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Chapter 5: Creating Collaborative Relationships and Fostering…
Chapter 5:
Creating Collaborative Relationships and Fostering Communication
Coaching & Mentoring
It is important to have educators who collaborate, address classroom challenges, and enhance teacher efficacy
Coaches maintain fidelity in instructional design and practices
Always important to reflect on practices
Helps district support induction, retention, and success of professionals
Mentor Roles
Observations on mentee teaching and classroom management
Plan lessons with mentee
Provide feedback and acknowledge big and small successes
Be a listener!
Coach Roles
Learn and implement instructional practices
Model strategy implementation
Find new ways to promote student engagement
Help school utilize research-based practices
Offer feedback to eductors
Districts may utilize technology to promote effective teaching, mentoring, and coaching
Helps provide immediate feedback
Receive immediate support and suggestions about instruction and learning strategies
Effectiveness and Impact
Creates a strong partnership between school and home with an emphasis on learning
Positively impacts learning among all students
Makes sure that school is promoting and implementing inclusive and appropriate practices
Incorporates multiple perspectives and experiences to support educational, language, and cultural backgrounds of students
Partner with Families to be invested in child educational journey
Solicit feedback on inclusive practices
Get resources and ideas on curriculum planning
Part of IEP, 504 Plan, IFSP, and other educational plan meetings
Volunteer for classroom events and field trips
Give resources to support child's learning at home
Receive information about child's strengths, challenges, and progress
Family Communication & Collaboration:
empower family members, build family support for student learning, strengthen inclusive classroom practices
Supporting different types of families
Single-Parents: children with disabilities are more likely to have a single parent
Divorced Parents: can effect children - might display behavioral concerns (especially if there is consistent conflict between parents)
Send multiple copies of reports/emails, have multiple conferences (if needed). Refer to school legal policies for communication
Extended Families: support families with their needs and provide groups that offer services for grandparents/other adults in child's life
Families with LGBT Parents: create a welcoming environment for all families, learn about family relationships/dynamics, accommodate family diversity
Adopted Children: may have learning, language, behavioral, social, and medical needs
Always be sensitive to needs of child and family
Be aware of adoption services and process
If applicable, invite biological parents and adoptive family to events and activities
Foster Families: collaborate with student caregivers, offer services and accommodations to support student academically, socially, emotionally, and behaviorally
Comply with Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoption Act of 2008
Gaining Family Trust - collaboration, empathy, understanding, honest and respect
Advocate for Family and Student Needs
Use teaching materials that showcase wide range of family arrangements
Challenge stereotypes
Be aware of laws and related issues that can impact students' families
Always comply with professional and ethical standards set by district and state (understand teacher rights and responsibilities)
Ensure Confidentiality
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act & IDEA
Encourage families to obtain, review, and (if needed) challenge educational records
Do not speak about students in public places or reveal any identifying information about students
Family Meetings
Plan the meeting carefully and develop a time-framed agenda
Know ahead of time what family/teacher concerns and questions may be
Bring necessary materials, data, and records
Allow the meeting to be collaborative and help establish rapport
Always listen to questions and concerns
Remain positive, professional, and welcoming
Assist with Medication Monitoring: know district policy on drug management, learn medication information, maintain confidentiality, provide accommodations, use interventions to supplement medication, work with families to progress monitor success
Help family, physician, and school nurse manage, monitor and evaluate student response and effectiveness of mediciation
Resolve Conflicts Constructively by regularly communicating with families, address concerns promptly, and understand family perspective
Avoid acting emotionally. Maintain professional communication, collaboration, and conciliation
If needing to be constructive, do so calmly, directly, and honestly with reasons and evidence
Use appropriate and professional tone of voice and body language
Written Documentation can be used to build partnerships, share academic/behavior information, schedule meetings, and build support
Determine readability, legibility, tone and use of respectful, family language
Translators may be useful in providing oral or written translations to reach more families
Encourage Family Observations: allows family members to see school environment and student behavior
Offer Educational Programs to all family members that focus on family needs
Address Unique Family Backgrounds and Experiences
Learn about family strengths, experiences, cultures, communities and attitudes
Cultural factors, beliefs, and traditions can impact family interactions
Be sensitive and supportive to students who acculturate faster than their family
Invite necessary family members to school events, not just the parents
Understand differing belief systems in regards to behavioral and developmental expectations
Professional Communication & Collaboration:
Happening cooperatively, regularly, and reflectively by sharing resources, responsibilities, skills, and decisions
Co-Teaching: educating all students in an inclusive classroom
Special education interventions/supports and related services are embedded into the general education classroom
Hope is for problems from pull-out methods to be reduced
Ultimately helps support all students by providing strategies and assistance without overbearing one teacher
Communicate with families about co-teaching purpose and plan (especially with students with IEP or 504 plans) to promote collaboration and understanding.
All teachers within the co-teaching classroom plan, differentiate, teacher, grade, and discipline students together using their individual strengths to benefit all students
Teachers learn new knowledge and strategies for teaching from their co-teacher
There are pros and cons to co-teaching and is important to communicate concerns to continue benefiting all students
It would be helpful to lay out teacher roles, plan meetings ahead of time, and determine how to best use each teacher's strengths within the classroom to avoid problems
Sharing is caring!
Be flexible and open to suggestions!
Co-teaching can vary based on student needs, lesson objectives, and activities within the lesson
Collaborative Problem Solving (Collaborative Consultation): working together to solve problems and implement agreed-on solutions to address difficulties and instructional plans for all students
Typically involves the general education teacher and consultant (special, bilingual, or multicultural educator or related services educator)
Steps to problem solving: Identify goal and problem, analyze goal and problem, determine how to implement plan, and evaluate the effectiveness of the plan
Always look at the "whole-student" and utilize student-first language when discussing student concerns.
Utilize observations, progress monitoring, student work examples, and other appropriate assessments to determine student concerns and progress.
Paraeducators
Determine how to effectively utilize para support without promoting the Velcro effect
Explicitly outline how paras can assess students, plan activities, and support student needs
Can and should support all students to promote an inclusive classroom!
Always clarify roles and responsibilities
Review lessons, activities, curriculum
Always listen to concerns and questions
Utilize their unique perspective to support all student needs
Review any student plans, school procedures, and classroom expectations
Make sure paras understand their legal and ethical responsibilities
Educational Interpreters: a professional that transfers information between individuals who do not communicate the same was as the teacher
Determine roles and responsibilities early on in the school year to set expectations up front
Walk through expectations how interpreters will communicate with families that do not speak English and how teacher will get information to interpreter
Review curriculum, teaching practices, classroom expectations, and other important aspects to strengthen their awareness of them classroom
Professional Learning
Work in lesson study groups to analyze data and determine lessons to see goal progression
Used to evaluate co-teaching and inclusive classroom impact on student learning
Congruence: relationship with curriculum, materials, goals and strategies used in inclusive classroom and supportive services programs
Priori Model: supportive services educators teach new content that supports content that will be taught in inclusive classroom
Post Hoc Model: supportive services educators reinforce skills already introduced in inclusive classroom