Teacher Experiences and Perceptions of Collaboration and Peer Support in an Innovative Learning Environment

The research under discussion here was part of a larger project to investigate teaching and learning in a newly created innovative learning environment in an otherwise traditional secondary school in Central Scotland. By focussing on interview data gathered in relation to collaboration, peer observation and the realities of sharing a large teaching space, as experienced by the participants, this discussion explores what collaborative working entails for the teachers within the context of this project. Planned culture shifts, where teachers have been asked to teach using new strategies in a new and unfamiliar learning space, make emotional as well as pedagogical and practical demands on teachers. It is argued in this paper that the adaptation of practice required by teachers in spaces like this makes it an intimidating prospect for some. The implications these findings may have for teacher education and for the support of practising teachers to help them engage in effective peer collaboration are also explored.