A Few Thoughts on Collaboration in Today’s Schools

By Marilyn Friend, Ph.D.
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Representative to the Representative Assembly (RA) for the Teacher Education Division (TED)

This semester, I’m teaching a doctoral level seminar on collaboration as it pertains to the field of special education.  My students have background in early childhood education, speech/language therapy, and special education.  As we begin to explore the state of the art of school collaboration, they are raising concerns that I suspect also are pertinent to most of you reading these posts.  They’ve raised issues such as these, topics that I hope some of you are interested in commenting on:

• Educators often say that they value collaboration, but when it comes to implementation, they may decide they only want to collaborate with certain individuals or in situations that are their choice.  One of the most difficult aspects of collaboration is the understanding that it should be based on the goal to be achieved.  That is, if attaining a goal (for us, usually positive student outcomes, but it could be others, such as designing a new program, revising curriculum, or creating a professional development activity) is most likely when professionals work together, then collaboration is necessary.  It’s not a matter of choice based on preference, it’s a matter of choice based on understanding the goal.

Educators sometimes seem to have difficulty deciding whether a particular situation calls for collaboration.  This topic is directly related to the first bullet point, but goes in a different direction.  That is, not everything that is done is schools can be collaborative—the time simply is not available nor is collaboration always a good use of the time that IS available.  As you grow as a professional, a question to keep in mind when others say it’s time to work together is this:  Is this a task or activity that will be better as a result of use working together or is it something could be as effectively accomplished if one person took responsibility and completed the work?

Although special educators increasingly received at least some professional preparation on topics related to collaboration, some do not and few general educators (whether in programs for elementary, middle, or high school) have any preparation at all.  More than almost any other factor, the absence of attention to collaboration as a guiding principle in preservice preparation is difficult to understand.  I suspect many teacher educators think that collaboration is being addressed by placing teacher candidates in groups to do projects and by discussing the complexities of working with others in schools.  However, as many of you have expressed in your posts, the realities of schools requires much more than that.  Just as business prepares most students to deal with difficult situations and to work effectively whether colleagues are similar or diverse, we need to prepare new teachers for the same.

Collaboration and a collaborative school culture affect everyone, not just teachers.  Several of you posting on this blog are paraprofessionals, and you see the benefits of collaboration as well as the problems that can arise when your voice is not included.  You’ve mentioned that it is sometime a delicate matter to decide whether you should say something about what you’re seeing or experiencing.  The fact that you even have to be concerned about that also tells us that schools have a long way to go in developing collaborative cultures where parity—equally valued contributions—are a reality.

Enough!  I hope that these comments prompt you to think further about the collaboration that occurs (or doesn’t?) in your own situation and to ask questions or post comments about successes as well as dilemmas.  I’ll check in several times between now and the end of the week to see what you’ve added.  I’ve also asked my students to check the site, and so you might hear from them as well.

Comments

[Tracy S]

I am currently student teaching in a school where special education is constantly put on the back burner. This meaning that general education teachers as well as principals see special education as a hassle and a big time commitment. However, on the reverse side of that, general education teachers are constantly wanting the "lower" students to be tested for services and become angry and frustrated when their students don't qualify. I can't help but think how well our students would be doing if there was more collaboration going on between the special education team and the general education teachers. Different strategies can be discussed where the student would be receiving the best possible support. It frustrates me when I see two of the same students teachers not being able to work together to find the best teaching strategies for the student.

[Mackenzi]

I know I decided to become a teacher because of the students. I also know that there are days when I do not feel like collaborating, but I do so because I want what is best for my students. Maybe undergrad and grad programs in education should have a clas on collaboration. There is really no other option.

[Toni Wilkinson]

Dr. Friend's comments on collaboration are exremely thought provoking. I have been going over and over collaboration in my mind the past few weeks and I had never considered some of her ideas concerning collaboration. I have felt pressure within myself to "collaborate" with general education teachers concerning my students with special needs over every area of their time in the general education classrooms. Then after reading Dr. Friend's comments in this blog, I almost feel relieved. I can see there are situations where I will need to take the initiative and be responsible. I actually feel more empowered by her ideas on collaboration.

