Randa Haiek
The Greek Catholic School Shefa-amr,
Israel
Collaboration is essential in almost all professions – and teaching is no exception. The benefits of teacher
collaboration are multiplied by building collective motivation; the more we see that working together is effective, the
more we are motivated to work together. Such collaboration can also give students insight into another way of life
and develop appreciation of culture diversity and hopefully, bring world peace.
I consider myself lucky to have this unique opportunity to collaborate with teacher Leah and her class from Puerto
Vallarta in Mexico this year. I believe that by bringing these two different worlds together through the English
language classes will definitely have a very positive influence on our students. I can see how engaged my students
are in finding out more about their peer Mexican friends from the far distant Mexico. This virtual contact through
the internet makes the lessons more vividly understood than any book or teacher could manage. This is an effective
way to boost their motivation and break the isolation of the classroom, and produce significant social and
psychological benefits for teachers and students.
Collaboration can give students insight
into another way of life and develop
appreciation of culture diversity and
hopefully, bring world peace.
This is the first time I'm personally engaged in such a program,
and I can already feel that working collaboratively can boost
my confidence, I can compare systems, see what negatives we
have and improve them.
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