Learning Together: Organizing Schools for Teacher and Student Learning

A blueprint for structuring the school environment around teacher learning and collaboration as a foundation for equitable learning and student engagement

In Learning Together, Elham Kazemi, Jessica Calabrese, Teresa Lind, Becca Lewis, Alison Fox Resnick, and Lynsey K. Gibbons share findings from their decade of experience in nurturing collaborative learning cultures in elementary schools. The work offers guidance for intentionally and explicitly organizing educational institutions to prioritize and support teacher learning, which can, as the authors show, create flourishing learning systems for teachers and students alike.

As part of research-practice partnerships in six US elementary schools engaged in school improvement efforts, the authors observed that such deliberate school reorganization is the first step in meaningfully shifting practices from teacher-centered, procedure-based learning to student-centered, discussion-intensive learning that develops student agency. Through interviews with teachers and members of instructional leadership teams, they illustrate the myriad benefits of mutual learning in which educators are encouraged to grow their practice as part of teacher teams and as members of a likeminded professional community. The authors recommend practical actions--from establishing vision-driven hiring and retention practices to aligning resources such as time, funding, and professional development opportunities--that can help to cultivate a schoolwide ethos of instructional collaboration.

The wisdom highlighted in this work will be invaluable for teachers, instructional coaches, principals, district leaders, and anyone who makes decisions for students or teachers.

Elham Kazemi is a professor of mathematics education at the University of Washington. Jessica Calabrese is the chief of School Improvement in the Renton School District and was the principal at Lakeridge Elementary, the school at which the research-practice partnership originated. Teresa Lind was the mathematics coach at Lakeridge Elementary for seven years and the former leader of the mathematics coaching network for the schools at the center of the book. Becca Lewis is the current leader of the mathematics coaching network for the schools discussed in the book. Alison Fox Resnick is a researcher at the National Center for Research in Policy and Practice at the School of Education at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Lynsey K. Gibbons is an associate professor of mathematics education at the University of Delaware.