CORE MESSAGE AREA:

Collaborative Practices to Promote Student Success

Revised: June 2011

Revised by: Lynne Cook, Ph.D. CSU, Dominguez Hills

Resources: Communication

1. Develop and Refine Effective Communication and Interaction Skills Needed to Foster Collaborative Relationships
   Effective communication and interaction skills are essential to successfully build and maintain collaborative relationships with colleagues, families and students. Through good communication skills team members can create an ambience of open communication, concise messages, probe for clarifications, recognize nonverbal signals, and develop mutual understanding. Good communication involves a set of complex skills that can be mastered with training and practice.

Communicating with Parents: Strategies for Teachers
Graham-Clay, S. (2005). “Communicating with parents: Strategies for teachers.”  The School Community Journal, 15, pp 117-129.
http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/EJ794819.pdf

• Strong communication is fundamental to the teacher-family relationship and to building a sense of community between home and school. Graham-Clay discusses how communication occurs and offers a variety of effective strategies that teachers can use to make communication with parents as effective and successful as possible. Teachers strive to establish partnerships with parents to support student learning. Teachers must continue to develop and expand their skills in order to maximize effective communication with parents. Barriers to effective communication are considered in conjunction with potential solutions.

The Art of Consulting and Communicating
Working Together: The Art of Consulting and Communicating – Anita DeBoer and Susan Fister (1995)
http://store.cambiumlearning.com/cs/Satellite?c=CLG_Product_C&childpagename=Store%2FStore_Layout
&cid=1277941308908&pagename=Store_Wrapper&rendermode=previewnoinsite

• This resource kit offers school-tested techniques for effective teamwork.  The program includes the Working Together book that includes models for successful communication, collaboration, tips for scheduling, methods for evaluating collaborative efforts, and more. The video demonstrates key aspects of working as a team and collaborative teaching in a classroom setting. The kit also includes the Interpersonal Style Questionnaire and tools for collaborative teaching.

Communication Skills: Online Training
Communication Skills—Mind Tools Online Training:
http://www.mindtools.com/page8.html

• This online program for management and leadership training, offers a communications skills toolkit with a strong communications training program. The program includes clear descriptions and explanations that help participants to examine their own frames of reference, to understand others better, and to plan and structure communication effectively. Materials include guidance for developing effective strategies for face to-face communication, giving and receiving feedback, asking effective questions, and many other communication skills needed in collaborative work.

People Communicating
People Communicating--http://www.people-communicating.com/

• A Web site with some interesting fact sheets and activities. Despite the numerous commercial links, there are useful materials available here at no cost. Topics include the basics: listening, workplace communications, barriers to communication, and conflict at work.

Resources: Collaboration

2. Focus on Understanding Elements of Collaboration and Contextual Influences
   Learning to form effective partnerships requires a thorough understanding of collaboration. In addition to strong communication and interaction skills, effective collaboration requires awareness of the complexity and subtlety of collaboration as is often seen in the variety or programs or services in which it occurs including teams, consultation, co-teaching, co-planning, co-assessing, and family partnerships. The context in which the collaborative services are to be delivered is the final component to consider. Among context features are administrative and structural support for collaboration such as scheduled collaboration, class size or caseload, and professional development opportunities.

Inclusive Schools
Inclusive Schools in Action: Making Differences Ordinary—James McLeskey and Nancy Waldron (2000) http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/100210.aspx

• Drs. McLeskey and Waldron explore many of the lessons they have learned from teachers and administrators as they have worked to develop, implement, and maintain inclusive school programs. Among other topics, they examine the need for leadership, collaboration, and foundations for inclusive schools. A recent study guide is available to enhance understanding of what inclusive schools are, how these programs are developed, and why it is important that they be developed. 

Collaboration: Interaction Skills
Collaboration: Interaction Skills for School Professionals (6th edition)—Marilyn Friend and Lynne Cook: (2009) http://www.pearsonhighered.com/educator/course/Collaboration-Consultation/91054603.page

• Interactions is a guide to help preprofessionals and professionals understand and participate effectively in their interactions with other school professionals and families. It addresses collaboration as a style of interaction, with accompanying knowledge and skills that facilitate positive relationships and services.
  
