Mehemea ka moemoeā ahau, ko ahau anake.
Mehemea ka moemoeā a tātou, ka taea e tātou.
Te Kirihaehae Te Puea Herangi, 1883–1952
If I dream, I dream alone.
If we all dream together, we will succeed.
Teachers do not need to know how to do everything. However, they do need to know who can help them and how to work with others to support student learning. As leaders of learning, teachers collaborate and grow with others to ensure all their students are successful learners. It is how people work together that matters. When the focus is on effective ways of planning and communicating, building relationships, and listening to one another, those involved can build a successful school community and effective teams.
Working together is about building a school community and a culture where people are welcome and feel able to be involved.
As a teacher or leader, you may be a member of several teams providing additional support for students.
An important aspect of working together is shared planning. Shared planning is collaborative and draws on the knowledge of students and those who know them best.
Partnerships and collaboration don’t just happen. They are supported by processes that focus on positive ways of working together and effective, regular communication.
Relationships between the student, the teacher, and whānau provide the core interactions for building a rich knowledge of the student’s capabilities, needs, and aspirations.
As schools move towards inclusive practice, it is important that staff support one another to work together.
Published on: 12 May 2015
