Teaching can feel like a solitary profession. This is ironic, given that we are surrounded by children all day. But with the exception of those lucky enough to still have a TA, we spend a very small proportion of our working life with colleagues.
Sure, we are together on playground duty, in the staff room, and in some cases (probably more than we should be), in the pub. But how often do we spend time in one another’s classrooms? Indeed, we seldom see our co-workers in practice, and as a result, don’t necessarily know much about how they work.
This is a real shame, and more than that, a missed opportunity. With the rich array of experience, skills and teaching styles present in our schools, why would leaders not want to develop systems that enable staff to collaborate and share?
It was this question that led us to develop what we call “teaching triads” at Cubitt Town Juniors, to allow teachers to plan and teach together, share their cumulative practice, and broaden their own skill set at the same time.
How do teaching triads work?
Once each term we group our teachers into threes and assign each triad to a class. Working on a school-wide focus linked to an area of the curriculum, the triads plan a sequence of three or four lessons. Spread out over the course of a week, teachers then deliver their lessons, reflecting on and assessing the children’s learning together as they go.
It is up to the teachers to decide how they structure the process: they can each take a lead on different lessons, elect to team-teach, or simply observe one another demonstrating particular skills or techniques. The process is entirely teacher-led, and our only role as leaders is to cover classes as required.
We always follow up the triads with a staff meeting, where we dissect what worked well, and teachers discuss how the experience will impact their own teaching moving forward. The meetings also provide an opportunity to share and celebrate outcomes.
We carry out triads three times during the year, meaning that all of our teachers get to work with up to six different colleagues in a range of subjects and year groups.
How effective are teacher triads?
The impact of using triads as a professional development tool has been encouraging. Firstly, as a team-building strategy, it has allowed staff to get to know each other better in a professional capacity, as they help one another to develop new skills.
Secondly, it takes teachers out of their comfort zone in a low-stakes manner. Working with children they don’t know, perhaps in a key stage they haven’t taught in before, can be challenging. Having colleagues to collaborate with ensures staff feel supported, and more often than not, find it really rewarding.
Working with other age groups also provides perspective on where the learning of your own class fits into their wider academic journey through the school. This can be particularly helpful for teachers who have found themselves confined to a specific year group for a while - Year 6 teachers will know what I’m talking about!
It has also enabled us to work meaningfully on school-wide development objectives as a team. Prior to school closures, we devoted an entire triad cycle to art because we felt that as a school, learning and teaching in art was not at the level of other subjects. Our art lead assisted each triad in planning and teaching a dynamic sequence of art lessons.
Afterwards, one teacher summed up much of the feedback from staff, stating that he “loved the experience” because it enabled him to “work as a team and with a different age group” and that he now felt “more confident in teaching the subject” when he returned to his own class as a result.
Triads are now part of the culture of our school. Two years in, as we continue to refine the model, it is becoming increasingly powerful.
Once this enforced isolation comes to an end, I would encourage others to explore projects like triads as a collaborative tool of professional development, which perhaps also can make the job of teaching feel a bit less solitary.
Nicky Pear is assistant headteacher at Cubitt Town Junior School
