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“So many gods, so many creeds, so many paths that wind and wind Working in Collaboration, Consultation and Teamwork while just the artTogether of being kind is all the sad world needs.” Michele Alafat — Ella Wheeler Wilcox, American Poet, 1896
ED 545 Effective Communication and Collaboration
Table of Contents Statement Purpose 3 Key Components of Collaboration 4 Teacher Stress Busting Strategies 5 Time Management 6 Problem Solving Model 7 Family Engagement 8 Working Together for Students of all Diversities
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Key Components of Collaboration - Active Listening
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Co-Teaching for Students with Special Needs 12 Working side by side : Teachers and Paraeducators
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Schools and Community Working Together 16
Statement Purpose “Collaborative school consultation with teamwork is an interactive process in which school personnel in general education and special education, related services and support personnel, families of students and the students themselves, are working together and sharing their diversity of knowledge and expertise to define needs and then plan, implement, assess, follow through and follow up on ways of helping students develop to their fullest.� (Dettmer, Knackendoffel & Thurston, P 9 2013)
There is a great deal of time and thought that needs to take place for a successful collaboration to take place. There are four main elements for collaborative school consultation. The first is delineation of roles. Every team member must be aware of his or her role in the case. What is the member expected to do? The second step would be to framework these roles. The structure needs to include time, place a management of the details. The third step is evaluation. From the data collected, how effective what the consultation and collaboration? Participation in the collaboration should be voluntary and must e a commitment for the members. Preparation needs to take place. It is not easy process and requires commitment and dedication from all involved. The following pages give many helpful strategies for effective communication, consultation and collaboration.
Resource Dettmer, P., Knackendoffel, A., and Thurston, L. P. (2013). Collaboration, consultation, and teamwork for students with special needs. (7th Ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
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Key Components in Collaboration
Preparation • Prior Experience - Knowledge & Experience = Wisdom • Preservice Teacher education programs students in education study need to be instructed in collaboration techniques • Advanced Teacher Education - special education teachers must understand scope of grade level curriculum and general education teachers must have knowledge and apply instructional techniques for students with disabilities. • Professional Development Teachers need to stay current professional development activities
Structure
Role
• Role Delineation- consultant, consultee and client roles are determined by needs of student. • Role Clarification defining the role to clarify whether it will be consultative and collaborative. The importance of role responsibilities is key to a successful instructional plan for student. • Role Parity - special educators often travel from one school to another - it is important that the school and faculty keep this in mind in collaboration. Continuous reinforcement and encouragement to both the teacher and the special educator is of importance for moral. • Role Expectations - Sometimes expectations are high and unreasonable which can cause stress. Performing too high may cause a special educator to think she/he will lose their job. Involvement of as many co-educators is recommended for collaboration and assistance in the job.
Key Components in Collaboration
• Time- there never seems to be enough time, but time can be made available by working together and providing a quiet space for consultation. • Resources - technology and electronic media provides a mean for data collect, preparing of reports, organizational tools, etc which makes the process of developing IEP more streamlined ultimately saving time. • Organization- clear mission statements and goals help educators stay focused and point out important ideas in the plan. • • Management- knowing what hurdles or problems may occur will have collaborating teachers work together. Also by knowing the obstacles the collaborators can design careful preparation skills in the plan.
Support
• Assessment- is critical for the providing data to measure the collaborative school consultation and co-teaching. • Evaluation - from the assessment data both formative and summative evaluations are used to determine the program’s value • Acceptance- It is extremely important that all involved in the study feel a sense of parity and involvement. They must want to be there. Even more important is the selection of the appropriate people from the start. • Commitment - it takes time, energy and ownership to be involved in this responsibility. Educators must have the support of their administration and a well thought out plan of action to have strong commitment.
Collaborative process is more than working together. It means the ability to think together and to act on complex projects. The traditional strategic planning process is not a model for the disciplines required to transform our economies. Rather, strategic “doing” offers a framework to achieve results. Thinking together is open innovation. Strategic doing guides open innovation. Strategic doing means: Listen and explore—What can we do together? Learn and adjust—How will we learn together? Focus and align—What should we do together? Link and leverage—What will we do together? 4
Teachers Stress Busting Strategies
Stop and smell the owers Teachers Stress-busting strategies Break down whatever you have to do into smaller tasks. ma Think of things that make teaching fun for you and do them!
