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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.

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Worked with a teacher of a student who they had a better relationship to open up about reasons why they were sleeping in class. That knowledge they were able to obtain made it easier to help them better

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I think the biggest barrier I see between Gen Ed and Spec Ed is time and perspective. Time because many IS teachers are swamped with writing IEPs and many teachers would love to modify and accommodate work, but are also swamped. Perspective because often Gen Ed teachers are striving to make rigorous assignments that challenge students and looking at things from the perspective of the Standards of their content area. I think Spec. Ed teachers are often looking at assignments and work from the perspective of all of the history and records that they get for the student. Spec Ed teachers can have knowledge about a lot of struggles and circumstances that students go through that can affect their abilities and behavior. I think there is a middle road that is hard to find here. 

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I think the biggest barrier I see between Gen Ed and Spec Ed is time and perspective. Time because many IS teachers are swamped with writing IEPs and many teachers would love to modify and accommodate work, but are also swamped. Perspective because often Gen Ed teachers are striving to make rigorous assignments that challenge students and looking at things from the perspective of the Standards of their content area. I think Spec. Ed teachers are often looking at assignments and work from the perspective of all of the history and records that they get for the student. Spec Ed teachers can have knowledge about a lot of struggles and circumstances that students go through that can affect their abilities and behavior. I think there is a middle road that is hard to find here. 

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I think the biggest barrier I have with collaboration is that I can sometimes think very meta about things. When I think of projects, they go from one lesson to changing the world in my mind in like 5 minutes and I have to work on focusing on the short-term goal that leads to the purpose of the lesson. Another barrier that I see is sometimes just teacher egos. All of our teachers put a lot of work into their lessons and it's hard to adjust something that you did to work with someone else's vision. It sometimes makes people feel inferior to see what other cool things other teachers are doing, like they aren't doing enough. Then people become defensive of "their" ideas or "their" way of doing something. If we can get over our own self-criticism, I think we can all work together more effectively for the kids. 

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I think the biggest barrier I have with collaboration is that I can sometimes think very meta about things. When I think of projects, they go from one lesson to changing the world in my mind in like 5 minutes and I have to work on focusing on the short-term goal that leads to the purpose of the lesson. Another barrier that I see is sometimes just teacher egos. All of our teachers put a lot of work into their lessons and it's hard to adjust something that you did to work with someone else's vision. It sometimes makes people feel inferior to see what other cool things other teachers are doing, like they aren't doing enough. Then people become defensive of "their" ideas or "their" way of doing something. If we can get over our own self-criticism, I think we can all work together more effectively for the kids. 

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I collaborate with the Science teacher in our building to teach Sexual Health class on Wednesdays in the Science Room. We periodically discuss how to tie the lessons into Science, how to handle students who do not answer the whole questions or skip piece of the assignments. I will check in with the student and Ms. Erin will as well. With both of us on the same page, it can help. 

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I collaborate with the Science teacher in our building to teach Sexual Health class on Wednesdays in the Science Room. We periodically discuss how to tie the lessons into Science, how to handle students who do not answer the whole questions or skip piece of the assignments. I will check in with the student and Ms. Erin will as well. With both of us on the same page, it can help. 

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Communication is key. teachers need to be continually updated on the status of students IEP's and it is on the IS to provide as much information (goals, accommodations, etc.) to the teachers so they stay continually informed. This can be done through meetings, IEP at a Glance and continual check ins with teachers about the students progress. 

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Communication is key. teachers need to be continually updated on the status of students IEP's and it is on the IS to provide as much information (goals, accommodations, etc.) to the teachers so they stay continually informed. This can be done through meetings, IEP at a Glance and continual check ins with teachers about the students progress. 

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One barrier I had was the lack of communication about a students particular needs found on the students IEP. Once explained, the teacher remembered that specific accommodation from the IEP summary but had forgotten.

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One barrier I had was the lack of communication about a students particular needs found on the students IEP. Once explained, the teacher remembered that specific accommodation from the IEP summary but had forgotten.

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I use Google Chat extensively to communicate with teachers in the school in an instant to help other students.

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I use Google Chat extensively to communicate with teachers in the school in an instant to help other students.

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The teachers of my school are always informing one another about students' learning styles.

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I honestly can't think of an example. I would just love more planning time with the other teachers. It's hard to create cohesive cross-curricular activities when there is no time to plan them out.

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At my school many of us communicate about our students and their progress regularly. This happens through email, casual conversations in the hallways or at lunch, or during MTSS or etc. meetings. 

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At my school many of us communicate about our students and their progress regularly. This happens through email, casual conversations in the hallways or at lunch, or during MTSS or etc. meetings. 

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Solutions to overcome communication between general education teachers and intervention specialists

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Solutions to overcome communication between general education teachers and intervention specialists

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Communicate, communicate, communicate.  Whether it's email, face-to-face, the chat, etc..  It's all about teamwork.  Have fun with your colleagues too!  The balance of work and fun makes communication much easier.  Respect everyone's schedule in terms of how busy they may be at the moment. My team of general education teaches are the best I have worked with thus far in 20 plus years!!! :)

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All of my teachers collaborate with me very well. They understand each of my students are on a different lesson and will assist me in ensuring students complete their lessons in ways they can best learn the content based on their strengths and how they learn (hands on, writing, printed out packets, art, etc. They are all experts in their content, and are well aware of effective ways in terms of accommodations for my students. We continually share ideas, on a daily basis, to assist the students with the best possible instructional outcomes.

