Teacher-Researcher Collaborations

by Mary Patterson

What’s in it for me? 
What does it take to make a collaboration work successfully? 

Teachers often engage in collaborative research in order to deepen and reflect on their own practice and effectiveness in the classroom. Some may be early career teachers looking to further develop their teaching repertoire of skills and some may be mid-career or later teachers who seek motivation and stimulation of intellectual curiosity.

New technologies are helping us understand more about what learning looks like, and as teachers in today’s changing world, we need the work of researchers in order to reach all students.

Research collaborations may take different forms. Some may be as simple as completing researcher surveys, interviews or allowing a researcher access to observe a class. Other collaborations may be researcher or teacher driven partnerships.

At the Cyberlearning 2015: Connect, Collaborate, and Create the Future meeting held in Arlington, VA, teachers and researchers met to exchange ideas about successful collaborations. Researchers expressed that challenges they face include finding teachers willing to partner with them, gaining access to classrooms, and privacy issues with student data. 


Teachers shared the following tips with the researchers:

  • Plan ahead, plan early.  Begin seeking district permissions and teacher support March through May. Expect to meet with teachers in the summer to plan your collaboration.

  •  Be flexible. Teacher schedules are often packed with both academic and administrative tasks.  All it takes is one unexpected fire drill to throw a monkey wrench into the day’s plans.

  • Clearly explain your rationale for research to the teachers and have actionable research questions.

  • Set up mutually-agreed upon weekly or bi-weekly meetings. Some teachers may be willing to stay late, come in early or meet on weekends. Many teachers reported that meeting during the school day (during their planning time) creates stress and is the least favorable option.

  • Explicitly state the roles and responsibilities for all parties at the outset, while keeping in mind that shifts might occur during the duration of the project.

  • Talk with the collaborating teacher in advance about age-appropriate ways to engage with students.

Quote from teacher-collaborator, Beth Sanzenbacher

Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School
“Working with Tom and his group at UIC has not only impacted how my students learn but has changed the way I teach. Collaborating with his team on their work has given me fresh insights in how I can approach other units and disciplines. What I find invaluable is the time we spend discussing larger pedagogical questions. In the day-to-day realities of teaching having time to truly think about the why’s of your work is a luxury.  The different perspectives that Tom and his team bring has made me a more reflective practitioner.”

Benefits of the Co-Design Process
As defined by Penuel et al. (2007) benefits of the Co-Design process include:

  • ·Increased ownership and agency by teachers

           Teachers became advocates and spokespeople for the innovation with in the district.

  • Teacher professional development

          Teachers had a chance to develop and refine their own ideas about teaching and learning.

Nesbitt & Thomas (1998) argue for a paradigm shift that seeks collaboration on common ground, negotiated by all practitioners:

A Point to Ponder:

“Authentic collaboration can occur only when the mutual respect and trust—between those from the dominant paradigm and those who have had to work from the margins—is sufficient to produce interaction that is naturally egalitarian, rather than mediated by vigilant awareness of status difference. (p. 32)”

Teachers and researchers looking to establish partnerships
can contact CIRCL at: www.circlcenter.org

Tell us your Stories!

Are you a teacher who’s collaborated with a researcher?  What tips would you add?
Please send in your comments.

Teachers & Researchers, Written by: Mary Patterson

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