Ways to help ease the stress in your life
Deal openly with a colleague who has bothered or upset you before the situation festers. Try not to take things personally Stay in close touch with nature. Talk to classroom pets, take a class outdoors if weather and school policy permit it, open the windows at snack time, find a way to incorporate the change of seasons and nature walks into your curriculum. Make time during the school year for your hobbies. Put a cartoon or photo that makes you laugh in you plan book or desk drawer and look at it when you need a boost. Take a walk during lunch, a planning period, or after school. During your walk, don't think about the things you have to do. Steer clear of the coffee pot in the faculty room. Too much caffeine can make you nervous and irritable. Keep in mind that no matter what colleagues, your principal, students, or parents think or say, you're basically a good teacher who can't please all the people all the time. Don't listen to the rumors that fly around the school. Give yourself permission to do absolutely nothing for five minutes a day — and not feel guilty about it. Just say no. Politely refuse to take on more projects than you can handle, even if a colleague, your principal, or a parent asks you to.
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Time Management Time Management Time Management is about choice. Teachers are often pulled in many directions and must balance their time in the classroom, parent teacher conferences, one on one student time, meetings and personal life. Management plans can be constructed by taking on a five step process: 1. Analyze your current use of time * Observe how your manage your time, keep a diary and record how you use your time. Another way is to use a matrix recording your time in 15 minute segments. Then at the end of t the day calculate where your time was spent. 2. Establish goals and priorities It is important to establish long term goals that are subdivided into short-term goals, weekly goals and daily goals. * Plan a personal treat when you have accomplished a goal. 3. Allocate you time and work Learn to delegate. There are times where a helper will be not only useful but also more effective. * Learn to say no when you need to. * Set deadline and time limits. * Get a work status cub that can convey messages such as “do not disturb�. 4. Use positive management techniques Effective time managers are masters of organization - A big time waster, looking for that missing lesson plan, collecting tools and equipment from students after completion of a project, searching out that IEP that was due yesterday, procuring books for a unit. Some hints for organizations are: * Throw out unwanted materials * Create a place or space for the materials you keep * Have a "To File" pile * Organize desk and office area. 5. Review your plan often to see if it is successful. * Plan time for yourself * Take time to relax * Make time to review your management plan Source: Dettimer, P., Knackendoffel, A., & Thurston, L. (2013), CollaboraSou tion, consultation and teamwork for students with special needs (7th ed.),
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Problem-Solving Process OSBORN–PARNES CREATIVE PROBLEM-SOLVING PROCESS THAT TAP STUDENTS’ NATURAL CREATIVITY “Ask the Kids” Model Example
CPS and its variations work best if a creative attitude, atmosphere, and culture exist within the classroom and school community. By using CPS strategies, schools can promote a culture of creativity so that students eventually identify and engage in creative problem-solving strategies even when they are not asked to do so. The practice of using CPS strategies within the schools can take advantage of the abilities people have and encourage people to emphasize and deliberately use these abilities to solve problems - both adults and children can benefit from these strategies.
Strategies * Establish and use collaborative team approach * Adults model collaborative, open, creative and problem solving behaviors * Involve students in making important instructional decisions * Give students ongoing opportunities to solve important problems in a an atmosphere where ideas are welcomed * Create opportunities to see that there can be more answers besides one Create ongoing opportunities for learning to be active problem solvers Adults should also learn from one another and from students
Students in Mrs. Thistle’s English class have a very limited time to accomplish reading the rest of The Book Thief, and finish a research paper before the end of the quarter which is just three weeks away. Several of the students have already finished the book and now have time on their hands, while the majority of the class had not finished reading the book and had just begun the research paper. Mrs. Thistle addresses the class, “ I realize that some of you are ahead in your reading and reports, but it is important that the entire class finishes this unit. Are there any suggestions or ideas?’ Johnny raises his hand, “ Well I do not think it is fair that those of us who took the time to read the book, now have to wait for the rest of the class to catch up. What are we suppose to do?” “That is true,” says Mrs. Thistle “But the fact remains, that finishing this unit is of extreme importance to the entire class.” “ I have a thought,” says Sarah, “ How about those of us who have finished the book, help some of the class catch up. We could form literature groups to read aloud and discuss in the group what is going on in the book.” “ That is an excellent idea Sarah. Perhaps you would like to help me organize those groups.”, replies Mrs. Thistle. “ I would like to get more involved in my research project, replies Johnny, “ I know that Mary and Paul have already done much of their research and could help me with how to cite resources. Would that be ok?” “Again a great idea! Perhaps we can have Ms. Alafat, our Resource Teacher take a group of students to the library to help them with their research. Ms. Alafat would you be willing to assist these students?’ “Of course!” Ms. Alafat replies - should we go now?” “Yes, then perhaps we can reconvene as a class in half of hour and have a group discussion about the Book Thief. How does that sound to everyone? “Great!” This example shows how a teacher asks her students for their ideas in solving a common problem in the classroom, where some students are farther along in their studies than others - and yet the teacher must engage the entire group. By using the students to helps students and another adult to assist is using a collaborative, teamlike approach. The students feel like they are being heard and empowered, while the teacher can spend some one on one time with students who need extra help. Source: Giangreco, M.F., Cloninger, C.J., Dennis, R.E., & Edelman, S.W., (1994), Problem-Solving Methods to Facilitate Inclusive Education. Retrieved from www.uvm. edu/~cdci/archives/mgiangre/ProblemsolvingmethodsRestructuring.pdf
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Family Engagement Helpful Hints for Teachers to Promote Family Engagement in their classrooms. Communication
Take a proactive approach. Contact your parents on a regular and consistent pattern, using either email, texting or other modes of electronic methods. By doing so it allows teachers to update parents on the student’s progress in a regular manner, while at the same time showing the parents that you have taken an active in their child.
Focus on the Positive
Be sure to build a positive relationship with the parents before there is a problem. Make an effort to showcase what the student is doing in the class. It will set the tone for further communications where the parent will not cringe to see an email coming from you - as a matter of fact the parents will look forward to the communications.
Inform Parents on What is happening in the class
All parents want to know what is going on while their child is no with them. Share the news! Perhaps it might spark some parent interest in participation or volunteering. Another great idea is to place an image with the email, so that the parent can see the activity.
Find time to know the parents and family
By building a relationship from the start - parents will feel more a part of the classroom community. Perhaps begin each year with a “back to school” night where parents can come to the school and go through the same routine as their child - make it interesting by setting up actual experiments for the parents to do - or have them write the essay you required the students to do during the day. They can then go home and share their experiences with their child.
Entice Parents to Want to Come back to classroom
When you have the parents attend the “back to school” night this could be an excellent place to get to know the talents of your parents. Perhaps one of them is a musician and would be willing to come to school to perform. It might make an excellent addition to your poetry class. Or perhaps a parent is an engineer and can help the class with their geometry project of building a bridge.
Visit the Family
Visits to the home can show the parent and student that you have an active interest in their lives. It can greatly benefit you as a teacher to how your students live outside the classroom. You may find you have discovered elements of that child’s culture that you could incorporate into the lesson plans.
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Working Together for Students Of All Diversities The broad range of experiences and perspectives brought to school by culturally, linguistically, and ethnically diverse students offer a powerful resource for ev“So many gods, so many creeds, eryone to learn more—in differso many paths that wind and wind ent ways, in new environments, while just the art of being kind is all the sad world needs.” and with different types of people. — Ella Wheeler Wilcox, American Poet, 1896 Every single person in this enormously diverse and ever-changing system has the power to serve JENNIFER HEWITSON as an invaluable resource for all others—students, teachers, and the community as a whole. Rather than constituting a problem for students and educators, the growing diversity in U.S. classrooms necessitates and encourages the development and use of diverse teaching strategies designed to respond to each student as an individual. Students who learn to work and play collaboratively with classmates from various cultures are better prepared for the world they face now—and the world they will face in the future. Teaching and learning strategies that draw on the social history and the everyday lives of students and their cultures can only assist this learning process. ILLUSTRATION BY
Teachers promote critical thinking when they make the rules of the classroom culture explicit and enable students to compare and contrast them with other cultures. Students can develop cross-cultural skills in culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms. For such learning to take place, however, teachers must have the attitudes, knowledge, and skills to make their classrooms effective learning environments for all students. Given the opportunity, students can participate in learning communities within their schools and neighborhoods and be ready to assume constructive roles as workers, family members, and citizens in a global society.
