Digging deep into initial Data Part 1

A survey went out to the staff at school re their understanding and use of collaboration. We have used this data to highlight key questions for our blog and learning going forward. Please find our data analysis below:

• Most people think that collaboration is about working together,  team teaching. This is true but does it stop there?
• If you work together: how do you know if it is working effectively?
• Others have mentioned: sharing, use of resources: practical and intellectual, utilising strengths: what does this look like?
• Working towards a common goal: When you get to the goal is collaboration over?

In reflection we have used this data to understand people's current thoughts and perspectives but have extended this with further questioning to investigate in our blog.




From the above questions we wanted to find out if people believe they are involved in a collaborative planning partnership and if so, who is involved in their collaboration. The data shows us that over half of the staff feel they plan collaboratively; this is a great statistic for us to work with as we can find out what enables the 54% of staff and we can spend time learning about the barriers for those who plan individually. When looking at the bar graph we can see that most people collaborate with their pathway.

In reflection this is a great start and as group sizes are upwards of 5 can lead to great diversity in ideas. We then need to see how this translates to the classroom and if this collaboration continues throughout the term or if it is just at the beginning for new learning and ideas. Does this collaboration lead to ongoing planning support? Should we be meeting during the term to reflect on our long term planning?

• Graph shows that half of staff feel they sometimes collaborate when teaching.
• Almost half collaborate always: what does this look like?
• Need to break this down further, if they do ,  how can we see this if we walk into the classroom.
• This may relate to planning and the use or rotations, the learning spaces and break out rooms and other areas available to the teacher. 
• If you don’t collaborate why not? What are the barriers?
• How have they interpreted this question. 
• Different areas of the school may interpret this question in different ways depending on the needs of their children

In reflection we need to dig deeper and ask specific areas of school if they do collaborate in teaching what does this look? Do we invite others to come and observe us and see if they feel we collaborate. How could this be used and altered to fit for their learners. It is a case of reflective teaching observing, giving feedback and feed-forward to each other.


This question needs more depth to get a better understanding of staff's interpretation. When we asked this question we wanted to know if teachers collaborate in learning with their students. Are children actively involved in collaborative practice amongst their peers?

In reflection: We are wanting to find out how students respond to collaborative practice and what their barriers and enablers are. We need to see what ways we can ensure active participation among teachers and students we are all learners together it is a two way street.