When Teaming is the Strategy
- Angela Langlands
- 7 days ago
- 4 min read
A collaborative post by the 2 Angelas
This post started with a conversation seven years ago at the Western Academy of Beijing. At the time, the school was deep in the work of building learning communities, trying to move beyond theory and into something that actually worked for teachers and students. I was experiencing it from inside the classroom and the team, while my collaborator was leading it from a whole-school perspective.
She was one of the rare administrators who didn't just talk about collaboration, but actively worked to build the structures and conditions that made it possible.
This piece reflects both of our perspectives, shaped by the same work, but experienced in very different ways.
Angela Langlands: Teacher Leader Perspective
If you want learning communities to work, you have to get teaming right.
There are many important elements in building strong collaborative systems: time, structures, shared language, and professional learning. But none of them matter in the long run if the team itself isn't intentionally built.
I've worked in a school that was trying to design learning communities from the ground up. The vision was strong. The intention was there. Ideas were being pulled from around the world and adapted for the context. On paper, it should have worked.
But year after year, the work struggled to take hold.
Not because people didn't care. Not because the model was flawed. It was because of how the teams were formed.
There were always a few ready teachers, people who believed in collaboration, who had seen it work before, or who were simply willing to try. They were placed across teams, often with the hope that they would help lead the shift.
But one willing teacher cannot carry a team that isn't ready.
When the work became difficult, and it always does, teams defaulted to what felt familiar. And what felt familiar was working in a silo.
Over time, that imbalance eroded everything. Energy shifted. What began as a possibility turned into frustration. Conversations became more cautious. People pulled back. Trust broke down. And the work became something people endured rather than built together.
Then the system reset. The same pattern, the following year.
But then, with the support of a visionary leader, the opposite was created. A team is intentionally built for purpose. When there is a critical mass of people willing to engage, to sit in the discomfort of doing something differently, the work begins to move. Trust forms more quickly. Risk feels possible. People start to rely on each other.
It's not that the work becomes easier. It's that it becomes shared.
And that changes everything.
Learning communities don't fail because the idea is too ambitious. They fail because the conditions for collaboration aren't strong enough to sustain it. And the most important of those conditions is the team itself.
Teaming isn't a logistical decision.
It's the strategy.
Angela Steinmann: Administrator and Visionary Perspective
A key component in the success of a learning community is having a member of the leadership team on board, one with clear intentions to build the right foundations, ensure the right supports are in place, and shape a strategy that is fit for purpose. Leadership must have a laser-like focus on sourcing the resources needed, on understanding the importance of building momentum, and on continuing to champion the case when inevitable bumps in the road appear.
A leader who can see the big picture and bring all of the parts together is crucial. This includes diverse aspects such as bringing parents on board and encouraging and supporting teachers to take a leap of faith and explore unfamiliar professional opportunities. It also extends to micro aspects, such as ensuring that appropriate release time is granted to teachers in other teams so that they, too, can see and feel firsthand how communities function. Leaders can be instrumental in scheduling timetables that allow the team to collaborate across the day, week, and year, and in ensuring that the right professional development opportunities are extended to staff. Consideration of learning spaces, the potential need for building plans to be developed, neurodiversity within a community, and the need to outline the learning community approach in admission procedures are other aspects to manage. These changes require both short-term and long-term strategic planning.
The leader drives this process, but they are only one part of the team. The team dynamic, who chooses and is chosen to come together to work as a learning community, is the single most important component in its success. Collaboration between these teachers extends far beyond the sharing of worksheets. It involves ongoing, genuine, day-by-day professional connections to plan, teach, respond, adjust, and reflect, with each student at the centre of every conversation. Teachers who are committed to this dynamic approach to teaching and learning are at the core of vibrant collaborative learning communities.
Similarly, ensuring parents understand how their children will be supported in learning and that they are not being exposed to radical or unscientific approaches to pedagogy is crucial. Fortunately, this is not difficult, as the enthusiasm students have for this approach makes them the best advocates for learning communities. When they come home energized and share their daily experiences, parents can see that their children are actively engaged in their own learning.
While collaborative learning communities can occur in all types of learning spaces, developing a space that is sympathetic to the model can give a school a head start on its journey. A leader can ensure that resources, time, and professional development are organized around this topic. Changing spaces involves knowing the local building regulations in your context and factoring changes into the longer-term strategic plan.
Finally, baseline measurements are critical in telling the story. Relationships matter. Student engagement matters. But at the end of the day, we are in the business of advancing learning. Leaders must ensure that data is collected appropriately, that results are analyzed to help plan future directions and targets, and that successes are promoted to the broader school community.
Note: This post was edited with AI as an assistant to refine grammar and readability. Ideas, voice, and words remain intact.
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