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I was having a student complete readings and worksheets on a weekly basis and was seeing that they were not doing as well as I thought they should have been doing. I then asked our English teacher what her methods were to have such success with the same student. I was informed that this particular student had much more success when given writing assignments. I then began giving this student writing prompts and saw their passion start pouring out of them and saw much more success. 

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I was having a student complete readings and worksheets on a weekly basis and was seeing that they were not doing as well as I thought they should have been doing. I then asked our English teacher what her methods were to have such success with the same student. I was informed that this particular student had much more success when given writing assignments. I then began giving this student writing prompts and saw their passion start pouring out of them and saw much more success. 

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Offer to meet in person-or live communication instead of playing email tag and figuring out an easy solution for both parties so we can better help the student(s) needs and accomodations.

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Offer to meet in person-or live communication instead of playing email tag and figuring out an easy solution for both parties so we can better help the student(s) needs and accomodations.

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For a math/government collaboration project, the barrier we encountered was lining up standards to meet both ends for the project. From there it was actually developing a working project for our student to complete (which she did with ease).

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For a math/government collaboration project, the barrier we encountered was lining up standards to meet both ends for the project. From there it was actually developing a working project for our student to complete (which she did with ease).

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A method to communicating with another teacher for helping a student for me, comes with simple conversation of checking in how a student is performing in their class compared to mine. For example I share a few students with the English teacher and I have asked in the past if he wants writing assignments (those pesky journals on APEX and such) focusing in on certain criteria for English writing. 

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A method to communicating with another teacher for helping a student for me, comes with simple conversation of checking in how a student is performing in their class compared to mine. For example I share a few students with the English teacher and I have asked in the past if he wants writing assignments (those pesky journals on APEX and such) focusing in on certain criteria for English writing. 

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A student was having difficulty with comprehension in Government. The English teacher and I decided to have the student use Commonlit.

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A student was having difficulty with comprehension in Government. The English teacher and I decided to have the student use Commonlit.

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The English teacher and I talk on a regular basis and usually if the struggling student is also one of my students, we will collaborate and work together to provide the support needed.

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I had a student who was not making progress in his class. He was making good progress in another class. Upon inquiry, he stated it was easier in the class he was making progress in because the teacher told him specifically what he needed to complete each day. The social studies teacher has begun giving him a paper with the daily assignments she would like him to complete and it seems to be making a difference.

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The best way to help students is by collaborating and working together. It's never yours and mine, but ours. If I have found something that works for a particular student, I will share it with the teacher who also has them. When I do this, I say something like - How's ........... doing in your class? and within this conversation I might add I have found that by doing........... it has helped ............ If I don't have a solution, we might brainstorm some ideas to try.

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I always try to directly talk to the IS instead of texting/emailing them. I always find it easier and faster to come up with solutions for our students. It also helps me to get to the know the IS better and how they like to teach their students as well. Together we can work together to make sure our students are reaching their goals.

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In English 11 and in American Government some units overlap when the students dissect, analyze, and evaluate America's founding documents like the Declaration and the Constitution. In order to help out the students in English 11 who were not currently enrolled in Government I gave the English teachers some resources to help analyze the documents and in return the English teachers gave me some resources on how to help my students annotate when reading big documents.

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If I have a struggling student in my class and I notice that they are performing better in another core class, I reach out to that teacher and ask for some guidance on how to work with that student. Resources, guidance, and different strategies are shared.

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Sometimes it is necessary to discuss alternative lessons for students.

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Sometimes it is necessary to discuss alternative lessons for students.

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A student was struggling with reading in my class so over gchat I asked the English what she had done to help him with her class. She had him take a test that showed his true reading level and would find readings that were better suited for that. So I have been doing the same for him

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The biggest barrier I have encountered when trying to collaborate is finding time to talk. Students are in our rooms from the minute we get to school until the minute we leave. So that doesn't leave us with a lot of time to meet in person and talk about collaborations.

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I think setting up meetings would help a lot so we have time set aside to work on our collaborations.

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I would say the best way to overcome communications barriers are to speak directly and weekly meetings with IS teachers.

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I would say the best way to overcome communications barriers are to speak directly and weekly meetings with IS teachers.

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I would say a barrier would be the teaching style differences. I am able to modify my teaching style some but not to completely change how I teach.

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I would say a barrier would be the teaching style differences. I am able to modify my teaching style some but not to completely change how I teach.

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We are a close staff so we easily communicate with each other, share strategies, and provide support almost everyday. Hold short meetings after school or during lunch

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Barrier is inconsistency. Some of us "forget" to follow through.

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Don't have that problem since there is no in-house intervention specialist. We do have one who works remotely and she is amazing. She daily keeps us abreast of meeting schedules of students who will virtually meet with her.

