The document discusses the benefits and challenges of teaming among educators. Some key benefits mentioned are collaborating with peers, seeking feedback, and connecting with students as a team. Challenges include the daily effort required to have an effective team as teams must handle issues like attendance, assessments, and parent communication. The document provides advice on how to build a strong team through open communication, sharing workload, and establishing group values and expectations.

1. The Art of teaming…
• One of the most important philosophies
behind education is teaming.
• In reflecting upon the 2009-2010 school year,
how would you describe “The art of teaming”
as it related to your individual team, not
grade level?
• What do you consider the major benefits of
teaming?
• What do you consider to be the major pitfalls
or issues that have risen with the concept of
teaming from previous years of experience?

2. The art of teaming…
• For most, collaborating with peers is a
rewarding experience that increases their
individual moral and teaching experience.
• Working on teams allows educators to
brainstorm new ideas, seek feedback from
colleagues, and to look for solutions to
common problems.
• Teaming is also a fantastic way to connect
with students.

3. The art of teaming…
• Teaming can also be a struggle or a
challenge. It takes daily effort to have an
effective team.
• Each day teams tackle issues such as
attendance, assessments, paperwork, parent
communication, student rewards, daily
schedules, field trips, discipline issues.
• All of these issues, and more, are expected to
be handled in a short amount of time with
everyone getting along…

4. Advice about teaming
• Teams need to talk: This is rule #1. The following
tips are necessary, but begin with the critical rule.
Meet as often as possible.
• There’s more to a team than just a name:
- Creating a team name helps develop a sense of
unity and identity for teachers and students.
- More critical to a teams success, however, is
setting the right climate. Providing an atmosphere
that allows for failure and risk is key.
- Work together to establish rules and expectations.
Remember students see many different teachers
during the day. Keep it simple and consistent.

5. • Getting off on the right foot: To keep things fresh, this
year teachers will sit down at the beginning of the
year to establish team goals, to discuss core values,
individual strengths, weaknesses, and philosophies.
• Never grade papers during a team meeting:
- Some may consider this an insult to their
intelligence. It happens and is harmful to the team.
- Team time is sacred. We all have too much to do.
The best way to handle these challenges is to divide
and conquer and approach them as a team. Look
for ways to share the work load.

6. • Don’t waste time during meetings, set the agenda…
- Keep it simple
- Keep it focused on things to aide in student
success.
- Follow up with previous agenda items to determine
progress.

7. Life Savers
• Eating makes a meeting. Bring food!
• Celebrate with other team members.
• Share the work load
• Great teams take time to build relationships.
• Make positive contacts with parents of your team to
build up support and trust of the team.
• Have fun, make time to laugh.
• Spending time outside of school helps. Go to a movie or
grab some dinner. Also helps with communication.
• Stay focused on students. Look for ways to celebrate
student successes. Use team meetings to deal with
behavior issues.

8. Teams Evolve
• Teams evolve: They begin with polite, but guarded
relationships. After a few months, they encounter
conflicts, control issues, sometimes stagnation.
- To learn to deal with these concerns, teams must
establish procedures, learn to clearly communicate,
and give and take feedback from each other.

9.  Core values should drive the decision making of an
Core Values
effective team. What are core values?
 Here are some examples of core values:
- All students belong to all of us.
- All students and staff merit trust and honor.
- Conflict is opportunity, and we will work towards
resolution.
 Teams should focus on their core values because
these beliefs help teachers gain balance and
direction.
 It also helps you determine where to spend most of
your precious resource – time.
 Is it best for our students?

10. All good teams need ground rules
and structures in order to progress.
Some suggestions:
 Rotate meeting places. When you meet in
other’s rooms, you will learn more about your
colleagues as teachers and people.
 Set an agenda and stick to it.
 Agree on start times and arrive on time
 As a team, don’t meet every day. Assign
different topics for different days. Ex. Monday-
meet if needed, Tuesday- team calendar,
Wednesday – administrative issues, Thursday –
discuss student needs, Friday – Thematic unit
planning.

11.  Try to hold all parent conferences during team
planning unless it is just not convenient for the
parent.
 Celebrate achievements. Ensure that everyone is
heard. No put downs or cheap shots. Commit to the
fact that all of you are on the same side. Remain
inviting, and emotionally neutral. (If you disagree,
try saying, “It has been my experience that,
“instead of, “How could you think that way?”)
 Keep team business inside the team.