What Is Collaboration In Education

Educators working closely together will allows students to receive the best possible instruction in the classroom. “Strong collaboration for the delivery of education services involves all the various education professionals serving a school building or district” (pg. 3). One of the major issues with the identification of poor performing students is if it has anything to do with the delivery of the instruction, or the instruction itself. Collaboration is an excellent way to make sure that the students receiving the best possible instruction to increase the academic knowledge. Teachers that are struggling have the opportunity to work with reading and special education professionals to work on implementing appropriate lessons in the classroom. “The classroom teachers, reading specialists, and special education professionals collaborate in planning and implementing the intervention” (pg. 3). This intervention and collaboration should not be seen as a negative, but as a positive because they are all working together to help the teacher use the correct instruction that is going to benefit each and every

“One of the essential roles of special education teachers is coteaching and working with other professionals, as well as communicating with family members and between special education teachers and other school-related professionals(Vaughn & Bos, 2015, p. 114)”. With the importance of a least restrictive environment special education and general education teachers are working together in a classroom with varying levels and abilities of learners. It is vitally important to have an effective relationship between the two teachers while developing and implementing lesson plans for learners with special needs. The physical space and dynamics of the classroom should fit the needs of the students and the established procedures should ensure a highly functional environment. Importantly, educators need to communicate to families “encouragement about what they can do at home and about an effective plan for providing instructional supports for their child(Vaughn & Bos, 2015, p. 114)”.

Collaboration supports children to engage meaningfully with each other. When children collaborate with their teachers and peers, they effectively combine together to join in a deep and wilful desire to co-labour or unpack a series of events on topics of interest and importance. Collaboration has the capacity to provide rich learning environments for children with diverse, corresponding motivations and learning practices. It also produces new engaging challenges and opportunities for children to express their thoughts and feelings. These combine to enrich and transform the relationships children have with the subject material and enhance their relationships with peers and

The purpose of this research is to understand the perceptions and experiences of professionals on collaboration in the educational environment. Data collection will occur within the Virginia Beach City Public School (VBCPS) system. Specifically targeted will be three elementary schools that I work in being Ocean Lakes Elementary School, Princess Anne Elementary School and Red Mill Elementary School. The people that volunteer to take part will include VBCPS staff involved with the Individualized Education Program (IEP) for special needs students in any one of the above identified schools, and has been part of an initial eligibility, new IEP, current IEP, or consulted on as part of the IEP process.

I have had the opportunity to work with students in both the sub-separate and general education classroom to enhance students learning through their least restrictive environment. The working and teaching experience has allowed me to carry out the dedication that the Special Education program has for the students with disabilities in the current school system. I have been able to help students achieve educational success through providing a safe-learning environment for all students and helping students assessing curriculum and reach their full potential by promoting and supporting students diverse learning

Collaboration between teachers is a key component to professional development that will lead to higher student achievement. There is a need for schools to set up time for teachers to be able to collaborate together. This allows for teachers to help each other, matchup content, teach each other new and best practices, troubleshoot student issues just to name a few of the areas that collaboration time can help foster within a school. The key is to build time for teachers to be able to collaborate during the school day or week. This collaboration time needs to be between grade levels, departments, and cross curricular when needed. For many schools this is an afterthought to the school schedule or a fleeting thought after the master schedule is completed. A principal needs to keep an open mind to any strategy that will enable the teachers to be able to collaborate for the good of the students and the school.

I have not yet worked in a school setting, but I have worked in several agencies and offices where collaboration with colleagues was present. One agency I have worked in was a domestic violence shelter, which housed up to forty-five women and children. In addition, we ran a twenty-four hour crisis hotline, provided individual and group counseling services, and educated those out in the community about domestic violence. It took a lot of collaboration with colleagues to have the agency run smoothly and effectively. When issues arose with clients staying in the shelter, my colleagues and I would met to discuss the issues and how we were going to work together to solve them. Together we were able to discuss all of these factors and agree upon

Examples of inclusive practices the team supports are co-teach integrated classes with accommodations implemented across the content; offering access to various electives and activities. The challenges experienced by the special education team is making sure accommodations are taking place in all classes, creating a program that meets the post-grad needs/plans for students with special needs at a “college prep” school, and have time to train/support general education teachers regarding policies and procedures for special education.

The last CEC standard reviews the importance of effective and production collaboration between families, service providers, educators, community agencies, and most importantly individuals with exceptionalities. Although I have collaborated with other educational professionals for seventeen years, I did not understand the components and strategies for effective collaboration until completing the graduate program. After completing the course, I have changed some of the ways and manners in which I collaborate with other education professionals and families of individuals with special needs. Since changing the ways in which I collaborate, I can tell a positive change in my professional and personal relationships with others.

Starratt’s work resonates with any educational change initiative, but this book has added dimension and depth to my work. Every day I attempt to orchestrate organizational change in dysfunctional special education departments that serve special needs individuals. First, Starratt (2004) makes it clear that an overarching goal of an effective and ethical educational leader is not only to identify the critical areas of concern, but to initiate the change needed to uphold and enhance the “common good.” In my current career, that applies to special education systems requiring reform where unwilling administrators do not reorganize priorities for that to happen. While the definition of the phrase, “the common good” may be unclear, when it comes to initiating change in special education practices, the indisputable outcome should be the ownership of all special needs students by every staff member.

Within the past decades and a big discussion has occurred regarding the most appropriate setting within which to provide education for students in special education. Although the change in the educational environment is significant for handicapped student the concepts of inclusion also bring up new issues for the regular education classroom teachers.

Collaboration in the world of education has become an increasingly popular method of addressing a variety of school issues, such as curriculum design, behavioral plans, professional development and management of resources. One of the areas in which collaboration is becoming more popular is co-teaching in special education, where special education teachers and general education teachers share the planning and instruction responsibilities for inclusion classrooms (Friend & Cook, 2010). As academic standards for the education of students with disabilities are held to the same standards as their typical peers due to the No Child Left Behind Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the co-teaching model has been increasingly

Separate special education provides no guarantee of success for children who need special attention. Students with special needs may fail to conform to the expectations of school and society, (Carter, Lewis, & Wheeler 2017) Inclusion may present issues for teachers that do not possess the skills to make it work. Teachers must collaborate with a team of professional to plan and implement instruction for students in an inclusive environment. Students without disabilities could begin to see the students with disabilities as a distraction in the class depending on the needs of the student with disabilities.

The key to any successful school district is the administration. Teachers essentially provide structure, organization, and the background of a child’s future. To educate students with learning disabilities, it is essential that the staff has the training and resources needed for the appropriate people, place, and time (Lazarus) (What is Inclusion, 2001, n.p). It is unrealistic to expect that regular education teachers will always be aware of the latest research or be able to readily adapt the school's

According to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, students with disabilities should be placed in a “least restrictive environment.” One of the main ideas of this act was to improve the learning experiences of students with disabilities by giving them learning opportunities outside of a special education classroom. The number of students with disabilities being placed in their general education classrooms is increasing more and more each year. The U.S Department of Education’s 27th annual report to Congress on the implementation of The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (2005) indicates that the number of students with disabilities in general education classrooms has risen to almost 50 percent. This is about a 17 percent increase from the 1997 U.S