Money, Money, Money!!
May 20, 2021
Cash or credit?
Some of us are old enough to remember when this was regularly asked when purchasing items at a store. Nowadays it seems like credit is just assumed to be the payment of choice.
And when we think of resources needed for life, school, or otherwise, money always comes to mind first.
As important as allocating funds is, there are other resources that are also just as important (if not more so) in building a collaborative environment. Let’s break it down.
Two Types of Resources: Tangible and Intangible
The research on what it takes to build a collaborative environment in schools is pretty clear: resources are necessary. Remember, though: Resources does not always have to be money. Read on!
It’s helpful to think of resources as being in two categories: Tangible and Intangible.
Tangible resources are what people think of right away, and are typically supported by dollars. These include time, materials, equipment, and space. On the other hand, Intangible Resources are comparatively more difficult to develop and rely on human interactions: Training on protocols and procedures, Administrative support, Trust between teachers, and Access to new ideas and expertise. Let’s take a look at Tangible Resources, and then next time we’ll focus on those Intangible Resources.
Time
If we are to work together, time must be allocated for it. During. The. Work. Day.
Not something expected to fill in evenings and weekends.
Of course, this isn’t easy. Yet it IS doable. Check out this great tool from Learning Forward to guide your leadership team through exercises to “find time.”
Tangible Resources
- Time
- Materials
- Equipment
- Space
Intangible Resources
- Training on protocols and procedures
- Administrative support
- Trust between teachers
- Access to new ideas and expertise
For a free download to explore ways to find time in the day for professional learning, check out this great resource from Learning Forward
Materials
Materials are needed–books, journal articles, access to web resources, etc. If we are to improve our practice, we have to be able to access better ways of doing things. Having access to materials is one way to do that. And an important consideration is to be sure materials are in line with School Improvement priorities.
Part of providing materials for professional learning is the need for school leaders (not just principals, but this can and should include leadership teams of teachers) to know what materials to recommend. To do this, it is important for school leaders to stay abreast of current research, or connect themselves to others who are connected to the research. The district office can be a key resource, as well as intermediate service agencies. Institutions of higher education are also typically excellent go-to’s, as are professional organizations. And don’t forget your social media connections.
The building principal and leadership team needs to be thinking ahead and anticipating potential materials that staff may need to implement expected practices.
Providing requested materials helps build trust with teachers, and encouraging and even gently pushing teachers to do a little better every day helps move those who are stuck forward. For example, a district working to improve student engagement needs to provide materials to staff on what engagement looks like. If staff are to use response cards with students as a means to engage them in responding to queries during instruction, then materials to develop response cards must be provided. If principals want staff to clearly understand how engagement looks in the classroom, then video examples and/or learning walks of best practice provide inspiration and examples. How else might we do a better job if we can’t see a better way? The building principal and leadership team needs to be thinking ahead and anticipating potential materials that staff may need to implement expected practices.
Equipment
Equipment may include technology resources for the creation of high-quality assessments, rubrics, checklists, etc. It may also include access to a photocopier to duplicate these same high-quality tools. Equipment like an ELMO or document camera with LCD projector may benefit the actual collaboration time. A specific example of the use of this equipment may be the examination of student work where teachers can all see the student’s work projected while a specific protocol is used to examine that work in the pursuit of improving our practice.
Space
Finally, providing a space for staff is typically an easy one. It may seem quite simple, and it is: If educators do not have a physical (or virtual) space in which to meet on a regular basis to collaborate, then they won’t—and maybe even can’t—collaborate effectively. They need space: a physical teacher’s room will do just fine (as long as it is a non-distracting space), or a virtual room through digital technology.
The good news is that all of these can be provided with little or no additional use of the usually tight budget
Financial Implications
One final note on tangible resources: the good news is that all of these can be provided with little or no additional use of the usually tight budget. Many materials requested from staff can be made by hand, or photocopied, or accessed from a website, or developed with a basic Word or Excel file, or purchased with a very small amount of funds—of which federal Title IIA dollars is an excellent resource (and reason to advocate for this from your elected representatives).
Equipment like document cameras and LCD projectors are tools that can and should be used in classrooms and with staff learning. So it really should not require additional fiscal resources—but just a borrowing or re-purposing of the equipment when not being used for instruction. And regarding space, I’ve seen many schools, almost all of which were limited in space, find ways to create room for teachers to work.
Intangible Resources
As important as tangible resources are to building a collaborative environment, they pale in comparison to the intangible resources necessary. Next time we’ll dig into those with some very specific and helpful tools.
Questions for Reflection
- What tangible resources might help advance your work?
- What steps might you take to help acquire those resources?
Do you have a story you’d like to share?
Comment below
(or email [email protected])
Know of someone who would appreciate this post? Share it with them!
Interested in New Posts?
(I won’t spam you–every 2 to 3 weeks is the frequency…)