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Student was having difficulty with science content.  General education teacher and intervention specialist worked together to have him draw poster regarding food chain in environmental science, along with news articles that related to this topic.  Student was engaged and was able to give detailed information about topic at the end of the project.

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Communicated with the teacher effectively that APEX was not meeting the instruction needs of several students. Worked together to provide materials that offered the differentiation APEX failed to. 

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Communicated with the teacher effectively that APEX was not meeting the instruction needs of several students. Worked together to provide materials that offered the differentiation APEX failed to. 

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Intervention Specialists generally understand that APEX is totally insufficient - Teachers in all subjects need to work to provide differentiated materials beyond APEX for our students. 

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Intervention Specialists generally understand that APEX is totally insufficient - Teachers in all subjects need to work to provide differentiated materials beyond APEX for our students. 

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The barrier is the teacher's reliance on only APEX to provide effective instruction. We need to be providing more instruction than what APEX offers. 

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The barrier is the teacher's reliance on only APEX to provide effective instruction. We need to be providing more instruction than what APEX offers. 

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I don't feel there are communication barriers. Time barriers are the biggest concern -- time to adapt materials to what kids need.

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Not all staff are willing to adapt plans or curriculum as others to work together.

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I often work with other teachers to find a common topic of interest for a struggling student and offer cross curricular options so the student knows we want them to succeed

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Reg.Ed. teachers could benefit from learning the language of Sp.Ed. teachers. Points of view also vary as Reg.Ed. teachers may look at activities from a standards perspective while Sp.Ed. teachers look from the perspective of potential challenges and variations. A backwards design approach using Universal Design principles can help both to arrive a the same destination through a balanced approach. 

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Reg.Ed. teachers could benefit from learning the language of Sp.Ed. teachers. Points of view also vary as Reg.Ed. teachers may look at activities from a standards perspective while Sp.Ed. teachers look from the perspective of potential challenges and variations. A backwards design approach using Universal Design principles can help both to arrive a the same destination through a balanced approach. 

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Time and access to colleagues are the biggest barriers for me. While we would love to do more cross-curricular programming, there is no time built into our day or regular schedule for meaningful collaboration. 

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Time and access to colleagues are the biggest barriers for me. While we would love to do more cross-curricular programming, there is no time built into our day or regular schedule for meaningful collaboration. 

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We communicate throughout the day on Google Meets/Hangouts. Students often work in another teacher's room, so quick messages allow us to monitor our students, even when they aren't physically with us. I will often print materials for other classes or work with students to develop alternatives they can pitch to their teachers.

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We communicate throughout the day on Google Meets/Hangouts. Students often work in another teacher's room, so quick messages allow us to monitor our students, even when they aren't physically with us. I will often print materials for other classes or work with students to develop alternatives they can pitch to their teachers.

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Work to answer their questions and take time to think about their advice on student's needs. Yes, sometimes they coddle students who are more capable, but also they have good insight to which directions might need reworded or simplified. I know as an English teacher, my directions can get a little wordy, and some students get lost in what needs to actually be done. Its good to have their feedback on new lessons that I create before I give it to students. 

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Work to answer their questions and take time to think about their advice on student's needs. Yes, sometimes they coddle students who are more capable, but also they have good insight to which directions might need reworded or simplified. I know as an English teacher, my directions can get a little wordy, and some students get lost in what needs to actually be done. Its good to have their feedback on new lessons that I create before I give it to students. 

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Staff doesn't have time to read the text, so to help the student they Google. Modeling not reading and googling answers if not helpful to us.

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We are currently struggling to collaborate with a staff member who doesn't listen/read the instructions or materials, but insists on helping students by googling the answers... which are often wrong.

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We are currently struggling to collaborate with a staff member who doesn't listen/read the instructions or materials, but insists on helping students by googling the answers... which are often wrong.

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Student IEP's could be highlighted and/or discussed more thoroughly in staff meetings.

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Kenyon and I work together to ensure that our alternative lessons meet the requirements and she often checks over my packets for errors or troublesome directions. She just looked over the beginning of my new unit on Magical Realism which features the short story "Paper Menagerie" which will replace "The Metamorphosis" in the current Apex unit.

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I really cannot think of one example.

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A student in my classroom was working on science when our teacher was absent. I gave her his contact and they had a face-time meeting where she was able to get the support she needed.

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In our building we have Pods where each teacher is responsible for list of students who may or may not be in our class. We then can help facilitate with other classroom teachers to make sure that the students get what they need to be successful.

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The Is in my building are a dream come true. We work as a team to make sure the students that we share get everything they need to be successful.

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One barrier that I struggle with another teacher is showing the importance of differentiation of content and that printing out apex studies is not differentiation.

