Are We Collaborating—or Just Meeting?

Core question: What happened for students because we met?

Collaboration should lead somewhere

Meeting together does not automatically mean a team is collaborating. The useful question is whether the conversation helps teachers understand student learning more clearly and decide what should happen next.

This check is not about making every meeting perfect. It is about making sure collaborative time produces something that matters for students.

Team self-check

Rate each statement: Consistently / Sometimes / Not Yet

1. We know the expected learning.
2. We bring evidence.
3. We look beyond one score.
4. Our conversations lead to an instructional response.
5. We return to ask whether the response worked.
6. We share ideas.
7. We examine our own practice.
8. Our meetings produce action.

One thing worth improving

Choose one change to try before the next check-in. Do not turn this into a giant list of new meeting rules. One useful adjustment that actually changes what the team does is enough.

Nicholas in Practice
Student → Standard → Evidence → Need → Response → New Evidence

Carry-out question

What will be different for students because of the conversation we just had?

Sources & Credit

Developed from Nicholas’s Grade 5 team experience and professional learning at Solution Tree’s PLC at Work® Institute. This is Nicholas’s own team-reflection tool, not an official PLC at Work® protocol or presenter handout.