WHAT'S NEW - APRIL 2002

TEACHER COLLABORATION

The theme for this month will interest teachers and administrators who are exploring the issue of teacher collaboration. Please examine each of the three main areas noted below to find out more about the topic. The first section identifies several weblinks related to the topic. The site also makes available scholarly information, practical guidance, and peer-reviewed articles. We hope that you will find this website to be a valuable resource.

WEBSITES AND ARTICLES RELATED TO ETHICS AND LAW IN TEACHING

Teacher-to-Teacher Collaboration

http://teachnet.edb.utexas.edu/~lynda_abbot/teacher2teacher.html

This website's primary focus is to note sites that support teacher-to-teacher collaboration, particularly teacher-to-teacher exchanges focused on professional development of teachers, by teachers, and for teachers. A few sites are also included that foster classroom project-oriented collaborative exchanges between teachers. Several on-line documents discuss various aspects of professional development, including the importance of teacher collaboration and reflective learning for the development of educational improvement plans.

Teachers's Guide to International Collaboration on the Internet

http://www.ed.gov/technology/guide/international/index.html

The teacher's guide to international collaboration was developed to help teachers use the Internet and to reach out globally. The materials on this site were prepared as part of the American Department of Education's International Education Initiative. This guide is designed for online access. On every page, teachers will find many projects and suggestions for beginning or expanding classroom projects that reach across the globe. The guide provides tips and ideas for sharing and developing projects related to a range of content areas, including, science, social studies, arts, and second languages. The website also provides links to elementary, middle and high school projects, and weblinks to organizations involved in international education via the Internet.

What is the Collaborative Classroom?

http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/rpl_esys/collab.htm

This site provides teachers with information about the collaborative classroom. This guidebook's main purpose is to elaborate what "classroom collaboration" means. Tinzmann and others describe characteristics of collaborative classrooms, outline student and teacher roles, summarize relevant research, address several issues related to changing instruction, and give examples of a variety of teaching methods and practices that typify collaborative classrooms. This site is a valuable resource for those seeking to do collaborative research. (Contains 58 references.)

Canada School Net

http://www.schoolnet.ca/

This website is an exciting Internet news source featuring the latest educational materials, projects and Internet help. It connects users from around Canada including teachers from Alberta. SchoolNet's original mandate was to work in partnership with the provincial and territorial governments, the educational community and the private sector to connect Canadian schools and libraries to the Internet by March 31, 1999. Through the help of SchoolNet and its partners, Canadian classrooms are connected to the Internet. As of May 2000, half a million were connected to Canadian schools. Among a range of links, the site's home page provides access to the First Nations School Net that provides unique First Nations learning resources in English, Cree and Syllabics.

