Behind every lesson plan and exam, there’s often a team of class-alike teachers working together to create a fair and engaging experience for their students. Teachers who teach the same classes often share resources, align tests and coordinate grading, all while bringing their own unique teaching styles into the classroom. This teamwork not only helps create uniformity among classes but also enriches the learning environment.
In the English and science departments, teachers coordinate closely by sharing lesson slides, tests and grading practices. Physics teachers Tom Casavant and Matthew Welander, who both teach AP Physics 1 and 2, say they aim for consistency in their lectures. Casavant describes their partnership as both effective and enjoyable.
“He’s very easy to work with. I really enjoy my relationship with him and everything he brings to the class,” Casavant said. Welander has created or modified the majority of the curriculum because he has been at the school longer, Casavant said.
When it comes to exams, the two teachers coordinate what scores constitute a curve and normalize grading practices to try to keep class averages more consistent across their sections.
Emphasizing the importance of a unified approach in grading and instruction, English 11 Honors and Creative Writing teacher Amy Keys said she tries to adopt a similar collaborative approach within her department. Keys and English 11 Honors teacher Natasha Ritchie plan lessons together and discuss grading practices in an effort to keep their classes in sync.
At the beginning of the school year, they also developed a shared calendar for their lesson plans throughout the year. This is especially helpful during the early weeks of school, when many students switch schedules to fit their desired classes.
Keys also appreciates the depth that another teacher’s perspective brings to their planning process: “You have two sets of eyes and two brains working on something,” she said. “Everyone has different strengths and areas where they’re still growing, so I think we complement each other pretty well.”
By working with others in the department, teachers are able to present a more unified curriculum and between classes. This balance between teamwork and individual teaching styles highlights how teachers work to refine and improve student learning.
However, despite many teachers’ efforts to design the course curriculums together, students sometimes complain about differences in teaching styles, especially mismatches in the difficulties of classes. Despite teachers’ efforts, maintaining consistency between classes can be difficult, especially when students compare notes and find differences in how material is presented or graded. These inconsistencies can lead to frustration among students, particularly when they feel that one teacher’s section of a course is significantly harder — or easier — than another’s.
This is evident with bigger assessments that largely determine a student’s final grade. In classes like history and English, some grade-conscious students are quick to look for differences in the grading of essays and projects. In STEM subjects like math and science, the perceived differences between teachers are often with the difficulty of unit tests.
Teachers acknowledge these challenges and they strive to address them through collaboration, particularly by standardizing rubrics and discussing grading practices. However, they also emphasize the importance of individual teaching styles.
Despite teaching the same course, teachers naturally bring their unique teaching styles to the classroom. Casavant, for example, describes himself as a more “kinetic” teacher, incorporating humor and energy into his lessons, while Welander maintains a more structured, organized environment. Similarly, Keys and Ritchie also have unique personalities and personal teaching styles.
“In the end, we’re all just trying to make things better for our students,” Casavant said. “That’s what really matters.”
