Chapter 2 Collaborating and Coordinating with Other Professionals

Chapter 2 Collaborating and Coordinating with Other Professionals and Family This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law: • any public performance or display, including transmission of any image over a network; • preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or in part, of any images; • any rental, lease, or lending of the program. Copyright © 2007 by Allyn & Bacon

Role of Collaboration in Meeting Students’ Needs l l The goal of collaboration models is to ensure that included students receive the services they need to succeed. The goal of collaboration is to achieve ongoing dialogue between all persons who can provide support. Copyright © 2007 by Allyn & Bacon

Necessary Conditions for Collaboration l l l Teachers need access to opportunities for training and professional development School administrators need to support the model Teachers’ and students’ schedules must be flexible Copyright © 2007 by Allyn & Bacon

Cooperative Teaching l Cooperative teaching, or co-teaching, occurs when general and special education teachers work together to coordinate curriculum and instruction and to teach heterogeneous groups of students in the general education classroom. Copyright © 2007 by Allyn & Bacon

Family Collaboration l Parent involvement and collaboration is fundamental to the implementation of IDEA.

Family Collaboration l l l Parent involvement benefits students in many ways: Parents can provide knowledge about the students Informed parents will ensure home-to-school communication Informed parents will develop high expectations of school programs Parent involvement ensures a safeguard for students’ needs Copyright © 2007 by Allyn & Bacon

Teachers’ Role in Family Collaboration (Dettmer et al. 2005) l l l Remember a teacher’s place is on the parent’s side Become aware of your own feelings of defensiveness Remember that the focus must be on the needs and interests of their children Accept people as they are Remember that most parents are doing the best they can Respect parents’ right to have their own opinions Copyright © 2007 by Allyn & Bacon

Working with Other Professionals l Collaboration l Consultation – – – Prevention Effective schools

Characteristics of Consultation (Friend and Cook, 2003) l l Triadic and indirect relationship Voluntariness Expert and directional relationship Problem-solving shared but differentiated responsibilities and accountability Copyright © 2007 by Allyn & Bacon

Peer Collaboration (Friend & Cook, 2000; Hudson & Glomb, 1997) l Initiation or facilitation l Clarifying questions l Summarization l Interventions and predictions l Evaluation Copyright © 2007 by Allyn & Bacon

Resources Needed for Effective Collaboration l Time to collaborate l Participants familiarity with collaboration

Co-Teaching l Co-Planning l Co-Teaching l Co-Assessment l Grading Copyright © 2007 by Allyn

Collaboration Issues l Concerns about cooperative teaching l Student ownership l Individual versus class focus l Content versus accommodation l Real world versus student’s world Copyright © 2007 by Allyn & Bacon

Critical Communication Skills l Acceptance l Questioning l Listening l Staying focused – – Listen for real content Listen for feelings Restate content and reflect feelings Allow speaker to confirm or correct perception Copyright © 2007 by Allyn & Bacon

Working with Parents l Family adjustment – Entire family needs resources and support –

Needs of Parents (Simpson, 1982) l Information exchange l Counseling, therapy, and consultation l Consumer and advocacy information l Parent-coordinated service program l Home/community program implementation Copyright © 2007 by Allyn & Bacon

Parents as Partners l Establishing homework policies l Encouraging student independence l Parents as

Effective Parent Conferences l Review the student’s materials, grades, and work progress l Meet with and learn the perspectives of other professionals l l Obtain samples of the student’s most recent work l Make an outline of topics to discuss Review the student’s folder, portfolio, and previous assessment information Copyright © 2007 by Allyn & Bacon

Positive Communication with Parents l l l Beginning of school letter Progress report for the year “Good News” notes Weekly and monthly calendars Newsletters Phone calls Copyright © 2007 by Allyn & Bacon