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Collaboration with Diverse Cultural Students and Parents Culture is the sum total of experiences, knowledge, skills, beliefs, values, and interests represented by the diversity of students and adults in our schools. While culture is often defined and perceived by schools as the celebration of important people, religions, traditions, and holidays, as well as an appreciation of the customs of different groups, it is also more than that. Culture is as much, or as little, as the everyday experiences, people, events, smells, sounds, and habits of behavior that characterize students’ and educators’ lives. Culture shapes a person’s sense of who they are and where they fit in their family, community, and society.
Characteristics US City Schools Total Student Enrollment.................................7.1 m Hispanic..............................................................39% African American.................................................31% White...................................................................19% Asian/Pacific Islander............................................8% Alaskan/Native American......................................1% Free/reduced price lunch eligibility......................68% English Language Learners................................16% Students with individualized education...............14% programs Number of Teachers...........................................414,976 Student-Teacher Ratio.......................................17:1 Number of Schools............................................12,095 source: Council of Great Cities http://www.cgcs.org/Page/1
Approximately 9% of the nation’s students attend rural schools. Schools in rural environment tend to be isolated, lack resources, limited staff and cultural isolation.
Students who are culturally linguistically diverse with exceptionality - CLDE - students are helped with team models composed of special educator and a bilingual educator. Family has been redefined and students may now be raised by single parents, grandparents, foster parents, or GLBTQ (gay lesbian, bisexual,trans-gendered parents or queer) Students whose families move frequently- often these students can exhibit anxiety and stress. Those will disabilities and special needs are even more impacted. Home schooled students do want to remain part of the school system. Families want to collaborate with school personnel especially if the child has special needs.
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Twenty Ways to know your Diverse Classroom As a teacher of this diverse world I will strive to:
1. Know the cultural background of each of my students and use this knowledge as a resource for instructional activities. 2. Know the culture of my classroom environment and behaviors and how it affects all of my students. 3. Design lessons that require students to identify and describe another point of view, different factors, consequences, objectives, or priorities. 4. Integrate literature and resources from my students’ cultures into my lessons. 5. Know the English language level of each of my students Measure, LAS, Woodcock-Munoz, IPT, CELDT). 6. Provide instruction that helps to increase the consciousness and valuing of differences and diversity through the study of historical, current, community, family, personal events, and literature. 7. Consistently begin my lessons with what students already know from home, community, and school. 8. Design my instructional activities in ways that are meaningful to students in terms of their local community norms and knowledge. 9. Incorporate local norms and perspective into my classroom instruction on a daily basis by talking to students, parents, and community members, and reading relevant documents. 10. Collaborate with students to design activities that build on community resources and knowledge. 11. Provide opportunities for parents to participate in classroom instructional activities. 12. Vary activities to address students’ learning styles (e.g., multiple intelligences, differentiated instruction). 13. Understand the differences between school academic language and my students’ social language and I use scaffolding techniques to bridge between the two. 14. Become familiar with the structural parameters of the student’s first language (CLDE) 15. Look for ways to bbe resourceful, somewhat independent, and capable of self direction if I am in a rural environment. 16. Look for ways to ease new students transitions into my class room (especially for those who move a lot) For Students that have just entered my classroom 17. Create peer or buddy support groups for new transfers 18. Attend professional development programs that focus on diverse populations 19. Travel and experience different cultures when the opportunity arises 20. Read both fiction and nonfiction to learn about different cultures, beliefs and traditions. Resources National Educational Association. Retrieved July 20, 2015 from http://www. nea.org/assets/docs/mf_CAREbook0804.pdf Teaching Tolerance. Retrieved July 20, 2015 from http://www.tolerance.org/ Dettmer, P., Knackendoffel, A., & Thurston, L. (2013). Collaboration, consultation, and teamwork for students with special needs (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
Key Components in Collaboration
Active Listening Becoming an Active Listener
Key Points It takes a lot of concentration and determination to be an active listener. Old habits are hard to break, and if your listening skills are as bad as many people's are, then there's a lot of habit-breaking to do!
4. Defer Judgment Interrupting is a waste of time. It frustrates the speaker and limits full understanding of the message. Allow the speaker to €nish each point before asking questions.
