ERIC Number: EJ1173998
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018-Feb
Pages: 5
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0276-928X
EISSN: N/A
A Symphony of Skills
Sharratt, Lyn; Planche, Beate
Learning Professional, v39 n1 p26-30 Feb 2018
Skilled collaborative leaders are in high demand in schools, school systems, and districts worldwide. The success of schools as learning organizations hinges on how well people can work together as they seek to build collective capacity and problem solve to improve student outcomes. Collaborative learning has now emerged as the vital strategy for learning--both for staff and students. According to a recent Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) education paper, schools that are learning organizations share these seven characteristics: (1) Develop a shared vision centered on the learning of all students; (2) Promote and support continuous professional learning for all staff; (3) Promote team learning and collaboration among all staff; (4) Establish a culture of inquiry, exploration, and innovation; (5) Embed systems for collecting and exchanging knowledge and learning; (6) Learn with and from the external environment and larger system; and (7) Model and grow learning leadership. Building on these characteristics, collaboration has been reframed to be defined as "co-laboring": While being responsible for their own learning, leaders also commit to being responsible and accountable to support each other in their learning. In so doing, they foster mutual interdependence and strong learning relationships. Based on their research and experience, the authors of this article have added the term "collabor-ability" to this process. They have determined through their research that this particular leadership dimension is critical to leading collaborative learning and supporting the abilities of others. In this article they provide examples of key behaviors of leaders who are skilled in collaborability exercise.
Descriptors: Cooperative Learning, Inquiry, Capacity Building, Problem Solving, Organizational Culture, Institutional Characteristics, Student Educational Objectives, Faculty Development, Teamwork, Discovery Learning, Educational Innovation, Ecology, Instructional Leadership, Leadership Qualities, Skill Development
Learning Forward. 504 South Locust Street, Oxford, OH 45056. Tel: 800-727-7288; Fax: 513-523-0638; e-mail: office@learningforward.org; Web site: https://learningforward.org/publications/jsd
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A