ABSTRACT
Teacher collaboration is important because it is often through interaction with others that teachers get new ideas and the encouragement to try new practices. T. M. Skrtic and L. P. Ware define collaboration as "problem solving through reflective discourse within a community of interests." Many stated that their teacher friends are the ones who have kept them going during discouraging times. C. Giorgis, and T. G. Pritchard, who have written extensively on teacher support groups, contend that "educators need to work with each other to think, analyze, and create conditions for change within their specific circumstances that relate to their personal or professional needs." Laurie Whitlock has been a mentor to many young teachers during her years of teaching, but she still looks to her peers for support for herself. Schyrlet Cameron told that other teachers serve as a great source of knowledge, encouragement, and inspiration. She said she believes in "surrounding herself with excellence."