  Interactions provides an insightful look at how teams of school professionals— special educators, general educators and related services professionals—can effectively work together to provide a necessary range of services to students with special needs. As a result professionals learn how to collaborate with one another, other school professionals, and families to educate students with special needs. Five chapters are devoted to developing and refining interpersonal skills needed for collaboration.

Consultation, Collaboration, and Teamwork for Students with Special Needs
Consultation, Collaboration, and Teamwork for Students with Special Needs (6th edition) – Vivian Correa, Hazel Jones, Carol Thomas, and Catherine Morsink http://www.pearsonhighered.com/educator/course/Collaboration-Consultation/91054603.page

• The authors provide a comprehensive, practical foundation and guide for preparing school personnel and families to work together to educate students with special needs. They address the roles and responsibilities of all educators, while working with families and in their communities. Divided into four sections, the text encompasses: contexts of collaboration, consultation, and teamwork (Part 1); the processes that facilitate collaborative school consultation and working in teams (Part 2); the content needed by co-educators to work effectively in partnerships (Part 3); and a final section that addresses the collaborative roles among a variety of co-educators (Part 4).

Collaborate, Communicate, and Differentiate
Collaborate, Communicate, and Differentiate! –Wendy Murawski and Sally Spencer: http://www.corwin.com/books/Book234685?subject=C00&webTopic=Web_Topic7&sortBy=defaultPubDate%20desc (February 2011)

• Using a very practical approach, this book provides easy to use strategies that apply to daily tasks such as planning and differentiating instruction, communicating with families, using Universal Design for Learning to form instruction, assessing students with diverse backgrounds and abilities, co-teaching, and coordinating with all staff members.

Time for Teachers
On Time and How to Get More of It--Gwen Meyer: http://www.urbanschools.org/pdf/OPTime.pdf (2005)

• In this product of the National Institute for Urban School Improvement, Dr. Meyer describes the need for time in schools for teachers to complete many critical functions including collaboration. The document offers principles for allocating time and strategies for making more non-instructional time for teachers. Suggestions include restructuring and rescheduling responsibilities, changing staffing patterns, and adding time to the day or academic year.

Collaboration Between General and Special Education
Collaboration Between General and Special Education: Making it Work--Michael N. Sharpe and Maureen E. Hawes, NCSET Issue Brief, Vol. 2, Issue 1 (July 2003)
http://www.ncset.org/publications/viewdesc.asp?id=1097

• National Center on Secondary Education and Transition--NCSET Issue Brief Special education and general education teachers nationwide now find they need to develop new skills and strategies to meet the challenges of providing access to the general curriculum for all students, including those with disabilities. This brief calls for greater collaboration between general and special education teachers as one strategy for facilitating this access. The brief outlines a five-step model for implementing collaborative relationships and provides further resources for practitioners.

Teacher-to-Teacher Collaboration Online
Teacher-to-Teacher Collaboration http://teachnet.edb.utexas.edu/~Lynda_Abbott/teacher2teacher.html

• This University of Texas sponsored Web site includes links to sites that focus on assisting teachers to connect with and interact with one another. It also includes links to information about professional development, instructional matters, student behavior, and other topics of interest to educators.

Power of 2: Collaboration toward Inclusive Schools
Power of 2 -- www.powerof2.org

• This Web site was developed as part of a federally funded project to assist teachers and other educators to work together on behalf of students in inclusive schools. It features a wide variety of material focused on accommodating the educational needs of students with disabilities.

MiddleWeb: Online Help for Middle School Educators
MiddleWeb-- www.middleweb.com

• MiddleWeb is a Web site devoted to topics of interest to middle school educators. However, because collaboration is so integral to middle school models, you will find many helpful resources on this site. Some recent discussions included collaborating about grades and considerations related to working on a team instead of as an individual.

