Highly competent teachers who collaborate in planning and problem solving - Assignment Example

Highly Competent Teachers Who Collaborate in Planning and Problem Solving Transforming traditional schools into successful modern education systems is possible with the three main components of collaboration, planning and problem solving (Darling-Hammond, 2010). Collaboration is an important interface which enables administrators, teachers and students to achieve desired learning goals through common vision of education and their practical application. Nevin, Villa and Thousand (2008) are of the view that competent teachers understand that success lies in collaborative planning.

Collaborative planning is important for members of the group to experience synergy in thinking, generating solutions, and smoothen the process to achieve goals through step-by-step guide. Moreover, collaborative planning in education enables educators and learners to work on the same problem - real world situations - and solve them through shared knowledge. The teacher becomes part of the team and attempt to solve individual learning problems. They jointly stimulate solution finding and hence initiate systematic and practical learning.

In practice, classrooms teachers can play the important role of change agent because they can facilitate hands-on experience for students through interactive and tactile learning environment. With the goal to induct students into practical settings like college and workplace in mind, teachers can develop learning structures such as:i. Forethought - the act of preparing students for thinking and processing new information based on learned principles; ii. Performance - the ability to act and apply knowledge on a given situation or problem and self-monitor performance; andiii.

Reflection - the ability to reflect on self-performance and skills used to solve problems, whether effective or ineffective (Juan et al 2012). In addition, teachers who are competent recognize efficacy of personalization and relationship building to filter weak students from smart ones. Not will they stop at this but arrange for equitable learning environment involving shared tasks, knowledge, and peer learning. They will also assess performance not only based on right or wrong answers but how problems have been solved, leadership qualities, knowledge application and so on.

Assessment of collaborative planning and problem solving outcomes is imperative for students’ motivation for further education. Assessment criteria should be fair, explicit and systematic in order to reach to a mutually accountable assessment outcome. For this to be viable, students should be given collaborative projects with collective outcomes but assessed based on their contribution in the project. Some examples of practical projects include presentation, field research, and real-life problem/case study.

Students might work on these projects in collaboration with peers but they will be assessed based on ability to work in a team as well as independently. The objective of such a plan is to ensure students learn how to think and interact in a work environment yet distinguish themselves as individuals. They also learn to share and exchange knowledge without challenging each other. Ultimately, the learning outcome would be constructive knowledge and skills acquired through education. Hence, competent teachers make an important component for successful transformation of schools and achieving their education goals.

They are the foundation for students and administrators for effective dissemination of education which lasts beyond the classrooms. ReferencesDarling-Hammond, L. (2010). The flat world and education. Teachers College Press. Juan, A. et al (2012). Technology-Enhanced Systems and Tools for Collaborative Learning Scaffolding. Springer. Nevin, A., Villa, R., & Thousand, J.S. (2008). A guide to co-teaching with paraeducators: practical tips for K-12 educators. Corwin Press.