Teamwork: Setting the Standard for Collaborative Teaching, Grades 5-9

TeamWork: Setting the Standard for Collaborative Teaching, Grades 5-9is full of captivating stories and insightful conversations. "The teamers" provide an honest and richly detailed explanation of collaborative teaching in action.

Monique Wild, a seventeen-year veteran of teaching, is a National Board Certified Teacher and is currently a master teacher in Donaldsonville, Louisiana, where she coordinates professional development for teachers at Donaldsonville High School.

She has worked at the primary, middle, and high school levels and has experienced great success in working as a member of an instructional team. In 2002, her instructional team was recognized by the National Middle School Association as a Team That Makes a Difference, and in 2006, she was a member of the first teaching team to take home the title of Disneys Outstanding Teacher of the Year.

Monique became a teacher because she loves to learn. "As my days as a high school student were coming to an end, I discovered that I did not want to leave school. Teaching, I realized, would allow me to remain in a school setting so that I could share my love for learning with others. . . . Teaching is my passion; it is what I was born to do."

"The absolute joy in teaching comes from building relationships with students," she adds. "Nothing supports learning more than relationships. There is nothing I'd rather do than waltz around the classroom with my students acting out a scene from a story, lie on the floor to read with them, or referee a heated debate about a historical topic. Best of all, I can do these things all on the same day. Every day, I am able to experience the world with students I love. The world looks brighter when I allow myself to see it through their eyes."

The biggest and most memorable professional development experience in Monique's teaching career came when she completed the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards certification. "Through the process I became a reflective professional, always seeking a better way to accomplish classroom goals," Monique says. "Effective professional development forces me to identify my beliefs, to question others about the beliefs I hold dear, to challenge myself with new possibilities, and to reflect on how my beliefs have changed as a result of professional discussions. I believe professional development should assist me in internalizing craft knowledge so that the concepts I explore become part of my daily work."

Monique lives in Donaldsonville with her husband, Kevin, and two children, Regan and Jordan. She is working toward her Ed.D. in teacher leadership.

Amanda Mayeaux is a teacher to the core. "When I interact with students and see their excitement about learning, I can't imagine doing anything else," she says.

She is the associate principal at Donaldsonville High School in Donaldsonville, Louisiana. Her specialties are middle school mathematics, writing as a tool for learning, and teaming. A National Board Certified Teacher, she is also a member of the 2006 Disney Outstanding Teacher of the Year team and a recipient of the 2003 Milken National Educator award and the 2001 National Middle School Teams That Make a Difference award.

"I believe teaching impacts the future like no other profession," says Amanda. "I love knowing that the smallest thing I do could change the world twenty years from now. I love watching a child discover that his life matters to others and he has the power to impact the globe."

Amanda says that writing TeamWork "was an unbelievable journey into myself, the relationship with my partners, and what I believe as a teacher. The goal was to share truth, both joyful and painful, so others could grow."

Amanda loves to read fiction and educational materials. She and her family love to travel, camp, and hike. They also love to try new recipes and share their creations with their friends.

Kathryn became a teacher because, as a child, she moved around a lot with her family and her teachers at new schools always helped with the transition. "My teachers were usually the first smiling faces I met. Not only do I love helping and teaching children, I enjoy being one of the positive people in their lives."

A graduate of Clemson University, she is a special education inclusion teacher at Dutchtown Middle School in Geismar, Louisiana. Her areas of specialty include special education, middle school language arts, and middle school mathematics.

Kathryn is a member of the team of teachers who received the 2006 Disney Outstanding Teacher of the Year, Middle School Teacher of the Year, and Youth Service awards.

She enjoys traveling, cooking, reading, and cheering on the Clemson and LSU Tigers.