Resources: Co-Teaching

3. Engage in Co-Teaching
   “Co-teaching” is an increasingly common practice in today’s schools and the quality of instruction and the benefits for students vary considerably. There is often confusion about what co-teaching is and how it differs from other in-class services. The unevenness of its implementation is widely recognized. Co-teaching, as supported by its many advocates, is a service delivery option for providing special education or related services to students with disabilities or other special needs while they remain in their general education classes. Co-teaching occurs when two or more professionals jointly plan and deliver substantive instruction to a diverse, blended group of students in a single space. 

Differential Effects of Peer Tutoring
McDuffie, K. A., Mastropieri, M. A., & Scruggs, T. E. (2009). “Differential effects of peer tutoring in co-taught and non-co-taught classes: Results for content learning and student-teacher interactions.“ Exceptional Children, 75(4), 493-510.

• Differential effects of a peer tutoring intervention on the academic achievement of 203 7th-grade science students with and without disabilities in co-teaching and non-co-teaching settings were examined over an 8-week period. Results indicate that the peer tutoring intervention was associated with improvements in student performance, and students in co-teaching settings perform better than those in non-co-teaching settings, but no additional value was added when peer tutoring was implemented in co-taught classrooms.

Co-Teaching in Special Education
Friend, M., Cook, L., Hurley-Chamberlain, D., & Shamberger, C. (2010). “Co-Teaching: An illustration of the complexity of collaboration in special education.” Journal of Educational & Psychological Consultation, 20(1), 9-27.

• Co-teaching has evolved rapidly as a strategy for ensuring that students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) have access to the general education curriculum while still receiving the specialized instruction to which they are entitled. Co-teaching illustrates the complexity of conceptualizing and studying collaboration in special education. Most inquiry on co-teaching has emphasized co-teachers' roles and relationships or program logistics rather than demonstrating its impact on student achievement and other key outcomes Contributing to the admittedly equivocal evidence base for co-teaching are factors such as the still emerging understanding of this special education service delivery vehicle, inconsistencies in definitions and implementation, lack of professional preparation, and dilemmas related to situating co-teaching in a supportive, collaborative school culture.

Cooperative Teaching Instructional Tools
Instructional Tools Related to Cooperative Teaching
http://www.specialconnections.ku.edu/?q=collaboration/cooperative_teaching/teacher_tools

• Useful links to resources for creating co-teaching schedules, co-planning, developing curriculum, and assessing readiness to co-teach. The “Types of Co-Teaching” resource includes three video clips demonstrating different approaches to co-teaching. Additional resources and case studies are provided at the University of Kansas’ Special Connections Web site.

Video: The Power of 2
The Power of Two by Marilyn Friend: http://www.forumoneducation.org/catalogstore/thepoweroftwo_video.shtml

• This video provides a comprehensive look at co-teaching as part of the foundation of an inclusive and collaborative school. The core concepts are included here--for example, clear and detailed demonstrations of six co-teaching arrangements that make up the heart of this service delivery model. In addition, lessons learned from experienced co-teachers and the context in which school programs now operate are emphasized. The Power of Two is intended to assist educators to collaborate and share their knowledge and skills in order to help their students maximize their potential.

We Team Teach Web site
We Team Teach-- http://www.weteamteach.org/

• This Web site is dedicated to connecting all educators who work in a Collaborative Team Teaching (CTT) environment. The organization serves to channel and distribute resources that can be of help to teachers, administrators and students in grades K to 12. Their goal is to build a community that fosters communication and sharing of strategies, creates a venue for the posting of questions, and stimulates professional conversations involving content knowledge, technological applications and a vision for 21st century schools. They seek to build a community among all involved in this innovative approach to learning in which two educators combine content and strategies to reach all kinds of learners.

