Collaboration is the co-laboring toward a common end result. Yet, part of the work in schools is learning work.

The work of learning together can unite a team. It can provide commonalities and strengthen bonds between teammates.

This is especially true in a learning organization such as a school.

That’s why instructional leadership includes more than just curriculum and instruction. It also includes the skills needed to facilitate learning among professionals.

Building on a foundation of poor teamwork can quickly become problematic for the entire team and even school. One way to scaffold a collaborative culture is to provide structured collaborative learning tasks.

I recommend these three activities for collaborative professional learning. You can use them to facilitate learning in any administrative or teacher team.