Collaboration Skills for School Professionals - Essay Example

Collaboration Skills for School Professionals Introduction Collaboration and teamwork have proven to be the most effective way of resolving majority of the complications that face students in learning institutions. Students with disabilities require cooperation from their teachers in order to develop solutions aimed at supporting them. The team of teachers are supposed to be flexible in order to accommodate opinions from other members to enable them come up with the best solutions. To become prosperous in its undertaking, the team must have definite strategies for different tasks dispensed to each member of the group (Friend & Cook, 2010). This paper will focus on two students whereby one of them has a learning disability and the tactic employed by the teachers in solving the commotions caused by the two students in class. Brief-scenario (Overview) This case study revolves around Zach (who is one of the three students in the class with a learning disability) and Patrick who are both in 5th grade in Mrs. Anderson’s class. Mr. Alvarez is a member of the teaching staff in the school who dedicates 30 minutes of his time in assist Zach address his reading roles with a collaborative support from Mrs. Anderson who is the class teacher. However, Patrick and Zach have been causing disruptions in class whereby Patrick teases Zach by making hurtful comments and name calling causing Zach to respond angrily hence, little classroom work and instruction gets done during the interruptions which in turn affects the whole classroom. Those involved in the case Mrs. Anderson is the teacher of twenty five fifth grade students with thirteen boys and twelve girls. Among the twenty five students, three of them have disabilities in learning. Zach who is one of the students in Mrs. Anderson’s class has a learning disability and he receives help from Mr. Alvarez. He particularly likes math and he particularly adored the topic that they had just completed in class. Furthermore, he even comes to school during recesses and sometimes stays after school to feed the class guinea pig. Patrick is also one of the students in Mrs. Anderson’s class who loves participating in class plays and skits. He also participates in community sports such as softball. Other than co-curricular activities, Patrick is an average student academically and he also loves being in the class limelight by telling funny stories. Problem in the case However, Mrs. Anderson who is their teacher cannot stand the rising number of disruptions that occur in the classroom. In most cases, Patrick and Zach are the center of most classroom disruptions which affects the rest of the class that is drawn into spectator sport. Mrs. Anderson shared this behavioral concerns with Mr. Alvarez who is also a teacher in the institution. Supporting details According to Mrs. Anderson, Patrick has a major anger management problem since he usually teases Zach and other students in class by name calling and making hurtful comments during class sessions. In addition, he also given inappropriate information during classroom discussions and argues with other students especially when he is asked to stop his undesired behaviors. On the other hand, Zach who is usually teased in front of his peers responds by angrily yelling back and arguing with Patrick and sometimes cries. This has become a real problem to Zach who also has a learning disability and even the rest of the class which is affected by the disruptions caused. At some instances, Zach even pushes Patrick when he does not respond to his comments and requests. Some of the past researches and studies conducted on students with similar conditions show that these problems are likely to be a result of arrogance and inner feelings when it comes to handling different problems. According to Friend and Cook (2010), reading problems might be a result of having negative attitudes towards doing some forms of literature that perhaps require a number of reading skills. This can be evident when a student performs well in one unit and fails to deliver the same in other units at the same academic level (Friend & Cook, 2010). This problem is evident in Zach who likes math and enjoys a lot of units in math such as geometry. If not controlled and taken into regular check by his teachers, the boy is likely to drop in his academic performance as well his social life (Friend & Cook, 2010). According to Friend and Cook (2010), the particular teamwork formed with the purpose of assisting such students must come up with well-laid goals, strategies and aims that they will be striving to reading skills and shaping his/her personality. Research shows that the consequence of this particular solution is that if not taken care of, the student may start performing poorly in his favorite subject together with the units he performs poorly in. Solutions for Zach’s case There are three possible solutions in addressing Zach’s case. These solutions include establishing effective rules that are to be followed in the classroom setup, a relation with a group of teachers who collaboratively help with his learning disability and employing criterion-specific rewards. First, Mrs. Anderson should establish rules for the whole class. Rules are basically defined as statements that outline the expectation teachers require from the students in order to enhance an effective learning environment. The rules developed should be clear, necessary, observable and addressed to all the students since it is a student-centered solution. By establishing classroom rules, Zach who is usually victimized by Patrick can get punishment for his undesirable behaviors which sometimes are even addressed to other students. When developing the rules, Mrs. Anderson should also incorporate the students in order to promote democracy and also prepare them for the civic responsibility. As stated above, the rules should also include the possible consequences of not adhering to the set law. Mrs. Anderson should also ensure that the laws are enforced to easily track cases of misbehavior by appointing a class monitor who reports cases of misbehavior to the teacher. From the case study, it is clear that both Zach and Patrick distracted the class when they hurled insults to each other. This form of student behavior that they projected usually interfered with the learning process. By enforcing the rules, Mrs. Anderson will easily address this issue since the students will able to report their fellow classmates who disrupt the learning process to the teachers. The consequence of setting stern rules is that most of the students tend to develop hatred towards the class monitor and the teacher who enforces the rules. In this case, Zach who is in constant quarrels with Patrick might develop hatred for Mrs. Anderson. Secondly, Zach can be assisted with his learning disability by getting help from several teachers. In this case, the mathematics teacher will be more relevant as compared to the others since the boy enjoys the math subject, taught by this particular professor. Mr. Alvarez will be another member of the formed collaborative teamwork which will assist him by offering daily resource room support for a period of 30 minutes. The consequence of this solution is that if not followed and implemented, then the boy will develop adverse reading conditions that the collaborative