ESTABLISHING A COLLABORATIVE WORKING GROUP
As part of the Teaching Fellows Program, Fellows explore their own teaching practice through practitioner inquiry. Seeking to recreate the Knowles experience at her school, Michelle invited colleagues to join in her in exploring inquiry and student learning as a collaborative working group. During the fall semester of the 2015–2016 school year, the group of approximately five teachers met on a monthly basis to reflect on their teaching practice, and share data and artifacts that demonstrate student learning. “That group was very helpful for me. To some extent it was just nice to take a deep breath and sit with colleagues,” shared a veteran biology teacher who participated in the collaborative working group. “It also offered a very focused opportunity to reflect on my practices and consider other’s experiences as well. It sparked conversations that continued in the office and ideas that would percolate into new approaches to teaching.”