Co-Teaching Multimedia Kit
A Guide to Co-Teaching Multimedia Kit by Richard A. Villa, Jacqueline S. Thousand, & Ann I. Nevin (2008)
http://www.ravillabayridge.com/Books.htm

• Designed around the updated edition of A Guide to Co-Teaching, this comprehensive multimedia presentation offers staff developers all the materials needed to help teachers collaborate effectively in the classroom. The kit includes an updated edition of A Guide to Co-Teaching, providing the foundational framework for understanding and applying each co-teaching model and an 84-minute, content-rich VHS video that features Jacqueline S. Thousand and Richard A. Villa discussing the models of co-teaching, plus in-the-classroom footage of elementary, middle, and high school master teachers offering tips and suggestions as they demonstrate research-based co-teaching strategies in linguistically, culturally, and academically diverse settings. Facilitator’s guides and video supports are also included.

Six Approaches to Co-Teaching
“Six Approaches to Co-Teaching” http://www.ctserc.org/initiatives/teachandlearn/coteaching.shtml

• Commonly used approaches to co-teaching are described and illustrated in this Connecticut State Education Resource Center (SERC) information brief.  

Improving Access to the General Curriculum
Improving Access to the General Curriculum for Students with Disabilities Through Collaborative Teaching—For Teachers
http://www.k8accesscenter.org/index.php/category/co-teaching/

• This professional development module explores the components of the definition of co-teaching, how co-teaching looks in the classroom, scheduling and planning issues, and the challenge of supervising and evaluating a co-teaching team. Links are provided to handouts and a PowerPoint presentation with presentation notes.

Resources: Collaborative Assessment

4. Utilize Collaborative Assessment and Planning
   One of the most important, yet most neglected, aspects of general-special education collaboration is collaborative assessment and planning. Common planning time enables more than just an opportunity to hammer out the nuts and bolts of instruction; it also allows educators the time to engage in focused reflection and discussion needed to develop a shared vision and shared plans for adoption or initiation and implementation of strategies for effective instruction.

Institute for Education Sciences (IES) Practice Guide
IES Practice Guide: Using Student Achievement Data to Support Instructional Decision Making (September 2009) http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/pdf/practiceguides/dddm_pg_092909.pdf

• The practice guide provides specific evidence-based recommendations for use by teachers and administrators to make decisions using student achievement data in classrooms, schools, and districts. The guide provides practical, clear in­formation on topics related to databased decision making and is based on the best available evidence as judged by the What Works Clearinghouse panel. Highlighted are recommendations for teacher and staff collaboration in establishing a vision for data use and making data use an established part of a school’s culture. Collaborative data analysis can reveal achievement patterns across grade levels, departments, or schools and can engen­der the kind of consistency of instructional practices and expectations that char­acterizes high-performing schools.

The IRIS Center for Training Modules
The IRIS Center for Training Modules–Effective School Practices: Promoting Collaboration and Monitoring Students’ Academic Achievement:  
http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/esp/chalcycle.htm

• These modules focus on the entire school population and highlight partnerships between general education and special education faculty that result in the creation of a 'collective responsibility' and shared high expectations for all students. Steps include developing collaborative relationships, establishing teams, and collaboratively monitoring and using data for making instructional decisions.

RTI-Co-Teaching and Differentiated Instruction
RTI-Co-Teaching and Differentiated Instruction by Richard Villa and Jacqueline Thousand:
http://www.ravillabayridge.com/Books.htm

• Learn how the power of co-teaching and differentiated instruction can be harnessed within a Response to Intervention (RTI) model to help struggling learners succeed. This is a hands-on reference guide designed to address the collaborative planning and problem-solving processes within inclusive classroom environments.

A Collaborative Planning Framework
Stuart, K. S., & Rinaldi, C. (2009). A collaborative planning framework for teachers implementing tiered instruction. Teaching Exceptional Children, 42 (2), pp. 52-57.

• Planning and assessment are intricately linked as illustrated in the collaborative planning framework described by Drs. Stuart and Rinaldi. By structuring evidenced-based instruction, progress monitoring and subsequent data informed instructional decisions within the RtI process, the authors show the connections among these processes and provide useful strategies and forms for collecting and using data for continued planning.

