REASONS FOR BECOMING INVOLVED IN THIS COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE

[Mary Richards]

I began my teaching career in 1994. I student taught at Gruening MS which was piloting team teaching and morphing into a middle school/rejecting the traditional antiquated junior high model. I learned early on from many amazing middle school movers and shakers that teaching and learning in teams is far superior to compartmentalized, separate classrooms. Even in my own learning prior to becoming a teacher, the classes that resonated with me most are the ones that demanded students to collaborate and learn through complex multidisciplinary discourse lenses. Team teaching/learning also more accurately represents the kinds of discourse communities we are required to create and navigate in the universe we inhabit.