Improving Instructional Practices Through Collaboration

For decades, the architectural and social structure of the American school has been described as an “egg carton.” Each teacher exists in their own cell, separated by cinder block walls and a bell schedule that discourages meaningful interaction. We enter our rooms, close our doors, and perform the complex, exhausting work of teaching in near-total isolation.

When we do interact, it is often through the lens of a rigid hierarchy: The veteran dispenses wisdom, and the novice receives it. But what if this hierarchy is actually a barrier to growth for both parties?

We, a teacher educator with over 15 years of experience (Elaine), and two early-career teachers (Max and Madi) wanted to explore an alternative to this structure. Through our collaborative work, we have come to believe that the strongest professional learning isn’t a one-way street; it is bidirectional.

We first explored this idea in a graduate course that Elaine taught, in which Max and Madi were pre-service student teachers, but we have since continued to apply these ideas in each of our teaching contexts. By applying the principles of radical collegiality, we can transform professional learning environments and teacher practice.

What Is Radical Collegiality?

The term “radical collegiality” was popularized by researcher Michael Fielding, building on the work of Judith Warren Little. It describes a shift from merely getting along with your coworkers to building partnerships grounded in mutual learning and critiquing traditional hierarchies of expertise, so that all voices are seen as valuable in moving toward equitable educational outcomes.

It is radical because it strikes at the root of traditional school power structures. It suggests that a teacher’s value isn’t a product solely of their years of service, but of the quality of their reflection and thoughtful perspectives. In our experience, we’ve seen this in action: Veteran practitioners can provide the framework of experience, while early-career teachers can offer a fresh look at pedagogy that can support and deepen even the most veteran practice.

enacting RADICAL COLLEGIALITY

To bring this idea into practice in your own school, we suggest three strategies:

1. Move from congeniality to joint work. Most schools have a high congeniality index. We are friendly; we share coffee in the lounge and swap survival stories about that one difficult Friday afternoon. While this makes for a pleasant workplace, Judith Warren Little argues that congeniality can actually prevent us from engaging in the type of conversation that really pushes our teaching practice forward.

Radical collegiality moves us into joint work. This isn’t just sharing a digital folder of worksheets; it’s a commitment to shared responsibility.

How to start: Instead of asking a colleague for a quick tip on a lesson, ask to co-design a single unit. Use the Protocols for Looking at Student Work to investigate a shared problem of practice. When two teachers—regardless of their experience level—sit down to solve a problem together, the hierarchy fades, and the emphasis shifts to the student.

2. Embrace the power of deprivatization. The private, door-closed classroom is often a significant barrier for growth. When we teach in secret, we internalize our failures and fail to celebrate our quiet successes. Radical collegiality suggests that we must open our doors—both literally and metaphorically.

How to start: Invite a peer to watch a 10-minute segment of your lesson. Be highly specific: “I’m struggling with how I transition from the mini-lesson to independent work. Can you watch just that 10-minute window and tell me what the students are doing?” For helpful tools for structuring these nonthreatening visits, explore the learning walks model or instructional rounds. By shrinking the observation to a “micro-moment,” we lower the stakes and increase the opportunity for genuine collaboration.

3. Make space for bidirectional learning. The most radical part of Fielding’s work is the idea that the beginner is an expert in their own right. Early-career teachers are often more closely connected to current research, new technological and information landscapes, and the shifting cultural perspectives of younger generations.

We have seen this in our own classrooms. Madi was eager to share the use of vertical non-permanent surfaces, a practice coined by Peter Liljedahl in Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics, with the more experienced teachers in her building. This strategy provides a low-stakes canvas for high-level thinking and learning. She was able to build a bidirectional learning partnership with her department chair that made it possible for her to share a practice she was excited about as a new teacher.

Max was able to work with a veteran teacher in his school to build a culture of regular, informal idea exchanges. This has allowed the veteran to integrate technology more fluidly into her lessons, and Max got to benefit from the veteran teacher’s variety of practiced behavioral strategies to support student needs.

In Elaine’s teaching practice at the university level, she asked Max and Madi to share teaching practices they were sincerely proud of as pre-service teachers, and rather than correcting them through the lens of experience, she was able to observe and adopt new strategies related to questioning and collaborative work structures.

How to start: If you are a veteran teacher, identify a reverse mentor. Ask a newer teacher to show you how they use a specific digital tool or how they approached a recent classroom management challenge. If you are an early-career teacher, don’t just ask for help; offer a swap. Share a resource or a perspective that has been working for you.

Why collaboration between new and veteran teachers Matters

When we embrace bidirectional learning through radical collegiality, everyone wins.

• For the veteran: It stands to interrupt trends of burnout and “pedagogical plateaus” by injecting fresh ideas into routine practices.
• For the new teacher: It provides a sense of agency and belonging, proving that they are valued contributors to the school community from day one.
• For the students: It can provide space for rich and meaningful student voice in classrooms and schools.
• For the school: It creates a climate of continuous improvement in which the staff’s collective efficacy becomes the primary driver of student success.

Radical collegiality isn’t just about being a better colleague; it’s about acknowledging that none of us is as smart as all of us. By challenging the walls of the egg carton, we can transform our schools into hubs of mutual learning and shared inquiry.​