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My science teacher and I had quite a few students that were in her class as well as mine.  We talked about how to deliver content, best learning styles as well as reaching those students that we had in common especially those that were struggling

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The biggest barrier is time and making modifications to meet the needs of all students.

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I don't feel that it is an issue. I am in constant communication via e-mail or in person with both of our ISs.

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Due to being in a small school, with a small staff, we have the opportunity to freely communicate in-person with each other about all kinds of news within the building. Three of our four classrooms are connected to each other by a door, and therefore allow each teacher to commiunicate in-person with the other teachers.

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Due to being in a small school, with a small staff, we have the opportunity to freely communicate in-person with each other about all kinds of news within the building. Three of our four classrooms are connected to each other by a door, and therefore allow each teacher to commiunicate in-person with the other teachers.

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The director/s, general education teachers and intervention specialist/s need to develop a rotation schedule so that the IS has designated time in the general education rooms, and the resource room. This will help everyone in the building to be on the same page about when the intervention specialist is available to help any students as well as, which further allows teachers to engage in a myriad of ways.

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The director/s, general education teachers and intervention specialist/s need to develop a rotation schedule so that the IS has designated time in the general education rooms, and the resource room. This will help everyone in the building to be on the same page about when the intervention specialist is available to help any students as well as, which further allows teachers to engage in a myriad of ways.

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The math teacher and I worked together to have a joint graduation meeting with a student who is aging out this year

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Time is always a barrier to collaborating with other teachers in my building.

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In my building, there seems to be a communication disconnect between IS and general education teachers. I also believe that IS not being physically present in classrooms is a barrier

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I suggest each General Education Teacher review the IEP summary for each student and then meet with the IS to discuss each student's goals/objectives. Discuss how accommodations, strategies, etc. are working (or not.) By communicating information on the results of a particular approach helps increase the potential for finding and using an effective intervention.

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Make use of the IS' training and experience

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Make use of the IS' training and experience

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When an instructional strategy or set of strategies do not appear to be effective for any struggling student (with or without an IEP), please ask the IS for suggestions. IS's have exposure to and experience with a larger number of interventions.
Set up a time between IS and GenEd teachers to discuss different interventions with all. The more possible solutions we have in out toolbox, the better.

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Collaboration is the new buzz word in education. It is often seen as the panacea for all of education's ills. Some schools fail to take the time to investigate the concept in more depth because they feel they already do that. Schools point to common practices that occur all the time in schools as evidence of collaboration taking place in their buildings. Conversations at team or department meetings, dialogues between teachers in the lounge, informal talks in the hallways between classes, and conferences between administrators and teachers are all used as examples of collaborative practices. However, authentic collaboration goes much deeper. To reap the benefits of true collaboration, it is important for schools to investigate the practice in depth and understand what distinguishes collaboration from all other interactions.

Rick and Becky DuFour and Robert Eaker provide a comprehensive and clear definition of collaboration. According to them, collaboration is a systematic process in which educators work together, interdependently, to analyze and impact professional practice in order to improve individual and collective results. Administrative support for collaboration is essential for its success. Principals must provide time during the work day for collaborative teams to meet and require teams to concentrate their efforts on specific achievement goals. In order for collaboration to be successful, it can't be sporadic, it can't happen occasionally, it can't be random, and it can't meander from topic to topic without structure.

When adults meet in collaborative grade level or curriculum groups, there should be an agenda for each meeting. When someone asks, "What are we supposed to be doing today?" it is likely that the group will not be very productive. Teams can also spend time rehashing the same topics and reach the conclusion that "meetings are a waste of time." By establishing agendas prior to each meeting, and making each group member aware of the agenda and the responsibility to remain focused on the topic under discussion, the meetings will flow more smoothly, the conversations will be productive, and the adults will realize that they are their own powerful resources. In short, they are participating in job-embedded staff development, a practice which can lead to student success.

An examination of the topic of collaboration begs the question: What can adults expect from their collaborative efforts? In short, will all of our efforts pay off? In her research, Judith Warren Little writes about the advantages of working together in collaborative teams. She found that when true collaboration occurs, adults can expect gains in student achievement, unforeseen solutions to problems, a reduction in teacher isolation, increased confidence among staff members, a desire to test new ideas, more support for new teachers, and an expanded repertoire of strategies, materials, and teaching approaches.

