Collaboration in the Workplace: The ‘Essential Thing’ in the New normal

Carlon A. Bautista

Let us be clear: this new normal is not normal. Humans seem to be more susceptible than ever before. As educators, we don't have all the solutions right now. But what we do have is each other. Professional isolation cannot and should not be equated with physical distance. On the contrary, we must begin by supporting one another, our kids, and their families. We must concentrate not just on student learning, but also on the general well-being of our colleagues via empathy, compassion, and honesty as we collaborate. As we work together, we may provide social-emotional support and facilitate open discussions about what works and what doesn't in this new learning environment. We may exchange anything: materials produced by teachers, publicly accessible resources, selected course content, triumphs, difficulties, and even complete failures. Collaborative learning may assist teachers in developing new methods of communicating and managing distant workforces, while also promoting more team agility and teacher empowerment. Teachers may schedule time each week to plan together to both assist and learn from their colleagues. Two heads are better than one when working with a grade-level team or a support learning expert. Teachers may readily exchange materials with peers both inside and outside of their school since digital practices are so portable. Collaboration seems to have entered a new reality in which it is no longer a luxury; rather, it is a lifeline that enables teachers to learn about new digital tools, integrate new instructional activities, and share responsibility for producing online or take-home materials. As the global K–12 environment evolves online, cooperation has the potential to change professional relationships, with far-reaching impacts on everyone's learning. Let us build an inclusive learning community as we collaborate to help students achieve quality education in the new normal.