Co-Teaching Solutions Systems
Co-Teaching Solutions Systems (CTSS) by Wendy Weichel Murawski: http://www.coteachsolutions.com/

• A Teachers' Toolbox and Observation System focuses on co-planning, co-teaching, and co-assessing and is designed to monitor and promote effective co-teaching in the classroom. The Observation System provides formats for electronically recording co-teaching observation data and generating reports on effectiveness. The Teachers’ Toolbox includes co-teaching resources including necessary features for co-planning/co-instructing/co-assessing. A downloadable 14 day trial version of the Co-Teaching Solutions System is available at http://www.coteachsolutions.com/

The Co-teaching Lesson Plan Book
The Co-teaching Lesson Plan Book (3rd edition) - Lisa Dieker (2006): http://www.nprinc.com/co-teach/ctlp.htm

• This practical, easy to use, spiral bound book is an effective tool to support the collaborative planning and communication required to make co-teaching successful. It provides a structured format that fosters shared planning by both the general and special educator; shows alignment with state standards; calls for documentation of interventions used and progress made, toward Individualized Education Program (IEP) goals; and allows teachers to evaluate and refine their plans.

Transforming Theory into Practice
Collaborative Planning: Transforming Theory into Practice by Richard Villa: http://www.nprinc.com/inclusion/vcpct.htm

• The video describes collaborative planning and five essential components to an effective collaborative teaming process. From research and practice, Dr. Villa provides important information about how collaborative teams can function optimally. He talks with teachers engaged in "collaborative planning" for successful classroom instruction. Collaborative teams of teachers are profiled and educators share how they met the many challenges and obstacles that needed to be overcome.

Resources: Family Collaboration

5. Collaborate with Families to Enhance and Support Student Learning
   Families are critical resources for educators. They have unique knowledge of students’ skills, abilities, perspectives, communities and interests. They hold personal goals for their children. Teachers must collaborate with families to better understand their students and maximize their learning.

Families, Professionals, and Exceptionality
Families, Professionals, and Exceptionality: Positive Outcomes Through Partnership and Trust (6th ed.) by Ann Turnbull, H. Rutherford Turnbull, Leslie Soodak, and Karrie Shogren, (2011). http://www.pearsonhighered.com/educator/course/Collaboration-Consultation/91054603.page

• The text is written for courses that prepare special and general educators and related service providers to form successful partnerships with families of children with disabilities. This practical book instructs teachers and families on how to empower, collaborate, and advocate for children with special needs. Strong in its depiction of family systems theory (Part I), the history and current status of policy (Part II), and the principles of partnership and their application by teachers and other professionals (Part III), the text also offers a plethora of practical advice for educators and true ways to apply these principles on the job. The book includes authentic stories, depictions of how families and education professionals partner together for the education of special needs children, the challenges they faced along the way, the solutions, and ways they overcome these obstacles.

Constructive Guidelines For Collaboration
Blue-Banning, M., Summers, J. A., Frankland, H. C., Lord-Nelson, L., & Beegle, G. (2004). “Dimensions of family and professional partnerships: Constructive guidelines for collaboration.” Exceptional Children, 70, 167–184.
http://www.beachcenter.org/resource_library/beach_resource_detail_page.aspx?Type=research&intResourceID=1797

• The development of collaborative partnerships between parents and professionals is too often unsuccessful. One reason for this failure may be the lack of empirical understanding of the components of interpersonal partnerships. Using qualitative inquiry, 33 focus groups were conducted with adult family members of children with and without disabilities and service providers and administrators. In addition, 32 individual interviews were conducted with non-English-speaking parents and their service providers. Indicators of professional behavior facilitative of collaborative partnerships were identified. These indicators were organized into six broad themes: (a) Communication, (b) Commitment, (c) Equality, (d) Skills, (e) Trust, and (f) Respect. The specific meaning of each theme is described, including similarities and differences between professionals and family members.

The IRIS Center for Training Modules
The IRIS Center for Training Modules. (2008). Collaborating with families. http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/fam/chalcycle.htm (accessed February 26, 2011)

• This online training module is designed to help teachers build positive and collaborative relationships with families. It highlights the diversity of families and addresses the factors that school personnel should understand about working with and forming relationships with the families of children with disabilities.

