The underlying theory of Mounds View's system is that the added dynamic of teacher appraisal to the collaborative process would create increased collective accountability for the learning of all students across a grade level or course. It was also believed that collective appraisal would generate necessary urgency for teams to know their cumulative impact on learning, and to continuously improve and implement practices most likely to yield increased learning for all.
The early returns on Mounds View's investment in teacher collaboration are as interesting as they are formative. While many teams have shown an ability to collaboratively plan a progression of learning aligned to a priority standard and measured by a common formative assessment, great variability exists in the capacity of teams to generate "creative solutions to non-routine learning problems" (Sagor, 2010). For the teams challenged most by data suggesting students didn't meet learning goals, it has become increasingly clear that individual and collective vulnerability is among the greatest barriers to improvement. Teachers appear fearful of how they'll be perceived by others when their students fail to perform up to expectation.
In her Ted Talk entitled "The Power of Vulnerability," researcher and story teller Brene Brown discusses vulnerability as "the core of shame and fear and our struggle for worthiness." She shares many important messages, four of which I will adopt as a framework for encouraging teachers to view mistakes and failure as a springboard to finding joy, creativity, and success.