JOURNAL ARTICLES

Title:		Cooperative teaching: A model for teacher collaboration.
Source:		Teaching & Change. (1998). Vol. 5. Issue 3-4, Pages 199-224.
Author(s):		Bohlmann, Natalie L.
Abstract:		This journal article examines the effects of cooperative teaching in a two-teacher classroom. After discussing teacher roles in such classrooms, the paper describes how the advantages of such a system greatly outweigh the disadvantages. The paper presents keys to successful teaching partnerships and describes several models for lesson presentation in a cooperative-teaching environment.
ISSN:		1068-378X
Title:		Collaboration and progressive school reform.
Source:		Educational Policy. (1999). Vol. 13. Issue 5, Pages 630-659.
Author(s):		Gitlin, Andrew.
Abstract:		For many educational scholars collaboration holds the key to school reform. Gitlin found that robust forms of collaboration can achieve broadly defined progressive ends when the effects of collaboration on the intensification of teachers' work are limited, when teachers play a significant role in setting the agenda for the collaborative process, and when the issues raised as part of the collaborative process emerge from the contextual realities of a particular school.
ISSN:		0895-9048
Title:		Comparing school improvement programmes in England and Canada.
Source:		School Leadership & Management. (2000). Vol. 20. Issue 1, Pages 31-43.
Author(s):		Harris, Alma; Young, Jon.
Abstract:		While there are many descriptions of different approaches to school improvement there are fewer studies of a comparative nature. This paper provides a comparison of two well-established school improvement programmes in England and Canada. The Improving the Quality of All Project (IQEA) in England and the Manitoba School Improvement Programme (MSIP) in Canada have each demonstrated considerable success in their work with schools. The article traces the development of these programs and analyses their different approaches to school improvement. This comparative analysis reveals that there are common elements that the two projects share. Among the most important commonalities are both projects' encouragement of teacher collaboration within schools and the fostering of professional learning communities.
ISSN:		1363-2434
Title:		Teacher collaboration in secondary schools.
Source:		National Center for Research in Vocational Education. (1993). Number 2, Pages 1-7. Available online at http://ncrve.berkeley.edu/centerfocus/cf2.html
Author(s):		Inger, Morton.
Abstract:		This paper describes teacher collaboration in secondary schools. According to Inger, to make teacher collaboration possible and effective, two fundamental conditions appear to be crucial: interdependence and opportunity. Since teachers' main motivation and rewards are in the work of teaching, the extent that they find themselves interdependent with one another to manage and reap the rewards of teaching make joint work a worthwhile investment of time and other resources. Particular attention in this paper is given to (a) the benefits of teacher collaboration, (b) barriers between vocational and academic teachers, (c) teacher collaboration: what works, and (d) specific recommendations.
Accession Number:		ED363676
Title:		Strengthening the professional role through collaboration: A guide for school administrators.
Source:		Education. (2001). Vol. 122. Issue 1, Pages 135-140.
Author(s):		Livingston, Martha; Davis, Larry: Green, Reginald Leon.
Abstract:		The main purpose of this journal article is to highlight two benefits that can be derived from a collaborative relationship between Educational Leadership Professors (EDL) and K-12 School Administrators: a) an enriched leadership preparation program; and b) a framework for viewing the EDL professorate as an extended career opportunity.
ISSN:		0013-1172
BOOKS
Title:		Collaboration: A success strategy for special educators.
Source:		Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon. (1998). Pages 287.
Author(s):		Cramer, Sharon F.
Abstract:		The main purpose of this book is to provide special educators and education students-in-training with realistic tools for effective, collaborative working relationships. Cramer integrates practical exercises with discussion of relevant research aimed at maximizing the probability of successful collaboration once education students become employed as special education teachers. The book covers such topics as the requirements for successful collaboration, appraising schools as a context for collaboration, developing an effective collaboration strategy, and evaluating the success of a collaborative plan.
ISBN:		0-205-18511-8
Title:		Teaching methods for today's schools: Collaboration and inclusion.
Source:		Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon. (1997). Pages 492.
Author(s):		Hewit, John S; Whittier, Kathleen S
Abstract:		This book combines familiar instructional strategies for the K-12 classroom with new concepts that are making a difference in schools today. Concepts presented include: collaboration, inclusion, community involvement, and reflective thinking and teaching. The focus on these concepts provides a refreshing perspective to the study of instructional strategies.
ISBN:		0-205-15413-1
Title:		Interprofessional collaboration in schools: Practical action in the classroom.
Source:		Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon. (1997). Pages 304.
Author(s):		Mostert, Mark P.
Abstract:		In an ideal world, collaboration between and among students would happen often and progress smoothly. Since that is not always the case, teachers look for practical information that they can use immediately in the classroom to help their students work together. The book presents 15 case-studies of problems teachers encounter in encouraging student collaboration and provides teachers with possible ways to address these problems.
ISBN:		0-205-16689-X
Title:		Collaboration among teachers in senior high school.
Source:		UMI ProQuest. (1996). Pages 261.
Author(s):		Riordan, Geoffrey P.
Abstract:		This study presents understandings of collaboration held by teachers in senior high schools who had experience in collaborating. The teachers worked in five different high schools representing two school districts in an urban center in western Canada. The major findings of this study was that the development of effective collaborative relations was most strongly related to the complementarity of two sets of characteristics. The first related to characteristics of the individual teachers, such as their personal philosophies of education. The second set of factors related to teachers' work assignments. Recommendations for research and practice suggest further study of such topics as collaboration across subject areas between schools.
ISBN:		0-612-18099-9