[Monique]

These comments are very interesting. I am a communication application teacher working on a master’s degree in special education because I work with many special education students on a daily basis. But I, like many of my co-workers, have had very little training teaching kids with special needs. Collaboration is very important in preparing lesson plans. I feel more confident in my instruction when I’m prepared. I have only been teaching for 3 years and I learn so much from veteran teachers when I observe and collaborate with them. Unfortunately, my department (fine arts) does not meet very often at my school. We’re supposed to meet once a week but we only meet once a month. I’m constantly looking for ways to improve as a professional and collaboration is one area I can concentrate on for this upcoming school year. I’m glad I came across your blog because it was very informative. With professional development courses, staying updated by researching the latest education issues, and collaborating with other colleagues, I can become a better professional and leader.

[Alaina]

Thank you for posting about the collaboration dillema facing many schools. I am a novice teacher and I am finding that I feel more prepared and ready to teach when I get time to talk with and plan with my fellow colleagues. I teach elementary music and we are told we need to be cross curricular in our teachings. At the beginning of the year we do get a little pamphlet about what each grade level learns in every subject but we arent given the timeline or how the instruction is grouped. As secialists we often find ourselves asking our general ed teachers (or even the students) what they are learning about on any given week. I have an inventory of songs that teach my musical elements but also reinforce gen ed material that I could pull into my lessons if I was able to collaborate with my gen ed teachers more often. Unfortunately due to budget cuts and time restraints I no longer have my planning periods to find time to talk with my colleagues. If you have ever sat through a day of music classes you know it is a constant non-stop revolving door of one class coming in right on the heels of the other with no down time. I rarely get to even talk with my colleagues when they pick their kids up and drop em off. My favorite days are the institute days or the extra grant funded curriculum design opportunities where I actually get time to talk with my colleagues. Some people reading this probably ask- why not just talk after school. I would love to but right after school I have choruses 3 out of the 5 days of the week that go until 4:30- most teachers have left the building by then. I have meetings between my two schools 4 out of th 5 mornings where there is little time given to talk. As a new teacher I feel behind because of the lack of collaboration and have turned to blogging and other online forms of communication to help me feel ready to teach.

[Rita King]

I am currently in my fourth year of teaching in special education. I teach Language Arts in high school and we have implemented collaboration for the past two years. I have found that we are experiencing the same problems as virtually every other school. I am currently working on completing my Continuing Education Option (CEO) project offered in Kentucky. I find that collaborating with a variety of teachers can be extremely enlightening. They appear to have little to no training or experience in teaching students with special needs. Often times I am asked to make copies or run errands, but these incidents are becoming less common. I have been able to offer suggestions to the regular ed. teachers on behavior and grading issues. They are becomming more receptive to dealing with special needs students and special needs teachers. Many of the regular ed. teachers believe that we are there only for the students with IEP's. I have been passing information on to them that I have learned through collaboration trainings and experience with other teachers. Many of them are beginning to have a better understanding of the issues incurred by the students with IEP's and the strategies used to help them learn. I try to let them see that I consider all students as 'special'. I answer questions and treat the regular ed. students the same as the ones with IEP's. I think collaboration is a great benefit for many students. I believe that as time goes by, teachers will all become more proficient in this method of delivering instruction.

[Cynthia Shamberger]

Some interesting comments have been posted. I wish I had known of such a forum during my seven years of public instruction with students with emotional and behavioral disabilities. since I started my doctoral program two years ago in Special Education, I have also come to realize that much attention to teacher preparation regarding collaboration skills is needed. Professional development opportunities are also needed for educators in and out of the classroom to gain a skill set conducive to effective collaboration. In my experience, I have found that being brave enough to read on my own, find one or two people in my building or district to work toward better outcomes for students, in small steps is good on-the-job training as far as collaboration is concerned. Then, when other more formal opportunities to learn about collaboration arise, take them.

[Dr.Suzanne Carter]

Dr. Friend,
I appreciate this blog to open up conversation with colleagues. I completed my dissertation to determine the academic impact of collaborative instruction as there were few studies that actually measured academic achievement. The results were more encouraging that I even anticipated. There was no evidence that achievement was negatively impacted for general education students or swd. There was evidence that achievement scores rose following collaborative instruction and the gap between swd and non swd decreased after the implementation of collaborative instruction. Your work is referenced in my study and I appreciate you leading the way to support more collaborative efforts.

