Uprooting Silos with Olivia Chan & Kerrie Robins
Imagine education as a beautiful garden.
Did I lose you there for a second?
With 2 months left until summer vacation and the bulletin boards peeling off the walls, I know you probably think I have lost touch with reality.
But just try to imagine that education is, in fact, a beautiful garden.
Imagine a colourful and lively garden. Then think of each department as a different flower bed.
English, roses.
Math, sunflowers.
Science, orchids.
History, forget-me-nots,
and so on and so forth.
Now, envision stubborn weeds sprouting up between the beds, choking the life out of all the beautiful flowers.
These weeds are creating barriers that we can liken to the silos that keep teachers from sharing ideas and nurturing growth amongst each other. We’ve all seen it. The English wizards holed up in one corner, the math savants in another, and the primary and secondary teachers will NEVER see, hear, or speak to one another until the annual staff party.
Beyond just a work-culture issue, these silos are leading to some serious problems such as:
Knowledge Hoarding: Valuable insights and innovative teaching methods are locked away, collecting dust in the binders, drives, and minds of awesome individuals.
Curriculum Chaos: Ever tried putting together a puzzle with missing pieces? That's what it's like when each subject or grade-level team focuses solely on its own objectives without considering the big picture. We end up with a mishmash of disconnected learning experiences leading to inconsistent skill development in our students.
Teacher Burnout: Teaching can sometimes feel like juggling flaming torches while riding a unicycle. Add silos into the mix, and educators are reporting it’s an "every teacher for themselves" mentality with little teamwork in effect to shoulder the load.
Student Ramifications: It’s a hard reality to face when teachers want to show up for the kids in their classrooms in big ways, but they know their students are paying the price of this systemic, structural, and cultural problem.
But the great news is that there are people, organizations, and tools that have set out to UPROOT THE SILOS that exist.
First and foremost is the stellar work of really, really, seriously hard-working educators. I have had the unique opportunity to buzz from teacher to teacher, gathering information on the status of collaboration.
It’s universally an area where teachers feel they or their school are lacking (cue the inception of CoLab) and where they are not willing to accept the status quo. It’s simply too frustrating, and frankly upsetting, for them to let existing silos inform their teaching and students’ learning.
Here is a showcase of some of the exciting work that is going on right now:
The IBO has updated the DP Biology curriculum with a greater focus on conceptional learning and skill development. With this change comes the expectation that teachers adapt their teaching and learning, in a significant way, to best support students for their growth and success on internal and external assessments. Olivia has taken it upon herself to form a coalition of teachers to understand what is being asked and put it into practice. This roundtable group consisting of 15 teachers from public and independent schools across the GTA is an example of how impactful collaboration can be.
Eager to help the collaborative team of educators at her school integrate more projects between grade levels and campuses, Kerrie embraced the opportunity to craft an action plan with Cohort 21. This year-long professional development opportunity is unlike any other. Through structured inquiry and design-thinking protocols, Kerrie is working within a group of teachers and coaches to map out a practical way to plan and implement projects between grade levels and campuses, fostering authentic and student-driven learning. A large undertaking, on top of being a 3rd grade homeroom teacher.
Beyond the work of teachers, leaders in education are also seeking new ways to cultivate partnerships within schools and beyond.
From interdisciplinary teams, flexible scheduling, Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), shared working spaces, board-wide projects, leadership support, technological tools, and professional development, innovation is taking root!
Apply to our League of Innovators!
This awesome group of educators is transforming teaching and learning with a community-first approach. They have big dreams about how CoLab can support meaningful collaboration and inform our latest updates and features.
CoLab Education empowers educators with collaboration tools to boost innovation, enhance professional growth, and improve learning outcomes.
Our community only becomes more fruitful and more impactful as we grow.
