TABLE OF CONTENTS - Skills for School Professionals Ninth Edition iii

Instructor's Manual Adam Jordan

Interactions: Collaboration

Skills for School Professionals Ninth Edition 1 / 4

iii Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

iv 1 6 10 14 19 23 28 32 36 41 45 49 54 Overview of the Instructor’s Manual

Chapter 1: Foundations and Perspectives

Chapter 2: Interpersonal Communication

Chapter 3: Listening, Responding, and Giving Feedback

Chapter 4: Integrating Communication Skills in Interviews

Chapter 5: Group Problem Solving

Chapter 6: Teams

Chapter 7: Co-Teaching

Chapter 8: Consultation, Coaching, and Mentoring

Chapter 9: Difficult Interactions

Chapter 10: Paraeducators

Chapter 11: Families

Chapter 12: Special Considerations

Chapter Handouts 2 / 4

Chapter 1: Foundations and Perspectives

1 Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Chapter 1: Foundations and Perspectives

Components of Collaboration Chapter Focus: Personal Commitment

Activities and Discussion Questions

• Have students construct a table of the benefits and barriers to increasing

collaborative activities at their school between general and special educators. Ask them to interview colleagues to see what they would add to the list. In class, pair students or create small groups to brainstorm possible ways to overcome the barriers.

• Facilitate a discussion on the necessity and uses of collaboration in today’s society,

both in and out of education. How is society today different than in years past? How does the emphasis on collaboration in society in general impact school professionals?

• Ask students to discuss how technology has influenced the role of collaboration.

What impact have the Internet, e-mail, instant messaging, cellular phones, conference calling, and other technological advances had on collaboration in general? Which technological advances specifically affect educators and which ones can we use to improve our collaboration in and around schools?

• Ask the class to share the ways the term “collaboration” is used in their schools or

agencies. Is it used interchangeably with other terms, such as “inclusion”, “consultation”, “teaming”, or “co-teaching”? Discuss how the difference in understanding of terminology may affect communication with families, across districts, and within programs. (This is particularly effective if the class is comprised of students from different schools or different school districts.)

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Chapter 1: Foundations and Perspectives

2 Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

• Provide students with multiple copies of Handout 1.0, “Survey of Collaborative

Practices.” For homework, ask them to survey a variety of people associated with their school. For example, encourage them to interview a parent, a special education teacher in a self-contained setting, a special education teacher in a resource or collaborative program, a few general education teachers, a school-level administrator, a district-level administrator, director of special education, or program specialist. Discuss the findings in class. Are there patterns? How do they think these similarities and differences might impact their ability to collaborate?

• Collaboration is defined as an interpersonal style. Ask students to consider their own

style for interpersonal interactions. They can use Handout 1.1 to describe the strengths and weaknesses of their style, as well as the impact their personal style may have on teams and other school-related interactions. After completing the handout independently, allow students to share their responses with a classmate or small group. Facilitate a discussion regarding the impact different interpersonal styles have on the collaborative process and what individuals can do to improve that interaction.

• Several elements of collaboration are identified as defining characteristics in the

textbook. These characteristics are provided in Handout 1.2 and are outlined on pages 7-13 of the text. Have students write two examples for each characteristic – one of a time when they saw the characteristic demonstrated and one in which it was absent. Have students share results.

• Encourage students to discuss pre-service and in-service teacher preparation for

general and special education teachers, as well as that of other educational professionals, such as librarians, administrators, counselors, and school psychologists. How is collaboration addressed in the preparation of each professional? How do the definitions and examples of collaboration vary? Have small groups design 1-2 in-service training sessions that they believe would be valuable for different groups or for an integrated group of different professionals.

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