Mutual Planning and Teacher Collaboration - Assignment Example

Teacher Collaboration Project al Affiliation Introduction Mutual planning is a very important step towards ensuring that special education teachers are able to collaborate and work with other teachers and professionals. A mutual planning session gives the teachers the opportunity to work together so that their can improve their classroom practice. According to Walter-Thomas, Korinek & McLaughlin (2009), it is through such sessions that the teachers are able to engage each other so that they come up with the most effective approaches which will be key to the achievement of the learning goals in the classroom. The main purpose of this activity is to allow the participants to learn why it is necessary to bring the special education and the general education teachers together. The session makes it possible for them to develop a collaborative plan that will enable them to effectively meet the various academic and the social needs of the students with various disabilities and those in the general education settings. This activity recognizes the unique roles and responsibilities that each of the teachers have in the collective planning process. Through this session, it is possible for them to gain immense understanding of the special needs of the students that they will be dealing with. The outcome of this will be increased partnerships and collaborations between them thus ensuring that they are able to enhance their performance in the various educational settings. In the long run the benefits will be passed down to the students as they will be taught with their academic and social goals in mind. Materials & Methods In order to take part in the session and for it to be a success, all the participants need to be well prepared. This entails defining the roles of those taking part. For this activity, there are three key participants who had specific roles to play. The three roles included time keeping, team leading and recording. The roles can be assigned randomly or each person allowed choosing the role that they feel they can effectively fulfil. The duty of the team leader was to initiate the meeting and communicate the details of the session to the other members of the team. This will include those who were to attend but were unable to do so due to reasons that were beyond their control. The recorder had the duty of capturing and also disseminating the minutes from the planning sessions. This allowed for the continuity of such sessions in future. The time keeper on the other hand was tasked with the duty of ensuring that the items which were to be consider were covered and that the session took place within the agreed duration of time. In this session, the participants were going through the lesson plans for both the special education students and the general education students. Thus, it was imperative for them to have some of the key materials that influence how the plans work. Some of the materials used included the school calendar, the Pacing Guides and the Unit Plans for the various systems that were being considered. The collaborative planning session was planned to take about one hour to allow for the completion of all the tasks that are to be considered in the planning process. McLaughlin, Nolet, Rhim & Hen­derson (2000) informs that allocating sufficient amount of time is a very essential aspect of the process and therefore the time given should not be too much or insufficient for the session to be completed. It was conducted in a location where there are no distractions. Walter-Thomas, Korinek & McLaughlin (2009) notes that when teachers plan together in an environment that is free from any kind of physical and mental distraction they are able to draw maximum benefits from such sessions. This will have an affirmative consequence on the overall performance. Results Every participant who took part in the session had different expectations about what the process would yield with regard to the roles that they play the intended outcomes and the similar issues of concern. Therefore, each of them was striving to ensure that the issues concerning their practice were addressed during the panning process. This trend was quite evident at the beginning of the session. After a short while, however, it appeared that the participants had realized that they needed to pool resources and cooperate so that they could come up with plans which would be essential to their overall success in the education practices. Another result from the session was related to how the participants communicated and interacted with each other. By employing effective communication skills and avenues, those who took part in the collective planning session were able to share their expertise and concerns about both the general education students’ needs and the needs of the students in the special education setting. During the session, it was also noted that there were some participants who seemed to be taking the activity as an obligation rather than something which is meat to allow them to effectively meet the needs of the students. It was tedious to accommodate the schedules and the plans of each participant due to the diverse nature of curriculum that they deal with. As such compromise had to be made so that the session yielded positive outcomes to all those who took part. At the end of the session those who took part were able to effectively come up with plans that would allow them to meet the academic need s of their respective students. Discussion From the session, it was apparent that joint planning session is key to effective collaboration among special education and general education teachers. Such platforms gives both teachers the opportunities to evaluate the various needs of their students when coming up with plans that will let them to fulfil their duties and achieve the goals of the teaching and learning process. The sessions are not only a powerful tool for professional development but also give the participants the opportunity to learn and think about other ways that they can used to enhance their practice. They do this by benefiting from the knowledge and expertise of the various teachers who take part in such sessions. White & White (2012) points out that due to the importance of these panning session, there are various schools that have come up with schedules which ensure that the teachers and professionals take part in team meetings in form of lessons studies and groups so that the can not only come up with plans like the one made in this activity but also to observe and analyze the needs of the classes that they are dealing with. In this session, it was also realized that effective communication plays a key role in the success of the task. It dictates how the participants interact and share the information they have on the task that is being accomplished. It was evident that it is very wrong for the participant to use question which states his or her opinion on the issue being handled when communicating. Such kind of language that explicitly expresses one’s opinion may not be taken well by the other participants thus impacting negative on the entire process. Walter-Thomas, Korinek & McLaughlin (2009), state that in the collaborative learning session, there are certain kinds of communication strategies that hinder stronger collaboration and working relationships. From the session, it can be said that in future when one engages in such tasks, it is important to always remain respectful, listen attentively and stay on the topic being discussed. References McLaughlin, M. J., Nolet, V., Rhim, L. M., & Hen­derson, K. (2000). Integrating standards, includ­ing all students. Teaching Exceptional Children, 31(3), 66-71. Walter-Thomas, C., Korinek, L., & McLaughlin, V. (2009). Col­laboration to support students success. Focus on Exceptional Children, 32(3), 1-18. White, A. E., & White, L. L. (2012). A collaborative model for students with mild disabilities in middle schools. Focus on Excep­tional Children, 24(9), 1-10. www.rsu.ac.th/education/download/.../55-Dissertation_Donrutai.pdf http://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ585758 http://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ604905 Read More