The Collaboration Challenge: Are We Preparing Educators for the Future?

Last week in our Partners in Pedagogy webinar, we had the privilege of hearing from Dr. Stephen Harris, CEO and Co-Founder of LearnLife. He raised a crucial question: Why should we collaborate?

Collaboration isn’t just a classroom buzzword—it’s a fundamental life skill. Yet, we have an entire workforce of educators who were never explicitly taught how to collaborate in their own schooling. This is a challenge we must not ignore. Intentional thought is required. How can we expect students to develop collaboration skills if their teachers haven’t had the opportunity to learn and practise them?

The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 highlights collaboration as one of the most essential skills for the future workforce. But are we equipping our teachers with the tools and experiences to truly embrace collaboration?

To build genuine collaboration, we must move through clear phases:

🔹 Co-existing – Working in the same space but with minimal interaction.

🔹 Co-operating – Sharing resources or working together occasionally.

🔹 Collaborating – Engaging in deeper, intentional teamwork.

🔹 Co-creating – Innovating together to build something new.

And here’s the exciting part—the opportunities that come from moving to a culture of collaboration are endless! From stronger relationships between staff to deeper connections and support for students to (let’s say it!) how we collaborate with AI—the possibilities are transformative.

Only when educators have explicit training and experience in collaboration can they authentically model and teach collaboration to students. The traditional one-teacher, one-classroom model is outdated—it no longer serves the needs of today’s learners or the rapidly changing world they are stepping into.

So, how are you supporting your teachers to develop mastery in collaboration? If you’d like support in making this shift, let’s connect! The EduShift Collective is here to help.

• Mel Evans, Co-Founder, The EduShift Collective