Collaborative Adult Learning Time Within the Daily Schedule

Creating schedules that include time for collaborative adult learning within the school day offers benefits for students and teachers alike.  

“Research suggests that there’s an exceptionally strong relationship between communal learning, collegiality, and collective action (key aspects of professional learning communities) and changes in teacher practice and increases in student learning… Teachers have to learn new ways to teach, ways to teach they likely never experienced themselves and that they rarely see their colleagues engage in.” From Alison Gulamhussein in “Teaching the Teachers”

Providing collaborative time for adult learning allows teachers to process teaching strategies and challenges together and allows opportunities for feedback from peers. These interactions occur in non-evaluative and non-threatening contexts, allowing educators to refine their teaching methods without the pressures of formal assessment.

Schools should build time for adult collaboration within the daily schedule, to allow teachers and leaders the opportunity to experience and model the kinds of deeper learning that they are creating for students, and give teachers the time to engage with new practices and skills in meaningful and authentic ways with colleagues.

Keys to Success: Focused Use of Time • Connected to School Goals • Leadership that Models Learning • Protocols for Equity of Voice • Dedicated Time for Adult Relationship Building • Community Agreements