Professional Development Project:

The Basics of Collaboration

Breanna Furline

Kimberly Odom

Nick Richardson

The University of Alabama

What is Collaboration?

(Friend & Cook, 2010, p.7)

A style of interaction

between two or more voluntary, equal parties.

Parties resolve together towards a

mutual goal.

Why Collaboration?

• One of the Ten Content Standards for Special Education addressed by the Council for Exceptional Children and National Council on Accreditation of Teacher Education (Ludlow, 2011).

• “Districts are now looking at models for ‘pulling-in’ disabled students.” (Nichols, Dowdy & Nichols, 2010).

• Achievements of a methodical group are greater than an individual's feats (Inger, 1993).

Characteristics of Collaboration

• Voluntary• Equality• Mutual goals• Shared responsibility• Shared decision making• Sharing of resources• Shared accountability• Interpersonal style• Trust• Community

Components of Collaboration

Friend and Cook (2010) define the five components of collaboration as:

1. Personal Commitment: Do you trust in the advantages of using collaboration in your class?

2. Communication: Are you willing to communicate with diverse cultures?

3. Interaction: Are you willing to solve problems from beginning to end?

4. Programs/Services: In what context will you be collaborating?

5. Context: Are you collaborating with colleagues, parents, administrators, etc.?

Characteristics of Collaboration

Glasbergen, 2011

Components of Collaboration

In Rick DuFour’s 2003 article ‘Collaboration lite’ puts students’ achievement on a starvation diet, he looks further into how the components of collaboration are utilized to benefit students. He says the following three things must be in place to foster student success.

“1. Leaders must promote a collaborative

environment.2. The collaborative process is designed to impact

professional practice.3. The effectiveness is assessed on results.

“

Components of Collaboration

Saint Paul Public Schools, 2011

Who do we collaborate with?

Administrators

FellowEducators

Parents

Community

(Friend & Cook, 2010, p. 21)

Collaborating with Parents of English Language Learners

The National Center for Culturally Responsive Educational Systems offers tips on how to effectively collaborate with parents of English Language Learners. These parents are typically also learning the language themselves. The organization hopes these tips will break down barriers in order to promote collaboration which will in turn promote further education of minority students.

Building Collaboration between Schools and Parents of English Language Learners

Collaborating With the Community

• Miami, Florida• Partnership between the nation’s fourth largest public

school system (Miami Dade Public Schools) and Miami’s only public research university (Florida International University)

• Free ELL tutoring• Project CLAVE• Graduate Student Interns create projects and activities

for Neva King Cooper Educational Center for Severe and Profound Disabilities

• Academy for Advanced Academics

Collaborating With the Community

(Florida international university, 2011)

• Achieving Community Collaboration in Education and Student Success

References

Collaboration lite, true collaboration. (2011). [Print Photo]. Retrieved from http://ell.spps.org/Components_of_Collaboration.html

DuFour, R. (2003). ‘Collaboration lite’ puts student achievement on a starvation diet. Journal of Staff Development, 24, 4, 63-64.

Florida international university: Education. (2011). Retrieved from http://education.fiu.edu/worldsahead/ACCESS.html

References

Friend, M., & Cook, L. (2010). Interactions: Collaboration for school professionals (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson

Inger, M. (1993). Teacher collaboration in secondary schools. CenterFocus, (2), Retrieved from http://vocserve.berkeley.edu/centerfocus/CF2.html

References

Waterman, R., & Harry, B. (2008). Building collaboration between schools and parents of english language learners: Transcending barriers, creating opportunities. Practioner Brief, Retrieved from http://www.nccrest.org/Briefs/PractionerBrief_BuildingCollaboration.pdf