5. Respond Appropriately
Be deliberate with your listening and remind yourself frequently that your goal is to truly hear what the other person is saying. Set aside all other thoughts and behaviors and concentrate on the message. Ask questions, ree and paraphrase to ensure ℮ect, you understand the message. If you don't, then you'll €nd that what someone says to you and what you hear can be amazingly dierent! Start using active listening techniques today to become a better communicator, improve your workplace productivity, and develop better relationships
Active listening is a model for respect and understanding. You are gaining information and perspective. You add nothing by attacking the speaker or otherwise putting him or her down. Be candid, open, and honest in your response. Assert your opinions respectfully. Treat the other person in a way that you think he or she would want to be treated.
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Co-Teaching For Students with Special Needs Co-Teaching has tremendous potential as a strategy for improving achievement for diverse learners. However co-teaching can be far more complicated to achieve then at first glance. Co-teaching requires more than a casual agreement to work together in the classroom. For co-teaching to be most effective, logistics must be addressed such as scheduling, working relationships, classroom roles, curriculum mapping, classroom rules and discipline even how they will share the classroom space. Potential challenges can be daunting to say the least, but the tremendous potential of co-teaching to enable students with disabilities and other special needs to access the same curriculum as their peers and achieve equally high standards makes the effort worthwhile. Co-teaching as a specific service delivery option that is based on collaboration. As a service delivery option, co-teaching is designed to meet the educational needs of students with diverse learning options. Students at all academic levels benefit from alternative assignments and greater teacher attention in small-group activities that co-teaching makes possible. Co-teaching allows for more intense and individualized instruction in the general education setting increasing access to the general education curriculum while decreasing stigma for students with special needs. Students have an opportunity to increase their understanding and respect for students with special needs. Students with special needs have a greater opportunity for continuity of instruction as the teachers benefit from the professional support and exchange of teaching practices as they work collaboratively. There are five main aspects of working together that are important to not: Planning and delivering differentiated instruction Planning alternatives for certain students Planning and make adaptations Planning remedial instruction Planning for other instructional strategies and supports. (Dettmer, 2013, p. 277)
Discuss teaching philosophies
Tips for Collaborative Teaching
Co-teaching requires planning Clarify classroom rules and procedures Show one another material modifications Work with one another to help reformat material
Source: Dettmer, P., Knackendoffel, A., & Thurston, L. (2013). Collaboration, consultation, and teamwork for students with special needs (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
Use students to help with classroom modification materials Device method to keep track of individuals working with students Be an advocate for your program and your collaborative partnership by showing administrators how students benefit from your work together. Be sure to check your ego at the door in a collaborative partnership. When working with another teacher, it’s about trust, about give and take, and about discovering new ways to teach. Help and support one another with daily successes and challenges. Collaborative partners stimulate each other’s growth mindset. In a collaborative partnership, you have accountability to one another, you do not want to let each other down, and you do your best so that the partnership flourishes. 12
Co-teaching involves two or more certified professionals who contract to share instructional responsibility for a single group of students primarily in a single classroom or workspace for specific content or objectives with mutual ownership, pooled resources and joint accountability.
One Teach, One Drift In a second approach to co-teaching, one person would keep primary responsibility for teaching while the other professional circulated through the room providing unobtrusive assistance to students as needed.
Team Teaching In team teaching, both teachers are delivering the same instruction at the same time. Some teachers refer to this as having one brain in two bodies. Others call it tag team teaching. Most co-teachers consider this approach the most complex but satisfying way to co-teach, but the approach that is most dependent on teachers’ styles.
Parallel Teaching On occasion, student learning would be greatly facilitated if they just had more supervision by the teacher or more opportunity to respond. In parallel teaching, the teachers are both covering the same information, but they divide the class into two groups and teach simultaneously.
Station Teaching In this co-teaching approach, teachers divide content and students. Each teacher then teaches the content to one group and subsequently repeats the instruction for the other group. If appropriate, a third station could give students an opportunity to work independently.
Alternative Teaching In most class groups, occasions arise in which several students need specialized attention. In alternative teaching, one teacher takes Responsibility for the large group while the other works with a smaller group.
One Teach, One Observe. One of the advantages in co-teaching is that more detailed observation of students engaged in the learning process can occur. With this approach, for example, co-teachers can decide in advance what types of specific observational information to gather during instruction and can agree on a system for gathering the data. Afterward, the teachers should analyze the information together.