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One struggle I have noticed when trying to communicate and collaborate with others is a difference in educational philosophy. Students all learn differently and we all teach in our own way and sometimes others may not agree with a certain method or strategy . 

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One struggle I have noticed when trying to communicate and collaborate with others is a difference in educational philosophy. Students all learn differently and we all teach in our own way and sometimes others may not agree with a certain method or strategy . 

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Through out the week we will have causal conversations about the things happening (both good & bad) in our classroom that help provide better understanding of student needs. We have these chat both during school hours and on our own time after school.  

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Through out the week we will have causal conversations about the things happening (both good & bad) in our classroom that help provide better understanding of student needs. We have these chat both during school hours and on our own time after school.  

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After having a student, I shared the methods that the student needed to complete my class and provided another teacher with ideas that had worked to help the student.

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Sometimes IS does too much. Students are capable of more, but it seems the IS is more interested in getting the task done then letting the student complete it.

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IS and I came up with a plan for the student, but the student did not come to school. The student was working from home, so we had to pivot to try to provide support while at home.

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One thing that really works in our building is communicating by hangout. This is great for ensuring student privacy and allowing instant communication.

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Weekly after-school meetings allow us to collaborate as a group and share suggestions about how to better serve our students. 

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Weekly after-school meetings allow us to collaborate as a group and share suggestions about how to better serve our students. 

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As others have mentioned, I'd suggest setting aside specific time for collaboration meetings. 

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As others have mentioned, I'd suggest setting aside specific time for collaboration meetings. 

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We're all super busy, so we sometimes do not have the time to effectively collaborate with other teachers. 

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We're all super busy, so we sometimes do not have the time to effectively collaborate with other teachers. 

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Providing time and specific collaboration meetings for content teachers to work with IS.

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Sometimes we do not have time in the school day to be able to effectively collaborate with other teachers.

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During our TBT meetings we often share techniques on how to work with specific students and help them reach their goals.

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Treat the other professional with sincere respect at all times. This respect should foster a culture of healthy collaboration.

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Treat the other professional with sincere respect at all times. This respect should foster a culture of healthy collaboration.

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One teacher did not take the time to fully understand a student's low reading level. The student needed reading intervention but this teacher did not see it or want to see it. The teacher did not want to provide the student with needed reading intervention strategies and materials.

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One teacher did not take the time to fully understand a student's low reading level. The student needed reading intervention but this teacher did not see it or want to see it. The teacher did not want to provide the student with needed reading intervention strategies and materials.

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I was able to effectively communicate with a teacher to help a student who was struggling with the writing process. The two of us sat down and took the time to truly understand what we were both saying. Taking the extra time proved greatly beneficial to crafting a course of action for helping the student.

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I was able to effectively communicate with a teacher to help a student who was struggling with the writing process. The two of us sat down and took the time to truly understand what we were both saying. Taking the extra time proved greatly beneficial to crafting a course of action for helping the student.

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I did this exact lesson with our new language arts teacher. We used a Venn diagram to compare us. The students seemed to enjoy that they could ask us questions about who we were and compare us. Example: I have a dog, she does not.

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I did this exact lesson with our new language arts teacher. We used a Venn diagram to compare us. The students seemed to enjoy that they could ask us questions about who we were and compare us. Example: I have a dog, she does not.

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An example of a barrier I have encountered is I have a student who is functioning at a pre-K to kindergarten level. When I try to accommodate this student I'm told that the work must be on high school level to count. This student cannot do high school work so it is very frustrating.

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An example of a barrier I have encountered is I have a student who is functioning at a pre-K to kindergarten level. When I try to accommodate this student I'm told that the work must be on high school level to count. This student cannot do high school work so it is very frustrating.

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At my school academic teachers and ISs work closely together fairly often. We communicate frequently and work together too.

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At my school academic teachers and ISs work closely together fairly often. We communicate frequently and work together too.

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I was able to effectively communicate with another teacher to help a student who is greatly struggling in math (algebra and geometry) that teacher was able to explain the formulas needed and the student wrote them down and was then able to complete the class.

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I was able to effectively communicate with another teacher to help a student who is greatly struggling in math (algebra and geometry) that teacher was able to explain the formulas needed and the student wrote them down and was then able to complete the class.

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I did a short lesson based on important historical figures and their accomplishments. The other teacher in my classroom ignored the fact that I was trying to do whole group instruction and talked over me to the student he was working one-on-one with. 

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I did a short lesson based on important historical figures and their accomplishments. The other teacher in my classroom ignored the fact that I was trying to do whole group instruction and talked over me to the student he was working one-on-one with. 

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I did a collaborative lesson with an IS teacher about comparing and contrasting. We compared and contrasted various things about ourselves and had the students ask us questions, like "Do you have any pets?" and etc. It was fun and the students enjoyed it. 

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I did a collaborative lesson with an IS teacher about comparing and contrasting. We compared and contrasted various things about ourselves and had the students ask us questions, like "Do you have any pets?" and etc. It was fun and the students enjoyed it. 