I agree with the others that we still have a lot of work to do in the area of pre-service training as well as professional learning for gen ed as well as special ed teachers and ADMINISTRATORS. Sue

[Carol Dinsdale]

Dear Shag,
I'd like to add to your earlier comment about early childhood teachers not being heard in collaborative meetings. I teach a 2nd and 3rd grade self-contained class for students with Emotional Behavioral Disabilities. My Teaching Associate is with us all day working in small groups, accompanying the studnets to PE, art, and lunch. She rides the bus with the children to and from school daily. Her observations are extremely valuable. I try to schedule collaborative meetings so she can be present to provide her input on both student academics and behavior.
She is a Godsend!

[Rae/NY]

Bravo Marilyn!

This aspect of being a "Professional" definitely needs a light shown on it. I also send kudos to the other posters before me. I am involved in the education community as a provider, student and consumer. The need for COOPERATIVE (friendly and helpful) collaboration is essential across the board. Imagine what we truly could accomplish for our exceptional children and their parents if we worked together in mind and spirit without the ego or power driven aversion to sharing. Hopefully, through this new information dissemination process called the internet, we will see a positive change in the flow or current of collaboration trends for educators in general. It is possible that the inherent potential anonymous nature of these posts will encourage people to share and eventually make some holes in the brick wall at the end of the blind alley.

[Mic]

"Collaboration," as it pertains to education, is as ironically named as "No Child Left Behind."

One reality of being a special educator is that collaboration-in practice--is a nebulous concept for many educators (special and general), guidance conselors, and asministrators. Its original intent was to be more about planning together, than about teaching together. We generally do just the opposite in practice. Most often the planning part is curtailed or left out (due to "time constraints") and teachers are thrust into the classroom together as "co-teachers" left to build the ship after it's left the harbor.

[Ellen]

Shag,
I also work with Early Childhood students at a CC in NC. We do not offer a course specific to collaboration but do have several modules of studies on collaborating with parents and other professionals embedded in the curriculum. My students who work in child care consistently complain that they prepare their notes and are ready to collaborate but feel disrespected in many meetings when school personnel are present. My students feel they can collaborate with the parent in most situations but when other specialists get involved the collaboration breaks down. There views are not listened to. I think it is an issue of position power; parents, specialists have more power and prestige than child care teachers. Even though in most cases, the CC teacher spends 50 hours a week with the child.

I am also interested in your course. We do not offer anything like that here in NC. I think I would like to offer a class specific to collaboration.

[Marilyn Friend]

Hi, Pam. I agree that more preparation is needed related to working with parents as well as colleagues. The whole spectrum of "working together" topics should be a central part of a teacher preparation curriculum.

Marilyn

[Marilyn Friend]

Liz:

thanks for sharing the bloginformation with your colleagues. There will be a new topic beginning next week.

Marilyn

[Liz Ditz]

I just learned about this blog through an e-mail from CEC. I am passing on the URL to my fellow graduate students in education at Holy Names University in Oakland, which also has a certificate program in Educational Therapy.

[Pam]

My dissertation (still incomplete at this writing) is about collaboration with parents as they navigate through the labryinth that is Special Education. In my research, it appears that collaboration among team members falls apart and devolves into conflict or apathy when trust and respect is compromised. If parents don't trust you and you don't respect them and their situation, you're going nowhere. I'm not convinced that preservice teachers get adequate preparation for working with not only other education professionals, but parents too.

[Marilyn Friend]

Shag:

Your comments underscore the importance of collaboration for the entire range of educators. I often find myself asking why, when nearly every other profession emphasizes the development of collaborative skills the same is not true for professional educators. Thanks for commenting.

[Shag Norman]

I teach a course called Resources and Collaboration for Young Children with Special Needs (I wrote the course) in an Associate Degree Program at a technical college in WI.

If you think paraprofessionals in public schoo stiuations struggle with collaboration, you should take a good look the struggles of early childhood teachers in child care centers. It is often those very teachers who first recognize potential learning problems with a child and instigate a referral. These teachers may spend 7-8 hours a day with that child, and know him/her very well. Yet when the "professionals" get involved, and collaboration is needed, the voice of the early childhood teacher is often discounted.

We spend a long time in class learning assertive techniques, and learning how to teach these same techniques to parents, who are the other discounted voice.