Michele Alafat Co-Teaching for Students with Special Needs 13
Working Side by Side: Teachers and Para-educators Para-educators work in schools and educational-training programs as assistants to teachers and instructors in special education classrooms. Each state has its own educational and qualifying requirements to become a para-educator. Seventy to 90 percent of paraeducators begin working without any formal special-education-based training, according to the Council for Exceptional Children. When looking at selecting a para-educator the person should have: 1) High school diploma 2) Evidence of good attendance at work 3) Adherence to ethics and confidentiality 4) Can follow teacher’s instruction and written plans 5) Ability to communicate effectively with both students and adults 6) Good relationships with young adults 7) Willingness to learn new skills 8) Willingness to be part of a classroom team 10) Flexibility 11) A sense of humor The teacher should take the time to get to know their para educator. Try to have an open conversation where you can ask such questions as; Where did they go to school? What do they see as their role in the classroom? What are their strengths? How many years have they been at the job? What do they like most – wish they could do more of – wish they did not get involved in. As the supervisor, a teacher has the responsibility to know and appreciate the people with which they work. Further questions such as; “Do you like to be supervised closely? “Do you expect written instructions for dealing with behavior plan? Are you punctual? Organized? Do you need a quiet place to work with distraction? Do you enjoy developing lessons and instructing? Do you consider yourself creative? The answers to these questions and the attached form will give the teacher a good understanding of who the para educator. Prior to school beginning, the Para educator and teacher should work together to prepare for the start of the school year. Together they can decide how to organize the room, decide what they will do the first week to make the students feel comfortable. What types of activities will they do to get the student acquainted? In addition, the teacher and para will need to decide where she/he would like to sit. The attached form will help both clearly understand the roles they play in the classroom. The teacher and para-educator should also discuss the teacher’s classroom management style. The teacher should definitely want to utilize the strengths of the Para educator, as it would only benefit not only the teacher but also the students. Classroom routines and procedures such as daily and weekly schedules should be discussed. The teacher and para will talk about classroom rules, how attendance will be taken, how they will handle late assignments. The teacher and para-educator will want to present a consistent message to the students and to other staff members. The teacher will set the stage for how the management of my class will take place by giving the para-educator the opportunity for professional growth and training. Just like teachers, paraprofessionals wear many hats throughout the day, might travel back and forth between environments and classrooms, and might support a variety of students with a variety of needs. With training, paraprofessionals are expected to be able to implement communication systems, use assistive technology, and provide supports and reinforcement for social interactions. It is the teacher’s role to determine and design all aspects of instruction as well as staffing arrangements. Consider the strengths and weaknesses of each of your paraprofessionals and strategically place them in environments where they can be the greatest assets to your program. Also consider personality matches between staff and students, and with other staff. Much of the time the teacher will be providing on-the-job training to paraprofessionals. On-the-job training might be teaching a paraprofessional to use a variety of prompts when working with a student or teaching a paraprofessional about how to use a new computer assisted writing program. On-the-job training can come in a variety of forms from informal to formal. No matter the form, it should address the professional development needs of the paraprofessional. I will need to ask my paraprofessional what specific professional development they feel they need. The teacher could also seek out training standards and select the top three strategies that the teacher and staff could improve on. A teacher could also take a reflective look at the weaknesses in their classroom and purposefully plan to provide on-the-job training in that area. . You and your team may decide to all work together to improve upon encouraging students to be as independent as possible and at the end of the week provide feedback to each other regarding how well you achieved the goal Resource: Dettmer, P., Knackendoffel, A., and Thurston, L. (2013). Collaboration, consultation, and teamwork for students with special needs. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
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Work Style Inventory
In one of our initial meetings, I will use this form to help me get acquainted with the para-educators and his/her style (Dettimer, P., Knackendoffel, A. & Thurston, L. 2013) 1- Strongly Disagree to 5 - Strongly Agree I like to be supervised closely 1 2 3 4 5 I like to receive regular corrective feedback 1 2 3 4 5 I like to have clear guidelines and expectations 1 2 3 4 5 I like to have written instructions when implementing instruction 1 2 3 4 5 I like to know exactly what I will be doing in advance 1 2 3 4 5 I am a detail person 1 2 3 4 5 I like to provide input regarding students 1 2 3 4 5 I consider myself a punctual person 1 2 3 4 5 I need a quiet place to work 1 2 3 4 5 I like working with other adults 1 2 3 4 5 I am willing to take risks 1 2 3 4 5 I prefer to be told exactly how to accomplish a task 1 2 3 4 5 I enjoy working with all types of learning styles 1 2 3 4 5 I am not afraid to deal with confrontation 1 2 3 4 5 I consider myself a person with an open mind 1 2 3 4 5 I thrive on routine 1 2 3 4 5
Establishing Roles
Instructions: Discuss the following tasks with members of the team. Establish the duties that should be performed exclusively by the teacher or paraprofessional and those that can be shared. Discuss the details of how each shared task will be performed.
