Teaching is a lonely profession. This might seem like a paradoxical statement because teachers spend every day with up to 25 children in a primary classoom and up to 150 students in a high school and see up to 100 other staff members a day. But still, it is lonely when it is just you and the students during the day and you and planning or marking at night.
The key to avoid this is collaboration, genuine and active collaboration within subjects helps ease the load and create more inspiring learning experience. However, taken a step further and include collaboration between subjects and you have a ‘best practice’ approach for the whole school. This is where the TL can really shine.
The TL can actively lead collaboration through working hroughout faculties to help build ACARA cross-curricula priorities and general capabilities (Australian Curriculum and Reporting Authority [ACARA], n.d.). This can be done through developing Inquiry units that excite and engage students to persue their own interests while developing a real-world end product (Youth Learn, 2016).
The benefits of Inquiry Learning for student outcomes are enormous. It can embolden the 21st Century learner and the model is flexible and matches all curriculum areas, it promotes deep thinking, it encourages student collaboration, creativity and critical thinking and it encourages students to the reflect on their learning through metacognition strategies. (Together for Learning, n.d.)
This is a challenge for me as a new TL in a new school as I will have to create trusting and professionally respectful relationships across all curriculum area so tht I can encourage staff to take advantage of the skills and the resources that I have to offer. I also have to convince them to spend time and energy into something that can add value add to their course when they have been managing quite well on their own. I do not think that this type of collaboration can relieve the time management for teachers, I do believe that it can create enriched learning opportunities and more directed outcomes for students.
And when that happens, the TL and teacher can embolden students to create new learning, personal skills and a positive outlook.