Professional Development part of the Education Reform Network

Collaboration

Staff development that improves the learning of all students provides educators with the knowledge and skills to collaborate.

Rationale:

Organized groups provide the social interaction that often deepens learning and the interpersonal support and synergy necessary for creatively solving the complex problems of teaching and learning. The following links support this standard:

• What is collaborative planning?
  Overview of the concept of collaboration, how to get started and links to other resources.
• Building a Committed Team
  Describes the value of teams, highlight experts in this area, and links to resources for building teams.
• Building a Learning Community
  Provides articles with discussion/reflection tools. Good for use with study groups.
• Critical Friends Groups
  Critical Friends Groups bring teachers together over at least 2 years to help each other look seriously at their classroom practice in order to improve it.
• Enlist Colleagues in Reflection and Planning
  Newsletter (Summer 2000) describing the value of collaboration and links to examples.
• Leadership & Teams
  Toolkit developed by the National School Boards Association. Topics include:Leadership Qualities Leadership Self-Assessment Leadership Teams Team Climate Survey Dealing with Conflict Communication Styles Behavioral Styles Leadership Anecdotes .
• League of Professional Schools
  Provides an overview of the League of Professional Schools. Action research is a primary component of this school reform model.
• Mentoring at a Glance
  Through a combination of articles, video clips and links to other resources, this site offers an overview of the mentoring process.
• Mentoring Leadership and Resource Network
  Network of educators within a professional organization who are interested in learning more about mentoring.
• Notes & Reflections, Winter 2002
  Gives directions for the following tools:Tools and Facilitator NotesConsensogramA statistical survey that measures a group's perception of effort, commitment, and understanding.Five WhysDetect the root cause of a problem or situationThink, Pair, ShareKeep your audience engaged and check their understanding.Interview Design ProcessEspecially useful for collecting baseline information about that group.
• Open Space Technology
  Describes the process to facilitate open space technology.
• Peer Coaching
  Offers tools and articles on peer coaching.
• Peer Coaching: What Are Peer Coaching and Peer Review?
  Description of peer coaching.
• Study Groups: What is a study group?
  Overview of the concept of study group, how to get started and links to other resources.
• Tapped In
  Provides strategies for working in a technological environment. Tools for conducting meetings and leading seminars.
• Teacher Research
  Focuses on an action research model, Instructional Improvement through Inquiry and Collaboration (IITIC). Provides model research questions and rationale for teacher research.