum of collaboration that builds, you may begin to transition from being an educator who asks, to being an educator who is asked. Collaboration is a two-way street; you can be aware of needs you have, but you must also realize you have knowledge to offer. Spend some time observing others and asking questions, and you can eventually find your own balance of asking and giving within your chosen collaboration spaces.