Creating a culture of collaborative planning

Creating a culture of collaborative planning

 Primary Years Programme
Creating a culture of collaborative planning

Published August 2019

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Creating a culture of collaborative planning

Making time for collaboration

Setting the scene

Learning goals • To develop knowledge of the different ways in which schools can make
time for collaborative planning.
• To develop an understanding of how to embed a culture of collaboration
in a school.
• To be able to involve students and the wider learning community in the
reviewing of a programme of inquiry.
Learn about Collaboration
A transdisciplinary programme of inquiry

School context
International School of Stuttgart (ISS), Germany
Collaboration is central to the ethos and philosophy of the community of learners and teachers at ISS. The
school ensures that teachers have as many opportunities as possible to work together to support learning
and teaching. This teacher support material explores the ways in which the school reviewed its effective use
of time for collaborative planning and took steps to embed collaboration in the culture of the school.

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Creating a culture of collaborative planning

Valuing collaboration

In 2014 a decision was made to move the finishing time for students on a Wednesday from 2.30pm to
3.00pm. This slight increase in the school day meant that teachers effectively lost time for collaboration and
professional learning. At first it seemed like this was bad news for collaborative planning, however the
challenge actually highlighted the issue of time in a positive way. We asked ourselves, “how could we most
effectively use the time we have?”.

Figure 1
Collaboration time

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 Valuing collaboration

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Valuing collaboration

Essential agreements
To start with, we created some essential agreements so that everyone had a shared understanding of what
we valued about collaboration, and how we were going to show this in practice. Teachers worked together
in small groups to share their ideas about collaboration and what they value about working together. Once
they had their draft ideas, they added examples of how this value could be demonstrated (“We value ... so
we …”).
Each group combined with another group to share their ideas and select their favourite two. This process of
groups joining and combining their ideas continued until the whole group had its top nine, which became
our final list of essential agreements.

Our essential agreements

(the things we value and how we try to show them)
1. We value effective use of time
so we get to meetings on time, we stay focused and we “come back together” quickly (and
we stay awake!)
2. We value time to collaborate with others
(especially those we don’t see often)
so we are engaged, actively take part in the discussions and we listen to one another
3. We value diversity and differentiation
so we try to ensure all members of staff are able to contribute effectively
4. We value being able to troubleshoot together
so we listen to one another, we are empathetic and we problem solve together
5. We value learning from one another’s experiences and classes,
so we share openly with others
6. We value the importance of decisions we make together
so we respect and do our best to implement them

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 Valuing collaboration

Our essential agreements

(the things we value and how we try to show them)
7. We value time given to complete classroom-related tasks
so we use this time effectively (and we feel less stressed!)
8. We value camaraderie and humour
so we laugh together
9. We value our work-life balance
so we leave on time!

These essential agreements are displayed in the staffroom as a reference point for meetings and all
collaborative planning processes, with a plan in place for regular review.

Finding time for collaboration

Collaborative planning at ISS happens primarily through meeting with one another at different times and in
different ways. Some of these meetings are officially scheduled within the school day. Others are more
informal, but are an equally important part of developing relationships and building dialogue about
collaborative planning and reflection.
Single-subject teachers meet with the PYP coordinator once a week to discuss and review the outcomes of
the grade-level planning meetings. Single-subject teachers also connect with grade-level teachers
throughout each unit of inquiry. To facilitate this collaboration, the PYP coordinator schedules a staff
meeting every six or seven weeks so single-subject teachers can liaise directly with grade-level teachers
about the units of inquiry. Communication is also facilitated through a shared curriculum planning tool.
There are many on the market such as JumpRope, Chalk and Trello but we chose to use Rubicon Atlas as
teachers receive notifications when colleagues contribute of review planning documentation.

