This
semester I have been mentoring three clinical interns, or student teachers, as
they still may be commonly known. Yes for those that are wondering, I have
three interns, all day, every day, from September until December. This unique
collaborative approach to student teaching, although time consuming, comes with
wonderful benefits for the interns and the elementary students in my classroom.
My students have had four teachers throughout the school day. That means small
grouping and more direct instruction.
In the
best interest of student learning, this co-teach model is a valuable piece. A
colleague of mine that had three interns last year gave the suggestion of having
each plan and instruct solo, allowing the rest of us to simply facilitate. Once
each intern had planned and instructed in a subject, they began collaboratively
planning and instructing. I felt that this process gave them a better
understanding of co-teaching and they could see the benefits in this
model.
With all
these positive characteristics, there have been multiple discussions regarding
working together effectively. In a collaborative model multiple personalities
come into play. It is easy to take things personally and to behave defensively
when conflicts arise. These are issues that I struggle to overcome.
Investigating
the concept of PLCs, I came across an article, which describes a structure that
should be in place in learning communities. Of the structure, the authors
mention standards that team members must remember. These include speaking from
the heart and assume good in each other, but also recognizing that the process
can get messy (Adams, A. & Vescio, V., 2015). I've used some of these
standards when coaching the interns. I would love to see this collaborative
model to expand to other schools but will not work without the understanding
that these learning communities will have issues. Ultimately the desire for
student growth is what we are most after.
