In The Successful Middle School: This We Believe, we learn that interdisciplinary teaming is “a signature component” of a middle school (p. 51). The benefits of these smaller groups of students within a larger school include easing the transition from elementary to middle school and helping students feel a sense of belonging. However, creating a structure that allows for teaming at a school is only the first step. For teaming to truly be impactful, it must be effective.
In this article, we will explore five ways in which teachers can go from just being a member on a team to being part of a successful team that positively impacts students. You can think of them as the 5 C’s:
- Common procedures
- Common expectations
- Connecting with students
- Considering students with 504s and IEPs
- Creating a Daily Team Agenda
Common Procedures
When a student enters middle school, they experience many school events for the first time: using a combination lock, rotating between classrooms multiple times a day, and having classes with potentially 6+ different teachers in one day, just to name a few. They’re also navigating new social situations in a new school with new classmates. We can lessen the “new” by discussing our classroom procedures as a team and creating as many common policies as possible across our classes. This can provide students with a uniform answer to common questions like: If a student needs to sharpen a pencil, do they just get up and use the sharpener, or do they wait until the teacher is finished talking? If a student needs to use the restroom, do they just get up and go, or do they use a sign-out sheet? Where do students find notes or other materials if they were absent? It’s these little things that can vary from class to class that can make navigating multiple classrooms challenging for our students.
Taking time to have robust discussions as a team on classroom procedures will create a more seamless transition for students as they move from one primary teacher to multiple teachers. Coming to an agreement as a team, however, may prove challenging as many of us have developed our own routines over the years. For a team to flourish, team members must be willing to compromise on common daily behaviors to benefit all students and the team as a whole.
Ideas for where to start:
- Common procedure to fill in assignment notebooks.
- Common procedure for students to find worksheets or other materials from when they were absent.
- Common procedure to end a class.
Common Expectations
In addition to having consistent procedures across classes, the team can also have common expectations for class behavior and methods to redirect students. For example, everyone on the team could count down from 10 to have students come back together after group discussions. The team could all agree to use a “2 warning” system before students are moved to a different seat or otherwise redirected if a student is off task. Ideas for common expectations are endless and can be developed or changed as teachers discover more effective methods to redirect students. Sharing among colleagues on other teams is also beneficial as we all learn from each other.
Ideally, these team discussions about procedures and expectations would happen prior to Day 1 of the school year. But, as Jack Berckemeyer explains, these reminders also fit nicely at the start of a new semester or after an extended break. Students often get out of the habit of school routines and expectations after breaks in the school year, so these are also good opportunities to reset and review procedures and expectations.
Having said all of this, we don’t all need to be clones of each other and give up our individuality; however, the more we can agree on consistent expectations and procedures across our classes, the more we can help our students with the adjustment to a new school and new school year.
Ideas for where to start:
- Develop a common late homework policy.
- Develop a common test retake policy.
- Develop common technology expectations (Chromebook, earbuds, cell phones, etc.).
Connecting with Your Students
A primary objective of teaming is to create a closer connection between teachers and a smaller group of students. Teachers can foster these relationships by surveying students at the beginning of the year to learn about their interests both inside and outside the classroom. The team can work together to write the survey questions and then administer it within their advisories or homerooms. The results can then be shared among all the teachers. Knowing these additional facts about our students shows them that we care about them not just as students but as individuals as well.
Teams can also invite individual students to join them in team meetings. These discussions are great for getting to know a new student, connecting with a student after an extended absence, and celebrating academic and behavioral student successes. As with the survey, these discussions help students to see that their teachers value them and care about both their academic and personal growth.
Ideas for where to start:
- Use Quizizz or another tool to create a digital student survey that can be accessed by all of the teachers on the team.
- Choose 1-2 students to celebrate each week. Call those students into your team meeting to tell them why you’re celebrating them for being kind to a classmate, getting caught up after an absence, or some other good deed. Use Canva or another tool to efficiently create certificates to celebrate those students.
- Save email templates to use as a base for follow-up communication with families after you meet with students.
Considering Students with 504s and IEPs
Team meetings are an ideal time to go over 504 and IEP accommodations with case managers. Teams can also keep track of 504 and IEP accommodations with a spreadsheet as an efficient method to see who needs an alternate testing environment, tests read aloud, and other accommodations.
Team meeting time can also be used to have pre- and post-discussions about 504 and IEP meetings because students often use their accommodations at varying levels across their classes. Having discussions about those accommodations prior to the full meeting with administrators and families can lead to a more productive 504 or IEP meeting. If the full meeting doesn’t involve all members of the team, it is important to have a post-meeting synopsis of changes to the paperwork discussed at the next meeting.
Example spreadsheet of 504 and IEP information:
Ideas for where to start:
- Check in with elective teachers prior to 504 and IEP meetings to discuss how often a student uses their accommodations and if the teachers have any suggestions for additional ones.
- Use MagicSchool or another AI tool to brainstorm accommodations or behavior intervention plan ideas prior to 504 and IEP meetings.
Creating a Daily Team Agenda
It can be easy for team meetings to devolve from a productive use of time into complaint sessions. One way to keep meetings on track is to have a shared agenda that any member of the team can add to with topics for discussion. If the discussion does get off topic, it allows the team leader to direct the team members back to the shared agenda. It also creates a log of what was discussed each week, allowing teams to look back as needed, for example, when they met with a student about missing work, when they celebrated a student who was doing something well, or when they met with a parent. Keeping and sharing notes with the entire team is essential to the productivity and effectiveness of the team.
Once the agenda is set, teams should be solutions-focused. For example, if the team meets with a student about missing work, they could ask the student what they think is preventing them from getting their work turned in and help the student problem-solve the situation. The team could then create a plan with the student to stay after school two days a week or have a teacher check their assignment notebook at the end of the day. Once the plan is made, a date should be set for a follow-up to see what is working and what might need to be changed. Sending an email afterward to the student and their family summarizing the discussion helps everyone stay on the same page.
- Assign topics to certain days of the week so that teachers can plan ahead. (For example, share upcoming tests and major project due dates every Monday.)
- Invite the social worker or counselor to your team on a weekly or monthly schedule.
- If possible, check with the student’s teachers from a previous year to see if the concern you’ve noticed is new or if it has happened before. If it happened before, discuss what worked or what didn’t work last time and use that to help set a plan for the student.
- Use MagicSchool or another AI tool to help draft follow-up emails to families after you meet with a student.
As the old saying goes, the way to eat an elephant is to take one bite at a time. Transitioning from a group of teachers to an effective team can be challenging and can take time. It also requires patience, understanding, and flexibility from all members of the team. However, taking one “bite” at a time and consistently looking for ways to improve will lead to positive results for teachers as well as students. Looking for more strategies for effective teaming? I recommend Successful Middle School Teaming by Jack Berckemeyer, a companion text to The Successful Middle School: This We Believe.
Christine Thielen, an educator for more than 20 years, currently serves as a middle school math teacher, team leader, and math department chairperson in suburban Chicago. Christine can be reached at cmt215@gmail.com and @cmt215il (x).