Modelling collaboration to our learning

community
Our increased focus on collaboration came with a change in our student community. Over the years, there
has been a significant increase in the number of students speaking a diverse range of languages. Due to
this, we have moved to a learning and teaching model which integrates home languages and additional
languages through dedicated language support teachers. These teachers worked with grade-level teachers
to plan for, adapt and change the learning experiences we had in place, which led to a greater emphasis on
collaboration—language teaching was no longer a supporting role, but an integral one. This mindset
change meant new ways of working and learning together. To facilitate this, we set up a series of meetings
throughout the to explore examples of collaborative learning communities.
In one of our meetings we looked at the concepts of perspective and teamwork, using The Kiss by Gustav
Klimt as our provocation. By recreating and reimagining this image together, making different parts into a
whole and viewing things through different perspectives, we created a reminder for ourselves about the
power of collaboration. The collaboratively drawn image is now on display to help the whole learning
community reflect on the process that we went through, and how learning is strengthened when we work
together.

Creating a culture of collaborative planning 5

Valuing collaboration

Figure 2
The Kiss by Gustav Klimt and our collaborative version

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 Valuing collaboration

What did we do? How was this picture made?

1. We divided into eight groups.
2. Each group was given a small section of a painting, a blank piece of A3 paper and some colouring
pencils.
3. Groups discussed and collaborated to draw a copy of their piece of the painting on the A3 paper.
4. When all groups were finished, the sections of the painting were put together like a jigsaw puzzle.
Does our collaborative picture look like the original painting?

Collaborating with our learning community

Towards the end of each school year, we collaboratively review our programme of inquiry in a whole-school
staff meeting. This year however we found ourselves without the time to do this, so we had to look for a
creative solution. How could we ensure all teachers got the chance to reflect and feedback on the
programme of inquiry? The solution we decided on was to display the current programme of inquiry in a
communal area of the school and invite teachers to add their comments and reflections. While they were
doing this, we realised this was a perfect opportunity to make our review visible to the whole learning
community, inviting feedback from students and parents as well.

Creating a culture of collaborative planning 7

Valuing collaboration

Figure 3
Lower school review–collaboration in action

Impact of collaboration on learning

It is a bit early to see the longer-term impact of our focus on collaboration planning will have on learning,
but what is immediately noticeable is that when you start any process with a focus on collaboration and
transparency, there is a shift in the way that community perceives that process.
The students have been having conversations about their learning and about what aspects of the units of
inquiry helped to move their learning forwards, and what aspects could be changed. With a visible
reminder in the entrance hall, these conversations have been spontaneous and throughout the day as
students come and go.
All teachers expressed their appreciation for being able to provide feedback and ideas in a meaningful way.
Finding time for all staff to meet is sometimes very challenging, so this process has helped to ensure
everyone’s voice is heard.
Parents have also expressed their gratitude and although not everyone wanted to write their ideas in a
“public” space, many have taken time to speak to the PYP coordinator or principal directly, or send them an
email with feedback and suggestions.
Overall, opening up collaboration to the whole learning community shows that we are open in our
processes, we value feedback and ideas, and we welcome dialogue with one another to help develop our
shared understanding about learning in an international community.

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Creating a culture of collaborative planning

Questions

First impressions
1. Has your school faced challenges with finding time for collaboration? If so, how did you overcome
these?
2. What evidence can you find of ISS having a “culture of collaboration”?

Deepening your understanding

1. Changes in the student community led to an increased focus on collaboration at ISS. Reflect on any
changes in your school’s learning community and how these have impacted the ways in which
teachers work and learn together. If any of these have presented challenges, how could you turn them
into opportunities?
2. ISS now invite parents and students to offer feedback and suggestions for their review of the
programme of inquiry. What are the benefits of opening up this process to the whole learning
community? How might you go about doing this in your context?

Next steps
What aspects of this learning story make you pause and think about your school context? Use these as a
starting point for reflecting on your collaborative practices and review of the programme of inquiry. Create
a plan to develop these in the coming school year.

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Creating a culture of collaborative planning

Further reading

Garmston, RJ and Wellman, BM. 2017. The Adaptive School: A Sourcebook for Developing Collaborative Groups
(third edition). Lanham, MA, USA. Rowman & Littlefield.
Honigsfeld, A and Dove, MG. 2010. Collaboration and Co-teaching: Strategies for English Learners. California,
USA. Corwin.

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Creating a culture of collaborative planning

Acknowledgement and disclaimer

The IB wishes to thank the author and school for their time and effort in making this teacher support
material.
Appearance of branded products and well-known logos in this TSM is incidental. The IBO disclaims any
endorsement by, or any association with the Intellectual property rights owners of these products and
logos.

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