Professional Collaboration With Purpose

Building on both cutting-edge research and professional learning practice, Amanda Datnow and Vicki Park explore how professional collaboration can support deeper learning for students and teachers alike. While many schools and systems support teacher collaboration, they often fall short of their intended goals of improving teaching and learning. This book provides concrete guidance for creating the conditions for collaboration in which teachers are moved toward—rather than repelled—by joint work. The authors explore how collaborative settings can provide a space for working through the inevitable challenges that accompany the changing nature of teaching in the age of accountability and show the motivation, inspiration, and energy that teachers personally--and collectively--gain from collaborating to improve student learning. Ultimately, they show how teacher empowerment towards working together builds equitable and excellent learning environments.

Ensure Conversations About Collaboration Get Results. This book lays out the theory and practice of Collaborative Professionalism. Through five international case studies, the authors distinguish Collaborative Professionalism from professional collaboration by highlighting intentional collaborative designs and providing concrete examples for how to be more purposeful with collaboration. Additionally, the book makes Collaborative Professionalism accessible to all educators through clear take-aways including: Ten core tenets, including Collective Efficacy, Collaborative Inquiry, and Collaborating With Students. Graphics indicating how educators can move from mere professional collaboration to the deep and transformative work of Collaborative Professionalism. Analysis of which collaborative practices educators should start doing, keep doing, and stop doing Collaboration can be one of your most powerful educational tools when used correctly, and turned into action. This book shows you how.

Teacher Collaboration for Professional Learning contains the essential information, tools, and examples teachers and school leaders need to create, manage, and sustain successful collaborative groups. Designed to be a hands-on resource, this practical guide shows you how to: Advocate for collaborative teacher learning Develop and sustain collaborative research groups Organize and conduct productive research projects Address issues of ethics, leadership, and group dynamics Evaluate and sustain collaborative learning activities Based on data from a major survey, Teacher Collaboration for Professional Learning features extensive case examples from model research communities collaborating within schools, across districts, in partnership with universities, and as online networks. The book also offers a wealth of reproducible templates as well as reflection questions and exercises?invaluable tools for organizing study groups.

All teachers--including career and technical education (CTE) teachers--play a vital role in building a thriving PLC. In this practical resource, the authors explicitly outline how to improve teaching and learning by integrating PLC best practices into CTE programs. Teams of CTE educators will learn how to clarify their purpose, discover their common denominators, and incorporate powerful collaborative processes into their daily work. Use this resource to learn the vital strategies necessary for building and improving teams: Become familiar with the common issues that prevent CTE educators from engaging in the collaborative PLC process. Learn why and how the PLC process benefits both CTE educators and students. Learn how CTE educators can create collaborative programs that are tailored toward CTE fields of study. Receive professional guidance and concrete, achievable teaching strategies for creating an effective PLC process. Access a checklist of crucial action steps for career tech teams at the end of each chapter. Contents: Introduction Chapter 1: Establishing a Collaborative Culture Chapter 2: Forming Collaborative Teams Chapter 3: Setting Up the Logistics of Teamwork Chapter 4: Identifying Essential Learnings and Developing CTE Curriculum Chapter 5: Designing Instruction and Assessments Chapter 6: Reflecting on Data Chapter 7: Responding to Student Learning Epilogue: Turning Parking Spaces Into Rest Spaces Appendix A: Glossary of Terms Appendix B: Reproducibles

Looking for a silver bullet to accelerate EL achievement? There is none. But this, we promise: when EL specialists and general ed teachers pool their expertise, your ELs’ language development and content mastery will improve exponentially. Just ask the tens of thousands of Collaboration and Co-Teaching users and now, a new generation of educators, thanks to this all-new second edition: Collaborating for English Learners. Why this new edition? Because more than a decade of implementation has generated for Andrea Honigsfeld and Maria Dove new insight into what exemplary teacher collaboration looks like, which essential frameworks must be established, and how integrated approaches to ELD services benefit all stakeholders. Essentially a roadmap to the many different ways we can all work together, this second edition of Collaborating for English Learners features: All-new examples, case studies, illustrative video, and policy updates In-depth coverage of the full range of strategies and configurations for determining the best model to adopt Templates, planning guides, and other practical tools to put collaboration into practice Guidelines, self-assessments, and questionnaires for evaluating the strategies’ effectiveness By this time, the big benefits of teacher collaboration are well documented. Where teachers and schools struggle still is determining the best way to do so, especially when working with our ELs. That’s where Andrea Honigsfeld, Maria Dove, and their second edition of Collaborating for English Learners will prove absolutely indispensable. After all, there are no two better authorities.

The Art of Collaboration: Lessons from Families of Children with Disabilities, co-authored by two professors of education and a parent of a child with disabilities, draws on the literature as well as original research to explore the meaning of collaboration and the benefits and barriers to developing positive school and family partnerships. The voices and stories of families of children with a variety of disabilities and experiences are at the heart of the book, providing insights into how we might re-conceptualize collaboration as an ongoing process and an “art” built on a shared commitment to improving the lives of children and families. The book begins with an overview of the research on collaboration and explores key themes, including the process of identifying a disability, the meaning of parent knowledge and expertise in the digital age, the potential to join parent and professional knowledge for the benefit of the child and family, and approaches leading to meaningful collaboration and communication. These include a variety of family-centered tools and practices, strategies for promoting parent advocacy and leadership, and a focus on hope and resiliency. Each chapter concludes with questions for reflection and suggested activities, making it an ideal resource for both parents and professionals. Throughout, the authors critique the collaborative process, while focusing on its promises and possibilities for families, educators, and other professionals.

Collaboration Among Professionals, Students, Families, and Communities provides a foundation for understanding concepts of collaborative learning along with strategies for the application of collaborative skills in teaching. The book moves logically from issues of macro-collaboration (district and school) to micro-collaboration (individual student focus and co-teaching) in K-12 environments before concluding with strategies for family and community collaboration. Significant emphasis is placed on knowledge, skills, and teaching models for pre-service and in-service teachers in general education, special education, and of diverse students including English Learners. Each chapter includes meaningful pedagogical features such as: Learning objectives A case study illustrating the implementation of information presented A case study challenging the reader to apply the information learned in the chapter Study questions for readers in Comprehension Checks at key points in the chapter Highlights of major points in a chapter summary for aid in studying content University, school, and community-based application activities A companion website features additional resources, including PowerPoint presentations, practice tests, suggested video and Internet resources, and advanced application activities.

Help ELLs achieve success with an integrated, collaborative program! This resource provides a practical guide to collaboration and co-teaching between general education teachers and ESL specialists to better serve the needs of ELLs. Offering classroom vignettes, step-by-step guidelines, ready-to-use resources, and in-depth case studies, the authors help educators: Understand the benefits and challenges of collaborative service delivery Teach content while helping students meet English language development goals Choose from a range of collaborative strategies and configurations, from informal planning and collaboration to a co-teaching partnership Use templates, planning guides, and other practical tools to put collaboration into practice