In order to best support our students, educators must reach out to connect with colleagues, at a school, district and global level. By connecting with our colleagues, we foster strong collaborative relationships that can inspire and support the integration of innovative teaching and assessment practices.

1. Creating A Culture of
CollaborationSarah Garr B.A. B.Ed. M.A.
Email garr_s@surreyschools.ca
Twitter @garr_s #sd36learn #LearningPartners
Sarah Garr

2. Mom
Educator
Learning
Partners
Department
Leader
Unwitting
Innovator
“Risk
Taker”
My Story
Sarah Garr

3. Teacher
Isolation
Agenda
Making
Global
& Local
Connections
Taking Risks
&
Innovation
Student
Learning
&
Achievement
Sarah Garr

4. “Schools and systems that foster highly
collaborative practices and purposely
build social capital are places where
new pedagogies thrive. In particular;
teacher isolation is the enemy here.”
-A Rich Seam: How New Pedagogies
Find Deep Learning
Michael Fullan and Maria Langworthy
2014
Teacher Isolation
Sarah Garr

5. Do we have a responsibility as
educators to connect and
collaborate with our colleagues?
Teacher Isolation
Sarah Garr

6. Teacher
Isolation
Detachment
Dissatisfaction
Stagnation
Teacher Isolation
Sarah Garr

7. Establishing Global and Local Connections:
Digital and Face to Face
Global & Local Connections
It’s about relationships.
Sarah Garr

8. Global
Connections
--Dr. Alec Couros
There are
numerous
“tools that
mediate
connections
…The
people
behind
those tools
are the
most
important.”
Sarah Garr

9. “We often complain about the isolation
that is evident in education, but it is no
longer a foregone conclusion.
Isolation is now a choice educators
make.” -- George Couros
http://georgecouros.ca/blog/archives/4156
Global Connections
Sarah Garr

10. Twitter: Professional Learning Network
#sd36learn #cpchat #bced #aussied
Global Connections
Sarah Garr

11. Self-Reflection & Sharing: Making Learning Visible
The good, the bad, and the ugly.
Global Connections
“There’s a
natural
transparency
that emerges.”
How To Make
Better Teachers
--Dean Shareski
Writing My Way Into Understanding
Sarah Garr

12. Global Connections
Global Audience via Twitter-
But still about relationships.
Sarah Garr

13. Twitter: School Community & Culture
#1000awesomethingsaboutsulli #sullirocks #sullilearns
Local Connections
Sarah Garr

14. Local Connections
Time is a valuable commodity.
Sarah Garr

15. Sullivan Heights
Learning Partners Program
http://sullilearningpartners.blogspot.ca
Local Connections
Sarah Garr

16. Local Connections
Learning Partners Program:
 Decreases teacher isolation by
providing opportunities to connect with
colleagues.
 Provides release time to teachers to
facilitate inter-departmental
collaboration and teacher inquiry.
 Facilitates and supports reciprocal,
non-hierarchical peer-mentoring
partnerships (both beginner and
experienced teachers). Sarah Garr

17. Local Connections
Collaborative Teacher Inquiry
http://youtu.be/9bxZ3HK3iiU
Sarah Garr

18. The Importance of Disrupting Routines
Taking Risks & Innovation
Sarah Garr

19. Digitization of Binders
Open Source, Open Access
Binder Digital
Taking Risks & Innovation
Sarah Garr

20. iTunes U: What is it?
http://www.apple.com/education/ipad/itunes-u/
Taking Risks & Innovation
Sarah Garr

21. Surrey School District #36
iTunes U Course Development Project
Taking Risks & Innovation
Yup, definitely out of my comfort zone.
Sarah Garr

22. iTunes U Course Manager:
Course Creation
https://itunesu.itunes.apple.com/coursemanager/
Taking Risks & Innovation
Sarah Garr

23. iTunes U English 8 Course
https://itunes.apple.com/ca/course/english-8/id733901584
Taking Risks & Innovation
Sarah Garr

24. Student Learning
& Achievement
“The powerful collaboration that characterizes
professional learning communities is a
systemic process in which teachers work
together to analyze and improve their
classroom practice…[which] in turn, leads to
higher levels of student achievement”.
–Richard DuFour, Schools As Learning Communities
Sarah Garr

25. Student Learning
& Achievement
Supporting
Teacher
Collaboration
Supports
Integration of
Innovative
Instructional
and
Assessment
Practices
Supports
Student
Learning &
Achievement
Supported Teachers = Supported Students
Makes sense to me.
Sarah Garr

26. Picture Credits
Slide 1 Ripples: http://opsafeintl.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/79c29.jpg
Slide 5 Open Door:
http://healthewound.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/closed-door.jpg
Slide 7 Connections:
http://www.activeendurance.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Connection.jpg
Slide 13 Alarm Clock:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b2010-07-
20_Black_windup_alarm_clock_face.jpg
Slide 19 Clock:
http://img.ksl.com/slc/2498/249813/24981301.jpg
Slide 28 Question
mark:http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/agents/kutchuk/files/Man-With-
Question-05.png
Sarah Garr