Team Formation & Effectiveness
The resources below come from our Playbook, which is accessible to all our partners and contains 100+ tools and resources designed to support co-teaching. The introductory sample tools and resources below are designed to help co-teachers form as a team before the school year and continuously improve as a team throughout their partnership.
A sneak peak at some of our tools:
At Blue Engine, we believe that educators have limitless potential and that there’s strength in numbers. But teamwork takes work. To make these outcomes possible in classrooms, co-teachers need to truly become a team, not just a pair of individuals. Because healthy teamwork is foundational to all other aspects of co-teaching, our support for co-teaching pairs begins by guiding co-teachers through the process of Team Formation before the school year and prioritizes continuously improving their Team Effectiveness throughout their partnership.
Before the School Year
Before the school year begins, co-teachers need time and resources specifically dedicated to establishing a shared sense of trust and purpose, building clear systems for collaboration, and cultivating an open-minded willingness to learn from each other.
Educational Legacies: Reflection & Discussion
Apply a lens of diversity, equity, and inclusion to get to know each other on a deeper level and understand each other’s experiences before collectively setting a vision.
These reflection and discussion prompts encourage co-teachers to unpack and share how their upbringing and formative experiences around race, class, and education shaped their own personal values as educators.
Setting a Classroom Vision: Reflection, Example & Templates
Explore values, goals, indicators for success, and accountability measures to align on a joint vision for your classroom.
These reflection prompts guide co-teachers to identify shared values, describe what a classroom that embodies those values should look like, and spell out how they will work together to make that vision a reality.
Establishing Collaboration Norms: Examples & Templates
Consider both fundamental needs and the minutiae for how you and your classroom will operate so that important logistics are determined before students enter your classroom .
These reflection prompts guide co-teachers to discuss communication preferences, define a consequence hierarchy and subsequent teacher roles, and delegate ownership of daily tasks.
Throughout the School Year
Throughout their partnership, co-teachers should regularly step back from the details of their day-to-day teamwork, reflect on their current team dynamics, and seek each other’s feedback about how they can improve.
Team Feedback: Protocols, Guide, & Template
Set up systems for giving and receiving constructive feedback throughout the year.
This checklist guides co-teachers through the process of creating shared norms for feedback, planning structured sessions for sharing feedback, and responding productively to each other’s feedback.
Sample Module: Team Formation & Effectiveness Fundamentals
Want to learn more? We coach co-teaching teams through the process of Team Formation and help them achieve Team Effectiveness using modular lessons on topics like navigating the stages of team development, practicing asset-based thinking, establishing classroom systems, and and creating a culture of feedback.