partnership will not solve. According to Friend and Cook (2010), the class teacher, will form the part of the collaborative teamwork, and in this case he/she will be reporting the daily complaints raised by the other students concerning the student’s conduct. The chosen member of the group for this role, will be keeping in check on the progress on matters of student’s ability towards reading, by the others on regular basis ( Friend & Cook, 2010). During these meetings, they will be discussing on any additional instructional support that the student may need so as to improve his/her reading ability (Friend & Cook, 2010). For Zach’s case, his parents must also be included in the teamwork since they will be keeping in check on how the boy will progress when at home. Therefore, this strategy is both student and family centered since both parties are included. Lastly, Mrs. Anderson should employ criterion-based rewards which are mostly considered as an effective intervention for inappropriate class behavior. Some of the criterion-specific rewards include tangible incentives, privileges, and activities. These rewards are normally given after an individual achieves a certain set code of conduct or performance level. According to the case study, Zach who has a learning disability can be rewarded after achieving a certain performance level and behavioral standard. Zach who apparently likes mathematics might not be performing well in the other subjects. Therefore, this student centered strategy is quite helpful in motivating him to perform better in the other subjects and also improve hiss behavioral standards. However, this strategy has a negative consequence since students will pretend and forge their behavior in school while out there their behavioral conduct still remains debauched. Teachers should focus on teaching the students to develop good morals both at school and at home. Solutions for Patrick’s problem Just like Zach, Patrick also has anger management issues which falls under behavioral issues. As seen from the case study, Patrick also disrupts class activities and does not care about the feelings of others especially Patrick who is struggling with a learning disability. There are various possible solutions that can be enacted to improve Patrick’s behavior. These possible solutions include contingent instructions, collaborative support from the teachers and a choice making strategy. First, contingent instructions should be given to Patrick from either his parents or the teachers. These instructions are usually considered as directions that are given to a student in order for him or her to cease certain behaviors. In the case of teachers, reprimands are quite common. Mrs. Anderson who is the class teacher in Patrick’s class should be able to approach him and make quiet private reprimands to him. This private reprimand should be lengthy in order to effectively improve student compliance. This can also be done by a parent to address the boy’s inappropriate behavior. In such a sitting, the teacher or parent is able to give Patrick specific instructions to improve on his behavior. This is rather effective since the boy’s behavior was a budding detriment to other students in the class who might possibly emulate him or get offended by his deeds. However, this strategy should incorporate neutrality to avoid misunderstandings. Furthermore, the contingent instructions given should be enforced from both sides by the parents and the teachers to ensure the student has ceased his inappropriate behavior. This strategy also has a consequence whereby, the one being reprimanded might think he is being oppressed by the teachers. This can affect his social life as well as educational life. Secondly, Patrick can get rid of his inapt conduct through help from a team of teachers. They will also have to contact his parents in order to obtain information concerning their view on Patrick’s conduct at home and how he interrelates with his neighbors and relatives. By observing his daily behaviors, his family will be able to note some form of dynamism and report this during their weekly meetings, and this alert the team on their progression (Friend & Cook, 2010). The class teacher will have the duty of monitoring Patrick’s conduct while in class and note if there are some significant changes in behavior from the other aspects of characterization implanted in him. The football team coach will also be significant by giving the reports concerning the boy’s conduct and if there are some observable changes. According to Friend and Cook (2010), the collaborative partnership will be able to know if the problems have been solved by doing a number of interviews, face to face or oral, to the student’s friends. As for Patrick’s case, it will also include all those who get interact with him in his day to day activities, like his classmates, Zach being inclusive. However, the consequence of this strategy can be radical on Patrick’s social life. Rather than being in the limelight of making jokes in class and teasing other students, he will be required to portray good behavior. Therefore, most of his friends might abandon him to avoid being associated with some of the mischievous acts he performs in class. This can in turn affect the performance of Patrick who is considered as an average student academically. Lastly, a choice making strategy can be employed in addressing Patrick’s inappropriate behavior in class. This strategy allows the student to pick from a number of options. This gives the learning a decision making opportunity which reduces disruptive behavior especially in class. The choices are usually made on the student’s preferred learning style and classroom environment. This allows the student to be comfortable during the learning process. In Patrick’s case, he will be able to focus on concentrating in class and giving appropriate information in class. This student centered strategy will significantly avoid the disruptions he makes in class and name calling habit. However, just like other strategies, this strategy has a huge consequence such that other students might feel left out because Mrs. Anderson will be picking on Patrick to select the conducive learning environment and learning strategy. This can affect other student’s performance especially those who do not relate with the selected learning strategy. Conclusion In conclusion, collaboration and teamwork have always proved to be the best way in dealing with some of the issues lowering both academic morale as well the morale of our students (Friend & Cook, 2010). It is true that some of these problems cannot get solved by individuals but rather a group who will come up with ideas and the best solutions for the particular problems in question. For the case of the two students, Patrick and Zach, a collaborative team will have to be formed, made up of all the relevant members as discussed above. Each of the members of the particular teams will have to play their respective or specific roles and will have to remain accountable to their line of assigned duties. This will assist in establishing the boy’s problems, finding the best solutions and the way forward that will eventually make the group achieve its primary set agenda and goals. Reference Friend, M. & Cook, L. (2010). Interactions: Collaboration Skills for School Professionals. (6th ed.). New York: Pearson Publishers. Read More