Collaborative teacher planning and changes in the elementary classroom

The purpose of this study is to examine collaborative teacher planning from the viewpoint of teachers and principals and to determine how this planning relates to the level and type of changes that teachers make in their classrooms. An analysis of data from teachers and principals across four elementary schools resulted in a descriptive model of collaborative teacher planning that can be implemented successfully within a context of the identified critical relationship qualities and key cultural and structural features of this type of planning. Taken as a whole these findings present a conceptual model of collaborative teacher planning.; This study provides information that may assist researchers and practitioners in understanding collaborative teacher planning as a way to support elementary school teachers in acknowledging and infusing new information from research into changes in classroom practice. Designed to focus on the microcosm of teacher planning, the study couples information from research about individual teacher planning with what is known about the process of collaboration with results that may be of benefit to administrators and teachers seeking to make changes for improvement.; From the perspective of teachers collaborative planning is making a difference for them and their students. As one teacher put it, "I am working harder than ever before but love it more now than ever." The sense of shared accomplishment that comes with collaborative planning is a strong professional energizer. With the numbers of new teachers that will be entering the profession in the next few years, the time is right for the implementation of strategies such as collaborative teacher planning. This type of planning is a strategy that could serve to bridge the gap between the large numbers of experienced teachers who will be leaving and the new incoming teachers. The blending of wisdom and experience with fresh perspective and energy occurring in collaborative teacher planning among experienced and new teachers could provide strong direction for future instruction in elementary level classrooms.