Common Planning Time

Bridging Structure and Agency: Exploring the Role of Teacher Leadership in Teacher Collaboration

“…The last decade has seen growing numbers of schools institute structured collaboration as an organizational routine-a "repetitive, recognizable, pattern of interdependent actions, involving multiple actors" (Feldman & Pentland, 2003, p. 95). For example, many middle and high schools have implemented common planning for content area or interdisciplinary grade-level teams as an attempt to displace traditional routines that treat teaching as work to be done in isolation and that perpetuate wide variability in instructional quality across classrooms (Mertens, Flowers, Anfara, & Caskey, 2010). Because they link formal structure with human action, such collaborative routines are said to have the potential to unlock "critical social technology" that has been historically underutilized in schools (Mertens et al, 2010).…”

“…For example, many middle and high schools have implemented common planning for content area or interdisciplinary grade-level teams as an attempt to displace traditional routines that treat teaching as work to be done in isolation and that perpetuate wide variability in instructional quality across classrooms (Mertens, Flowers, Anfara, & Caskey, 2010). Because they link formal structure with human action, such collaborative routines are said to have the potential to unlock "critical social technology" that has been historically underutilized in schools (Mertens et al, 2010). Indeed, collaborative routines have ostensive (structural) aspects that define the "abstract, general idea of the routine" as well as performative (agentic) aspects, which are the "specific actions taken by specific people at specific times when engaged in the routine" (Feldman & Pentland, 2003, p. 95).…”

“…In schools with a team structure and allocated time to meet, the generalized idea of common planning includes teachers developing common curriculum and assessments and analyzing data to inform instruction (Mertens et al, 2010). This "broad script" is intended as a resource for team action (Spillane et al, 2011).…”

Organizational Models for Teacher Learning

“…Numerous researchers have also participated in the National Middle Grades Project on Common Planning Time (Mertens, Flowers, Anfara, & Caskey, 2010) to explore common planning time using standardized protocols. In Phase I of the project, researchers observed team meetings and interviewed teachers to explore what transpired during common planning time meetings.…”

A National Research Project Revitalizes and Strengthens a SIG’s Membership, Leadership, and the Quality of Research in the Field

“…Phase I of the project was launched in November 2007. The project leaders developed the qualitative data collection instruments (i.e., the observation protocol and the teacher interview protocol) used in Phase I (Mertens, Anfara, Roney, & Caskey, 2007). The observation protocol is used to record attendance at the CPT meeting, teachers’ role on the team, the physical arrangement of the meeting space, use of an agenda to guide the meeting, duration of the meeting, and the specific activities/behaviors/topics that teachers engaged in during the meeting, as well as how long they engaged in each.…”