ABSTRACT
At Southside High School teaching is no longer a private activity. Improving instruction is an ongoing goal, and there are many opportunities for teachers to share and help one another. Through the use of peer visitations, examining student work, study groups and reflective dialogue, teachers at Southside work and learn together. Monthly teachers use peer visitation to observe two of their colleagues. Over the course of a year, each teacher will participate in 18 classroom visits. A different subject area is featured each month so all teachers open their doors to their colleagues. Teachers also participate in study groups that meet once a month. Each group determines the topic they will pursue. One group is participating in a book study, reading Alfie Kohn’s What Does it Mean to Be Well Educated? Another group is using action research to study the effects of different motivational techniques. A third group is designing the process that will be used for the school’s senior project, and a fourth is examining samples of student work.
