Leading Collaborative Learning

The major strength of the text addresses two points: the opportunity to really connect the need to engage in collaborative processes as a way to improve schools, and the way in which that same learning assists teachers in developing similar processes in their classrooms with students. -- Chad Ransom, Director of Second Language Services Lyn Sharratt and Beate Planche not only highlight the power of collaboration they go further to identify the key narratives to which this collective needs to attend. Their notion of collaborative learning involves systems and school leaders building collective capacity, energizing knowledge together, and moving schools from being places of plans and good intentions to centers of purposeful practice on the part of all teachers who then empower students to do the same. Who does not want to part of such a school? -- From the Introduction by John Hattie, Laureate Professor, Director Good collaboration, collaborative skills and behaviors increasingly are critical to our success in teaching and learning, and in the organization of education. Leading Collaborative Learning provides analysis and roadmaps for understanding, building and developing collaboration in the work of schools and setting the stage for deeper learning. It builds on evidence from the field and points to actions we can take to strengthen collaboration. It is an important contribution, a good read with intriguing ideas for us each to reflect upon. -- Gavin Dykes, Chair and Co-Founder Leading Collaborative Learning: Empowering Excellence is a timely, important and compelling call to collective action and professional agency. It reminds us that teachers working together on real issues of learning and teaching can be a powerful catalyst for change. This is a must read book for anyone interested in securing and sustaining authentic school and system improvement. -- Alma Harris, Director, Institute of Educational Leadership This valuable resource explains clearly and persuasively why collaborative learning really is a good idea. It challenges you to reflect deeply on your current collaborations, and offers helpful definitions, examples and tools, whatever your role in the system. A great read! -- Dr. Louise Stoll, Professor of Professional Learning If we are to move forward with making learning the central focus of schools, then we need to understand how to get past adult issues and politics, and concentrate more on authentic collaboration, which when done well can improve learning among adults and students. In Leading Collaborative Learning, Lyn Sharratt and Beate Planche show us how to do that. -- Peter DeWitt, Ed.D. Author & Consultant The credibility of Sharratt and Planche, two of Ontario's most respected curriculum leaders comes from the fact that they do not only write about what works, they have done the work! Their call for deeper learning as a result of collaboration or co-labouring takes this idea to a new level of much-needed inquiry. Their discussion of the research-informed elements for authentic learning and the related competencies further validate their assertions. I appreciate the holistic nature of their work with the focus on cognitive, interpersonal and intra-personal skills. The deconstruction of ideas related to innovation, creativity and growth mindsets and the identification of the specific behaviours of classroom teachers that build strong learning cultures will contribute significantly to our knowledge base. -- Avis Glaze, Former Chief Student Achievement Officer of Ontario, and Founding CEO It is clear that Sharratt and Planche have themselves done everything that is in the book. What is even clearer is that they have helped scores of others engage in these actions suited to their own situations. This is a book that has crystal clear concepts, co-learning galore, guided by research, grounded in practice-all devoted to deep learning by students and adults alike. -- From the Afterword by Michael Fullan, Professor Emeritus Lyn Sharratt and Beate Planche have done us all a great favor by writing this book. This well-researched resource provides a useful vocabulary for talking about and understanding Collaborative Learning, describes an incredibly helpful set of tools so that anyone can use them to lead collaborative conversations, and clearly defines a theory of action to help us organize and ground our collaborative work. -- From the Foreword by Jim Knight, President, Director Everyone knows that educators need to work better together-but the question of how to do so has rarely been addressed beyond the level of glittering generalities. In this breakthrough volume, Lyn Sharratt and Beate Planche provide busy professionals with precise action plans to build powerful and sustainable collaborative cultures in our schools. This is an indispensable contribution for all teachers, principals, and system-level leaders who are serious about uplifting learning for all students. -- Dennis Shirley, Professor Education & Editor-in-Chief Sharratt and Planche understand that effective collaborative learning means co-laboring at all levels throughout the system. In this book, they help readers be better at co-laboring, be it at the school or systems level, and they offer extensive processes and resources to make collaborative learning be growth-producing for all involved. -- Jennifer Abrams, Consultant Finally, Beate Planche and Lyn Sharratt have delivered a bold definition, provocative insights, and a clear framework for Collaborative Learning. They compel us in Leading Collaborative Learning to recognize that collaboration is a focused learning while outlining outcomes of a quality collaborative process. Sharratt and Planche have created a vital challenge for improving systems, schools and classroom practice. This book is a must read for all who wish to make a difference for the future now. -- Bill Hogarth, Director of Education (retired) Recent advances in digitised technology tend to isolate learners but isolating teachers in their Professional Learning is dangerous. While collaborative inquiry may lead to deep and meaningful insights, this kind of work is easier to describe than practice. In this important book the authors examine what it actually means to 'work together' for a common purpose. They understand the complexity and analyse its components. It is essential reading for leaders and teachers committed to improvement in students' learning through authentic research in the classroom. Full of practical advice backed up by years of successful experience - the ultimate collaborative resource. -- Alan Boyle, Author, Researcher, Consultant This exceptional book is a rich and practical resource for leaders who realize the power of working together to improve schools. In a system where collaborative practices are the norm, student achievement and well-being becomes a shared responsibility. Deeper learning is maximized for everyone. -- Joanne Robinson, Director of Professional Learning, & Linda Massey, Associate Director of Professional Learning This is more than just another book on school leadership or school improvement. Collaborative learning is essential for success, and educators working in any capacity can find information here about how their role contributes to the process. From system leaders to school leaders to teachers to students, this book clearly explains the necessity of everyone's participation in collaborative learning processes. As the authors state, participation in collaboration is a powerful way to deepen educator capacity, to increase the value of the professional capital in the school, and to harness the power of the collective. -- Melanie Mares Sainz, Instructional Coach I think the particular strength of this book is that it addresses something that is quite difficult to do, but easy to talk about-that is, establishing a collaborative culture of inquiry in a school. So many leaders talk about collaboration, but then lead by telling. This book helps leaders who may not have had the best leadership models themselves see what it looks like to co-labor (a turn of the phrase that is particularly welcome and illustrative, in my opinion) in a school setting for the good of teachers and kids. -- Jo Beth Jimerson, Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership Is your school ready to learn to meet student needs as a team? If so, Leading Collaborative Learning: Empowering Excellence is the book to help your staff learn together in order to improve student learning. -- Renee Peoples, Teaching and Learning Coach Leading Collaborative Learning: Empowering Excellence is the definitive source for your comprehensive step by step implementation of collaborative learning. This book belongs on every educator's desk. -- Mike Greenwood, District Teacher Leader,