Education is a team sport, and as all good school leaders know, communication and collaboration are keys to success. But collaboration doesn’t happen out of the blue. It takes strategy and know-how.
Youngstown State University’s online Master of Science in Education (M.S.Ed.) – Educational Administration program equips educators with career-relevant leadership skills focused on enhancing team collaboration and student learning outcomes. Robust coursework prepares educators to tackle administrative challenges in areas such as policy, law, ethics, operations, personnel management and budget planning.
Creating Opportunities and Open Communication
Effective collaboration among stakeholders coupled with strategic leadership helps create stronger school communities. There are several time-tested strategies for promoting better communication within your school team, especially among teachers.
A good first step is designating specific days without students on campus so teachers can plan without interruption or distraction. According to Edutopia, these “collaboration days” allow teachers to build deeper relationships, work without interruptions and prepare together for upcoming school days.
Offering teachers paid leadership opportunities, within or outside the school, also helps improve collaboration and communication among teams. Per Edutopia, paid roles where teachers mentor new colleagues or department leads allow seasoned teachers to build their collaboration skills in a new way. This benefits teachers directly by giving them a new perspective and, as a result, benefits student learning.
Through courses like Human Resource Leadership, YSU’s online M.S.Ed. program helps students develop their ability to foster communication within groups. Coursework covers leadership-relevant topics including professional and staff development, equal employment, recruitment, performance appraisal, compensation and emerging human resource issues.
Fostering a Team-Oriented Environment
Problems can arise when teachers are too individualistic. While leaders may want staff members to be independent thinkers, they also want them to be able to collaborate effectively. In a 2021 blog post on the National Association of Secondary School Principals website, Jeff Makelky, principal of Big Piney High School, offers solutions for helping content-area teachers work better together for the benefit of all students.
One approach, suggests Makelky, is to allow teachers to highlight and share their most effective strategies with their colleagues. His teachers have scheduled professional development time during which they identify a practice they are using that could be applicable to other subjects. “This single practice has really broken down walls within our school and promoted collaboration within our team,” he states. “I love these sessions because I learn so much from my teachers.”
Encouraging Shared Leadership
According to LINQ, a provider of software solutions for K-12 school districts, when you give teachers and staff more tools to facilitate working together, they are more likely to deliver as a team. The article emphasizes that a healthy school culture is one in which everyone — teachers, staff and administrators — feels included in the leadership process.
Educators who complete Youngstown State University’s online M.S.Ed. program graduate ready to cultivate collaborative team environments within schools and school districts. The in-demand skills they acquire prepare them to positively impact relationships between teachers and colleagues, teachers and students and parents — which ultimately leads to improved learning outcomes and levels of community engagement.
Learn more about Youngstown State University‘s online M.S.Ed. – Educational Administration program.
