The Special Educator's Guide to Collaboration: Improving Relationships With Co-Teachers, Teams, and Families

by Sharon F. Cramer

Overview

"The valuable information and numerous strategies and resources make this a must have book for all teachers striving for effective collaborative relationships."
-Spencer J. Salend, Professor
SUNY, The College at New Paltz

At last, a practical game plan for productive and personally rewarding collaborative relationships!

General and special education teachers working side by side on a daily basis must move beyond basic communication to improve collaborative relationships inside and outside the classroom. Author Sharon F. Cramer delves into the art of the collaborative process through a series of practical exercises coupled with relevant research, and outlines a plan to make collaboration a life-long part of teaching. Preservice teachers, inservice teachers, and staff developers alike can use the activities in the book as is or adapt them to fit their own unique circumstances.

Whether used for personal improvement or by a group for professional development purposes, these invaluable set of relationship-building tools will empower teachers and give them the motivation, understanding, and skills to transform unsatisfactory co-teaching relationships into productive, truly collaborative relationships. Special features include:

• Case stories and data from among 1,000 collaboration projects supervised by the author
• Up-to-date research, including an overview of current literature on collaboration
• "Idea try-outs"-step-by-step reflection activities for promoting independent, innovative thinking
• "Project try-outs"-structured research and interview activities that provide readers with focused ways to test their collaboration skills

When teachers become curious, motivated learners, not only will they discover the many benefits of collaborative relationships with their peers, but they will also enrich the learning environment for their students!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781506318387
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	04/05/2006
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	360
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Sharon F. Cramer is a distinguished service professor at Buffalo State College, where she has been a member of the faculty since 1985. Her leadership roles include serving as executive director of the SABRE Project (implementation of the Oracle Student Information System) (1999-2004), chairing the Exceptional Education Department (1995-1999), and leadership roles in state and national professional organizations (e.g., president of the Northeastern Educational Research Association, NY Federation of Chapters of the Council for Exceptional Children, publication chair of the Division on Developmental Disabilities).

She earned her PhD at New York University in 1984 in human relations and social policy, her master of arts in teaching (MAT) from Harvard University in 1972, and her bachelors of arts degree from Tufts University in 1971. She participated in the Management and Leadership Education (MLE) program at Harvard University in 2001.

Table of Contents

Preface to the Second Edition
Acknowledgments
About the Author
1. Why Can’t We Just Be Friends?
Becoming Proactive: Improving the School Climate Through Collaboration
Overview of the Collaboration Project
Principals of Collaboration
Distinguishing Between Collaboration, Consultation, and Teaming
Conclusion
2. Background: Making the Case for Collaboration
Legislative Mileposts
Collaboration: Relevant Trends and Events
Conclusion
3. Ingredients for Successful Collaboration: Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Characteristics
Intrapersonal Foundation for Collaboration
Interpersonal Foundation for Collaboration
Problem Solving: Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Skills
Bringing It All Together
4. Evaluating Your Situation Honestly: Appraising Your School as a Context for Collaboration
Assessing Resources Available to Collaborators
Factors Promoting Collaboration
Applications to Use in Your School Setting
Communitywide Collaboration Experiments
5. Developing an Effective Collaboration Strategy: Half Empty or Half Full?
Collaboration Component Checklists
Compatibility Checklist
Success Checklist
Conclusion
6. Designing a Plan for Change Starting With You
Guidelines for the Collaboration Project
Designing a Self-Referential Plan for Collaboration
Overview of Pragmatic Goals
Development of Pragmatic Goals and Objectives
Incorporating Expertise: Marshaling Resources
7. What Now? What Works and What Doesn’t When Collaborating
Effective Communication Strategies: Something for Everyone
Accomplishing Pragmatic Goals and Associated Evaluation Methods
Making Use of Your Collaboration Resource Network
Conclusion
8. Evaluating the Success of Your Plan: How Can You Tell?
Objective Measures of Change
Subjective Measures of Change
Conclusion
9. Self-Encouragement: Keeping Yourself Going
Self-Talk: The Cornerstone for Self-Encouragement or Self-Discouragement
Looking for the Positives: Positive Reinforcement for Yourself
Sample Projects Incorporating Reinforcement
Teaching Yourself to Look: Observing Yourself
Conclusion
10. Summing Up the Outcomes: What Have You Accomplished?
Assessing Success: How Did Your Plan Work Out?
Communication Habits
Problem-Solving Habits
Cooperative Work Efforts
Conclusion
11. Generalizing Your Plan to Others: Improved Collaboration With Parents and Family Members of Your Students
Key 1: Understanding Family Diversity
Key 2: Developing Practical Communication Habits
Key 3: Build on What You’ve Already Learned
Conclusion
12. Generalizing Your Plan to Others: Improved Collaboration With Members of Your Interdisciplinary Team
The Life Cycle of Your Interdisciplinary Team
Additional Use of Teams
Conclusion
References
Index

Editorial Reviews

"The valuable information and numerous strategies and resources make this a must have book for all teachers striving for effective collaborative relationships with others. "

Spencer J. Salend