Web Resources

Beach Center on Disability
http://www.beachcenter.org/

• This Web site provides research briefs and fact sheets on topics of interest to families and professionals. The information briefs are particularly useful for addressing the needs of families for educational, vocational, or adult living decisions. Additional resources include information and first person stories that support families and professionals.

The HEATH Resource Center
http://www.heath.gwu.edu/

• HEATH provides online, Web-based resources on postsecondary education for individuals with disabilities. HEATH has information for students with disabilities on educational disability support services, policies, procedures, adaptations, accessing college or university campuses, career-technical schools, and other postsecondary training entities. They also provide information on financial assistance, scholarships, and materials that help students with disabilities transition into college, university, career-technical schools, or other postsecondary programs.

Kids Together, Inc.
http://www.kidstogether.org/

• This is a volunteer supported Web site with information intended to be helpful to families, professionals, educators, advocates, self-advocates, and the community. The mission of Kids Together is “to promote inclusive communities where all people belong.” The various postings on the site include many topics of interest to families and professionals.

National Fathers Network **
http://www.fathersnetwork.org

• NFN provides resources and support to men who have children with special needs through development of national and statewide databases of fathers from diverse ethnic, racial, and geographic backgrounds; provision of father support and mentoring programs; and provision of varied educational and technical assistance services.

National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY)**
http://www.nichcy.org

• NICHCY offers a wealth of information on disabilities. NICHCY is a federally funded national information and referral center that provides information on disabilities and disability-related issues for families, educators, and other professionals. The Web site provides fact sheets, resource guides, and other publications about specific disabilities and disability-related issues with a focus on children and youth from birth to age 22. Many Web site features and publications are available in Spanish.

OSEP’s Ideas That Work
http://www.osepideasthatwork.org/

• This Web site is designed to provide easy access to information from research to practice initiatives funded by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) that address the provisions of IDEA and NCLB. This Web site includes resources, links, and other important information resulting from OSEP’s research to practice efforts.

Parent Advocacy Coalition for Educational Rights (PACER)
http://www.pacer.org/

• PACER’s mission is to expand opportunities and enhance the quality of life of children and young adults with disabilities and their families, based on the concept of parents helping parents. PACER provides assistance to individual families, workshops, materials for parents and professionals, and leadership in securing a free and appropriate public education for all children.

Parents Helping Parents
http://www.parentshelpingparents.org

• This is a comprehensive resource and information center run for and by parents. Its Web site offers useful links to information about support groups for family members and information resources for families and professionals.

Sibling Support Project
http://www.siblingsupport.org

• The mission of the Sibling Support Project is accomplished by training local service providers to create community-based peer support programs for young siblings; hosting workshops, listservs, and Web sites for young and adult siblings; and increasing parents’ and providers’ awareness of siblings’ unique, lifelong, and ever-changing concerns through workshops, Web sites, and written materials.

National Network of Partnership Schools (NNPS) at Johns Hopkins University
http://www.partnershipschools.org

• Most educators want to build strong School-Family-Community Partnerships, but most have not reached this goal. NNPS, a major project of the Center on School, Family, and Community Partnerships, was founded by director, Dr. Joyce L. Epstein. NNPS guides leaders in schools, districts, states, and organizations to use research-based approaches to develop, implement, and evaluate their programs of school, family, and community partnerships. School programs of family and community involvement not only improve the school climate, but also help students improve attendance, behavior, and skills in specific subjects (e.g., reading, writing, math, science) and other important outcomes. In NNPS, district and state leaders are helped to organize leadership activities to assist all schools to conduct effective partnership programs and practices. See the Web site for information, publications, professional development conferences, best practices, other benefits and services, and how to join NNPS.

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**These sites provide information in English and at least one other language, generally Spanish.

For questions regarding the Core Message Area: Collaboration, or Technical Assistance requests, please contact CalSTAT Project Assistant Director Lorie Fennell at 707-843-1199, or lorie.fennell@calstat.org.

 

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