Thursday, November 09, 2006

Break Out 2 Tues-Collaboration by Deb

Focus on people not places in virtual world
Lots of self-organizers
Weekly collaboration meeting-always agenda and purpose
Comments from new teacher:
Connection is critical
Sharing of best practices
Consensus building-unified front (great idea!)
Broadens perspective
Confidence builder knowing you can talk together

Special Ed collaboration:
Not a lot of guidelines in place nationally
Part of SE job is assigned to VS-come together F2F weekly though also email
Sometimes more difficult to get things done and the collaboration helps here
Lots of discussions relative to policies
Principal involved in meetings
Operations
Pulled into the team and give input on what they believe policy should reflect
Weekly collaboration with adm
Sense in which “we are there for each other”
Collaboration has to be a required weekly thing-part of the job
Collaboration restores community
Marriage at a distance
Three legged stool-people/technology/processes all under the umbrella of purpose
SIT process:
Student Improvement Team-meet monthly collaboratively
Teachers email one week prior on student strengths/weaknesses
Can help all students because of brainstorming even though working on individual student
Can effect change quickly by calling attention to parent and providing tools and methods and very individualized
Part-time contracted teachers are assigned collaboration (well worthwhile)
Mentor for each new teacher
Teachers add informal collaborations with students (ie. 5AM 2 times a week) can build bonds even without sight
Informal parent collaboration: Can deal with issues but will need to address with administration
Analyzing student work: Talking about grading in the same way
Important to know how to do appropriate feedback/communication virtually
Handout: Rubric-apply this rubric to collaboration meetings
Much of the collaboration is NOT administration driven-can give guidance and support and wait to be invited in!
Key to collaboration is that it is safe and secure to express and agree/disagree

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