I’ve had the pleasure of working with 2 fantastic colleagues, Zach Strother and TJ Edwards, on an Interdisciplinary PBL “Unit”.  TJ had the idea of HMW we redesign a bike for an urban commuter that he wants to use in his Tech, Engineering, and Design (TED) class.  Zach teaches AP Physics.  I teach Algebra 2.  As I left our time of collaboration this morning, I reflected on how fortunate I am to work with these guys, how well we work together, and how learning from them is making me a better math teacher, which benefits my students.  Part of what works in our collaboration is that we chose the project and each other.  We come from similar mindsets to education, though not identical, which probably minimizes the disagreements.  Yet, we also feel comfortable enough to push back on certain things and talk through disagreements as we get to unity.

This…