Task Teacher Paraprofessional Share Participates in planning academic lessons ______________________________________________________ Participates in planning academic activities ______________________________________________________ Creates classroom displays ___________________________________________________________________ Takes attendance ___________________________________________________________________________ Contacts parents _______________________________________________________________________ Collects homework _______________________________________________________________________ Assists in supervision in classroom _____________________________________________________________ Makes copies, prepares materials _______________________________________________________________ Records and charts data ______________________________________________________________________ Implements behavior management procedures ____________________________________________________ Implements classroom management procedures ___________________________________________________ Tidies classroom at end of day _________________________________________________________________ Escorts children to other classes ________________________________________________________________ Assists students with hygiene tasks _____________________________________________________________ Inventories and orders supplies ________________________________________________________________ Grades papers and record grades _______________________________________________________________ Takes phone calls from parents ________________________________________________________________ Participates in team meetings __________________________________________________________________ Participates in an eligibility meeting ____________________________________________________________ Participates in an IEP meeting _________________________________________________________________ 15
Schools and Community Agencies Collaborating To lift up and raise our schools to a place that suits all 21st century learners, help needs to come from many parts of the community. The leading roles should be alternated according to the need and focus of the particular aspect of the transformation project. If we respect each other and acknowledge our unique contribution, we can move forward quickly in a positive environment where we can all be teachers and learners. Strategies: 1. Expand your vision of school to include the community. Look for opportunities for experiential learning to happen out in the community around the school.
Schools are being asked to do more and more with fewer resources. For any school program to assure the high academic achievement of all children, there must be an active partnership between the school and community to address the social and personal, as well as the academic, needs of children. Educators and community builders can differ about the goals and scope of schools. Educators tend to see educational reform as focused on promoting the academic achievement of young people. Community builders — and some educators — focus on academic achievement in a broader context that includes social and personal development. Teachers must now find ways to cope with children who live in dysfunctional families, who are victims of violence, who use drugs, who do not speak English, who are pregnant, who are homeless. Teachers, even the best ones, cannot help these children by themselves. Most reform has focused on academics but has failed to make the community connections necessary to address the broader needs of students. Even in a time of economic prosperity, many young people may be left behind because they lack the support networks that youths in more advantaged communities take for granted. Disadvantaged youths may not experience the benefit of business people and community leaders as mentors, participate in community cultural or recreational activities, receive quality medical care, or have help addressing family or personal problems. To keep young people in school and help them achieve greater academic success, their family, social, work and academic needs all must be addressed. Schools simply cannot do the job alone. Schools can no longer be islands in communities with no bridges to the mainland. Bridges must be built to connect schools, homes, and communities. Districts must plan strategically to keep students in school by focusing on strategies that go beyond the classroom. The very foundation for these strategies must be school–community collaboration.
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2. Reach out to businesses and organizations One of the best ways to connect and create a bond is to go to the people who matter the most and meet them at their place. Community walks can be a wonderful way to get to know your neighbors. Visit doctor’s offices - local businesses, senior homes (don’t forget this wonderful resource!) and ask them how they may help. Deliver an invitation for them to visit, reconnect with the school, share their experiences and skills. 3. Create a Community Map This is a visual representation of the community and the various skills people may be able to offer. This map can be a hand drawn map or a graphic organizer. 4. Take a look at the Curriculum How can the school connect it with the local business and experts around the community. Consider using project-based learning. Tap into the wealth of experiences that may be available. 5. Look for ways to reinvent and redesign your school, your classrooms, your outlook. Perhaps a beautiful community garden. Perhaps collaboration with local theater to volunteer students to help out in local musical. Connect to the community by doing service hours that would benefit not only the community but the people in need in the neighborhood. 6. Seek out internship experience. Students work with local organizations, businesses and individuals to craft an internship that allows them to explore their interests, learn skills and work collaboratively with the organization. Resource O’Keefe, B. (n.d.). Five Steps to Better School/Community Collaboration. Retrieved August 10, 2015.