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The school counselor appeared to have a great understanding in terms of her role in consultation, collaboration and co-teaching. She reported that she abides by the ASCA national model, and partakes in a comprehensive school-counseling program. It was clear that the school counselor was compassionate through our interview, and that she deeply cared about her students. She presented to be a strong advocate for not only her students, but also for the school in terms of offering and gathering beneficial resources.

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The resource room special education teacher had a great understanding of collaboration, consultation, and co-teaching. She shared that she partakes in collaboration and co-teaching on a daily basis, and consultation when needed. What I found to be interesting was that the teacher did not learn about consultation and co-teaching when she went to college. She shared that she has been in the education system for a long time, and therefore she has learned what these services entail through hands on experiences.  After the interview was complete, I felt that although she shared she had a great understanding of consultation, collaboration and co-teacher, she would greatly benefit from teacher-in service days where these topics are discussed

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When speaking with the parent it was surprising how much they were unaware of. The parent had a basic understanding of collaboration and co-teaching, but was not aware with the term “consultation.” They shared that their child’s school promotes student success, and has a positive work environment, however they feel that it lacks “parent education.” They shared that they feel they would greatly benefit from a presentation, or training on how to better be apart of their child’s education. Personally, I feel that it is just as important for parents to have knowledge of the education system, just as much as it is important that the school staff to have knowledge. When parents have the skill set to identify school professionals and their roles, it better helps them advocate for their child’s needs.

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The parent that I spoke with shared that she had a general understanding of co-teaching, as her child is in a few classes where he has more than one teacher. She defined co-teaching as “two teachers working together in one classroom.” She shared that her child enjoys having two teachers as he is offered material in different perspectives, stating her son is a visual learner, so it is beneficial for him to have mental representation of the material.  She shared that she felt important conditions for co-teaching to occur included a positive work environment where two teachers can put their differences aside and work together to promote student achievement. The parent shared that she is only aware of co-teach due to her son talking about his different teachers. She shared that she would greatly benefit from parent workshop where she could gain a better understanding of the purpose of co-teaching.

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The special education teacher reported that collaboration is an essential skill for teachers to use on a daily basis. She elaborated stating that collaboration includes working as a team towards one common goal. She shared that benefits of collaboration include getting additional perspectives, reinforcing material, and having the ability to cross-reference from class to class. A potential barrier that teachers may experience with collaboration includes teacher conflict. The special education teacher shared that it is essential to be cooperative, and to have strong communication skills, as well as have the ability to work with others in a positive manner. In terms of how to better prepare for collaboration, the teacher shared that school wide workshops would be help and beneficial in terms of learning how to better collaborate in a professional setting.

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The parent that I spoke with did not have a great knowledge of what consultation entailed. She defined it as, “getting in touch with other professionals for advice.” She shared that she knew of the term from her professional position, but did not understand the term from an educational perspective.  When further discussing consultation, she shared that she feels an important characteristic would be caring, and that benefits may include getting insight on others. She shared that she does not feel comfortable with using consultation in the school, and that she would better have an understanding if the school provided a training or workshop for parents.

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The special education teacher shared that she has a good understanding of consultation, and defined it as working together as a group to find what best suits the individuals needs. She shared that many of her students have behavioral issues, such as acting out and being resistant, and therefore she partakes in many behavioral consultations with the school counselor. As far as characteristics that are needed, she stated that it is very important to be conscientious and aware in terms of when to seek a consultation. In terms of essential skills for effective consultation to occur, she shared that there needs to be empathy, compassion and communication, and that it needs to take place in an accepting and non-judgmental environment.

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The school counselor identified collaboration as working with teachers, school staff, parents, and outside agency’s to identify resources to enhance student success. In regards to necessary characteristics for effective collaboration, the counselor shared that it is critical to have active listening skills and have a strong voice to advocate for student and family needs. Benefits of collaboration include increasing student achievement, and enhancing a positive and welcoming work environment. The school counselor shared that necessary skills include trust, respect, interpersonal communication, and the ability to give and receive feedback. Collaboration is something that is done on a daily basis by the school counselor, and she further elaborated that collaboration leads to effective counseling.

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The special education teacher defined co-teaching as two teachers working together to reach maximum performance of students. She shared that she partakes in co-teaching everyday, and that it is beneficial for students in terms of having material presented in different ways, and it provides more individualized attention. Some barriers that she shared included personality conflict, different teaching styles and different grading polices. She also shared that despite the barriers to co-teaching, it is essential for students to see that professionals can work together, and can promote a positive learning environment together. Another barrier mentioned was time, she shared that a lot of time goes into planning, organizing and implementing the lesson. The special education teacher shared that although she partakes in co-teaching, it is not a form of teaching that she prefers.

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In regards to co-teaching, the school counselor shared that this entails two teachers working together to accommodate to students needs, and to provide different teaching and learning styles. It was further stated that co-teaching includes teachers working together to plan, organize and implement lessons. The school counselor shared that she partakes in “team teaching” where teachers may assist her in terms of teaching guidance lesson plans. Guidance lesson plans include developmental, prevention and intervention activities that measure the required student competencies and the influence on achievement behavior and attendance. The school counselor shared that as stated by the ASCA guidelines, her job does not entail co-teaching, or subbing in classrooms where co-teaching occurs.

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The parent that I spoke with had a great understanding of collaboration. She shared that collaboration entails working together towards one common goal. She further shared that she often collaborates with her child’s teachers to discuss behavioral barriers as well as missing assignments that may be needed. She shared that necessary skills for effective collaboration includes flexibility and teamwork.  She shared that necessary conditions for collaboration to occur includes having a warm and accepting school environment. The parent stated that she is only likely to use collaboration when needed for her child, and that she could gain a better understanding of when collaboration is appropriate if the school offered parent in-service meetings.

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The counselor that I interviewed had a great understanding of consultation. She discussed the different types of consultation that she uses on a daily basis, such as triadic dependent, collaborative dependent, and collaborative interdependent. She further shared that consultation is working with others to identify barriers to learning, and implementing strategies to promote student success. She shared that consultation best works best in an accepting and non-judgmental environment, and necessary skills for effective consultation includes trust, effective communication skills, and having positive rapport with school professionals and students. The school counselor shared that her college courses prepared her very well in terms of consultation, but having hands on experiences through her internships is how she was able to get a true understanding.

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Resource Room Special Education Teacher 

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Resource Room Special Education Teacher 