Planning time

This semester I have the opportunity to spend some planning time with my practicum teacher. Last semester I didn't get to see any team meetings because I was not in the school during that time. I like being able to see the teachers collaborate and work together on ideas and problems they may have. An interesting meeting I witnessed this week was a textbook presentation. All of the social studies teachers in the school met with a representative of "History Alive" to discuss adopting it as the new textbook. I liked hearing the obstacles, worries, and desires of the teachers when deciding about new textbooks. I also like the "History Alive" series because it had many supplemental items that seemed to help students become engaged in social studies. My teacher says she likes the set because it supports her style of teaching. The representative was extremely knowledgeable about the DOK and Core Content 4.1 so he could relate it to the curriculum. He was also a social studies teacher for 12 years so he could communicate well with the teachers about the benefits of the program.
I think it is beneficial to see this meetings and discussions because teaching includes many responsibilities in the classroom.