Effective shared-content teams reduce teacher workload, lowering the planning burden on any individual. They also reduce the expertise burden on each individual: every teacher’s plan should represent the shared expertise among the group and any expert supporting the group. Additionally, these teams are a highly effective and efficient venue for experts to deliver contentbased, job-embedded professional development (PD). When these teams are structured effectively, they become the primary way that both planning and PD takes place in the school.

Shared-content teaching teams are comprised of teachers who share a common grade and subject (or, at the high school level, course). Their collaboration typically includes the following objectives:

Develop lesson plans focused on a common curriculum or text as well as long-term unit plans
Develop common formative assessments and analyze results
Determine how to adjust instruction in response to student progress
Participate in training on common areas for development

Depending on how a shared-content team is structured in a given school, teachers may also collaborate on how to regroup students for targeted, small-group support and work together to develop individualized interventions.

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