Collaborative teams often begin with the best of intentions. They agree to concentrate their conversations on practices that will enhance student learning. However, over time, reality sets in. The initial excitement wanes as teachers become tired, overburdened, mired in paper work, or distracted by unforeseen events. They want to retain their commitment to student learning but may need some additional inspiration to spur them on to meet their collaborative goals. Listed below are a series of topics/questions that will help curriculum or grade level teams regain their focus and eventually maintain the momentum they established when they began working together. The topics or questions will potentially lead to lively discussions, significant sharing, increased adult learning, and ultimately improve student achievement.
Maintaining the Momentum - Keeping Powerful Conversations Alive

1. A successful collaborative practice is for teams to create products such as common assessments or units. Members then administer the assessments and bring data from the assessments to a team meeting for analysis and discussion.The resulting conversations can lead to greater insights into how peers teach their content, and how students reach desired learning goals.

2. Since most of the reading that students will do after they leave school is non-fiction, spend time talking about how to include non-fiction reading or writing in your grade level or content area.

3. Discuss creative formative or summative assessments that a team member has used, especially any performance assessments.

4. Scaffolding is a temporary support that a teacher puts into place in the classroom as students are learning. Have team members share successful scaffolding strategies they have used.

5. Student learning can be enhanced when a teacher provides important background knowledge on the topic that will be the focus of the day's lesson. Have team members share activating strategies they have used to prepare students for the day's lesson.

6. Also, it is important for students, not the teacher, to summarize their learning at the end of a class period. Team members can take the time to talk about summarizing activities they have used.

7. It is important for teachers to carry out pre-assessments at the beginning of units. Take time at a team meeting to talk about pre-assessment options.

8. The more active students are in the learning process, the better the brain functions and the more permanent the learning will be. There are numerous active learning strategies teachers can use. At a meeting, teachers can share strategies that they have used or can use in the future with their students.

9. Many teachers worry about end-of-the-year standardized tests. When student thinking is challenged at the three highest levels of Bloom's taxonomy (analysis, synthesis, evaluation), student learning is improved and students can recall the factual information that can become the focus of many classrooms. Team members can discuss how they can plan in order to focus on Bloom's higher levels.

10. Visual learners can benefit greatly from the use of graphic organizers. Have group members spend time talking about the different types of graphic organizers, how they are best used, and sources of information about different organizers they may want to try.

11. Successful teachers use different inventories or questionnaires at the beginning of the school year in order to get to know their students, different interests their students may have, and how their students learn best. Team members can discuss the different inventories that exist and how they can be used to help adults know their students better.

12. Some teachers establish anchoring activities that reinforce, enrich, or extend learning. When students complete a particular learning activity early, they are expected to "go to" and complete an anchoring activity. Activities may include readings, cumulative review sheets, computer work or other ideas teachers develop. Team members can discuss the different types of anchoring activities that work or might work in their individual classrooms.

13. Examining student work can be a valuable use of time. There is often discrepancy from teacher to teacher in determining what constitutes rigorous work. Team members can bring work samples to team meetings and discuss how they go about assessing student work.

14. Student learning can be significantly enhanced through the use of technology. Students are frequently way ahead of adults with their knowledge of technology. It is important for adults to be as current as possible in the use of instructional technology and team time spent talking about technology integration can be a valuable use of time.

15. Some adults are adept at analyzing student achievement data; some are not. Looking at student data and talking about different approaches to data analysis can lead to improved planning, pacing, and instructional implementation.

16. It is important for teachers to make sure that their lessons focus on the essential knowledge or essential understandings they want to result from their teaching. Some teachers may be unclear about what essential understanding should result from their efforts with students. Time spent discussing essential understandings can be an important clarifying activity and good use of team time.

17. Outstanding teachers have an extensive repertoire of learning strategies which they can match to students' needs. One important teaching skill is checking for understanding. Teachers can spend time talking about different checks they have used.

18. Some curriculum teams establish SMART goals that the team will implement. SMART stands for specific, measurable, attainable, results-oriented, and time-bound. Successful teams not only talk about SMART goals but they establish quarterly goals for student learning.

It is important to remember that when adults stop learning, so do students. Collaboration can be the vehicle that helps adults become lifelong learners. The excitement and enthusiasm that can be derived from collaborative planning can make the job of teaching exciting and fulfilling. The big payoff, however, is when teachers see the achievement results that can be derived from working together.

Permission is granted for reprinting and distribution of this newsletter for non-commercial use only. Please include the following citation on all copies:
Oliver, Bruce. "Collaboration: An Essential Key to Student Achievement." Just for the ASKing! November 2007. Reproduced with permission of Just ASK Publications & Professional Development (Just ASK). © 2007 Just ASK. All rights reserved. Available at www.justaskpublications.com.

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Collaboration: An Essential Key to Student Achievement

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Volume IV Issue XI Download PDF Subscribe Share this newsletter on Collaboration: An Essential Key to Student Achievement Collaboration is the new buzz word in education. It is often seen as the panacea for all of education's ills.