What to Do When Collaborative Teams Aren’t Working (Podcast Guest Episode)

Have you ever sat in a PLC where everyone is nodding along… and then nothing actually changes in classrooms?

You are not alone. Teams can meet every single week and still not be collaborating. That’s exactly what I got to dig into with Kurtis Hewson of Jigsaw Learning on the Building a Culture of Collaboration podcast, episode 108.

Signs Your Collaborative Team Is Stuck

Sometimes it’s obvious, and sometimes it’s sneaky. A few signs we talked about:

• Meetings are mostly logistics, announcements, and calendar talk
• A couple of voices do all the talking (and everyone else is grading papers)
• Plans get made together, but they never show up in classrooms
• Data gets reviewed, and then… nothing happens with it

None of these mean your team is “bad.” They usually mean the team doesn’t have a shared purpose or the structures to get there yet.

Build Alignment and Shared Knowledge First

One of the biggest takeaways from our conversation: before a team can collaborate well, they need common language and a common goal. As coaches, we can help by facilitating strategies that build knowledge and alignment, like collaborative planning, looking at student work together, and data conversations that end with a clear next step.

And here’s the key: we have to be really intentional about the gap between what we learn together in the meeting and what happens in classrooms afterward. That bridge is where coaching makes the biggest difference.

Grow Collective Efficacy One Small Win at a Time

Collective efficacy (a team’s shared belief that together they can impact student learning) doesn’t come from a single great meeting. It grows when teams try something, see it work for kids, and celebrate it. Small, quick wins build momentum. Help your team notice and name those wins!

Listen to the Full Episode

Kurtis and I go deeper into practical moves you can use with your teams right away. Listen to episode 108 here or watch it on YouTube.

Want more from Kurtis? He joined me on my show, too! Check out Collaborative Team Response with Kurtis Hewson, ep. 293.

Tools to Help Your Teams Collaborate

Need structures that keep PLCs focused on student learning? The PLC Forms Toolkit Bundle gives you agendas, norms, and planning forms, and my Purposeful PLCs PD video walks you through running meetings that lead to classroom change.

Keep Reading

• A Ready-to-Use PLC Strategy: Mix-Pair-Share
• Why Intentional Habits Matter for Purposeful Collaboration

Want More Coaching Strategies Like These?

Everything I shared in this conversation connects to my new book, Expand Your Coaching Toolbox (ASCD + ISTE). It’s packed with practical, differentiated coaching strategies for building relationships, building knowledge and alignment, and building classroom skill, so you can meet every teacher right where they are.