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Gloria found an article about another school and collaboration.  I would like to share it with you. Click on Gloria's name above and the link will appear. 

Chapter 3 - Thoughts

Chapter 3 was a big chapter dealing with the operation of an effective team.  One of the points that speaks to me is the cardinal rule of parity among team members.  It is very important that we view each other as equals.  You can learn from me AND, more importantly, I can learn from you.  When team members are willing to learn, all members will gain.  Parity - my new word of the day!

 Here's what I would like feedback on:

1.  The team facilitators are Dobson, Anderson, Myers, Wheeler, Keister, DDeHart. I feel a need to meet with them prior to the first Common Planning Time.  I am thinking I would like to schedule a work session with them the workweek.  I know many of you are following along, but some are not and I would like to distribute the information to everyone and I could do this through a meeting with the facilitators, first.  What do you think?

2.  Do we make universal ground rules (during the facilitator's meeting)that all teams are to follow OR do we allow each team to establish their own? 

3.  Do we utilize universal agenda forms (deciding during the meeting) or does each group design their own?

I look forward to your feedback!
Ellen

Learning Teamwork Skills - completing the chapter

Giving and Receiving Information

These are guidelines for the members working in the best interest of the team:

1.        Work as an equal – not an authority

2.       Participate in school routines

3.       Nurture relationships with fellow team members

4.       Expect to learn from others and acknowledge when you do

5.       Use an experiential learning approach that allows learners to be successful

6.       Ask for feedback about your consultation or teaching of others

Making decisions by consensus

Although it is ideal for the group to come to an agreement on a solution after sharing and hearing each team member’s respective viewpoints, it is not always possible.  Therefore, other ways may need to be utilized:

·         Majority vote

·         Average opinion of group

·         Authority decision

·         Expertise decision (research based)

Teaming decisions should be decided through consensus when possible as it has more benefits than other decision-making approaches.  Therefore, teams need to determine how they will make decisions.  When utilizing consensus, use data as the basis for decisions.  The facilitator can also ask whether the team consents when several members seem to be in agreement.  When a team is unable to come to consensus on a regular basis, the team needs to reevaluate their method for decision-making and may need training in consensus building.

Behaviors team members must avoid when involved in decision-making:

·         “Caving in”

·         Not responding/silent

·         Strong arming others

·         One members making the decision

·         Quickly reverting to “Majority rules”

Reflecting on the Team Process

This time is critical to the maintenance of collaborative interactions.  Consider doing the following:

·         Celebrate the successes/Consider the areas of little progress

·         Team member accountability – is everyone pulling their weight?

·         How are the relationships among team members going?  How can we relieve tension or what teamwork skills do we need to work on?

·         Are we staying with our agenda, are we loyal to the vision, are we accountable to our students?

·         How are we doing as a team? Problem-solving?

Hi everyone

Hello!  I just posted part of Chapter 3 - Learning Teamwork skills.  I will be finishing the post tonight, but have to take a break to do some other things.  I would have saved it and sent it in completion, but I am using a new computer and having great difficulty with Word.  Anything I do and save is unable to be retrieved.  So, in an effort to get info. to you I felt it best to send it when I have it.  Also, Chapter 2 is Building Team Structure.  I will get that to you when I can retrieve it.  Thanks for understanding!

Learning Teamwork Skills

Learning Teamwork Skills

Listening and Interacting well – Effective teams regularly shift the focus from themselves as a team to the students.

Team Focus

1.         Build team skills.

2.        Improve relationships

3.        Address and resolve conflicts

Student Focus

1.        Identify common goal or problem

2.        Share information

3.        Brainstorm ideas

4.        Evaluate ideas against team criteria

5.        Select and develop solution

6.        Develop an action plan

7.       Implement and monitor plan

If the team is able to divide its focus evenly between the team and the students, these characteristics evolve because of the shift:

·         Positive interdependence and mutual respect.

·         Frequent, focused, face to face exchange

·         The use of process to facilitate communication and shared decision-making

·         The use of methods for being responsible and accountable

·         Team trust derived from trusting one another and being trustworthy

Team Members Basic Communication and Outward Behavior: (These must be practiced and become habitual so to withstand the disagreement and discussions of challenging issues that teams face.)

1.        Attend to verbal and nonverbal behavior; look for your teammates’ responses to your behavior

2.       Listen first, then respond in ways that facilitate the exchange

3.       Avoid interrupting others when they are speaking

4.       Contribute in ways that do not wasted team time

5.       Speak clearly and use a vocabulary that others can understand

6.       Use team member’s name

Strategies for Leading Communication:

1.        State the issue in a way that is without criticism and/or bias.

2.       Encourage and assure

3.       Present tentative ideas as one equal to another

4.        Use agreement or disagreement statements to indicate your opinion of whether another team member is right or wrong.

5.       Use spontaneous humor to relieve tension and create a connection

Questioning Strategies to Facilitate Communication:

1.        Use open-ended questions to encourage people to describe their perspective – these begin with “how” or “what” and allow team members to explain their ideas or explore further.

2.       Close-ended questions need to be used carefully as they can leave colleagues feeling agreed with or rejected.

3.       Use indirect questions to create a cooperative climate. 

4.       Be aware that direct questions may create a non-equitable climate.

Signs of Difficulty:

·         Nonverbal behaviors

·         Rambling, speaking too quietly

·         Overly cautious making conditional statements

·         Team members not acknowledging one another

·         Viewpoints are stated as facts

Bottom line – Team members must pay attention to the ways in which they interact with each other in order to reach their goals without becoming sidetracked by unnecessary hurt feelings, incompatible communication styles, misunderstandings, or disputes.

Establishing shared values

The team must have a set of common philosophical beliefs and shared values.

Examples:

·         We all have equal status and something to contribute

·         We share the same goals and work together to achieve them

·         The student’s needs drive the services

·         All students can learn skills of value

·         Family members must be our partners because they are the constants in our children’s lives

·         We respect and trust each other

·         We make better decisions and accomplish what we cannot accomplish when we work together

Setting ground rules: These are the basic operating rules about time and commitment

This must be done to strike a balance between 1) completing the work or tasks of the group and 2) keeping the relationships among team members positive and rewarding.    Ideas to consider amongst the ground rules are:

·         Attendance – starting on time and ending on time with no interruptions for phone calls or copying

·         Discussion-everyone participates

·         Confidentiality

·         Analytic approach – get the facts so you can make informed decisions

·         Task oriented – all members have tasks and all complete them

·         Constructive confrontation – avoid finger pointing

·         Contribution – all members contribute authentically

Defining Roles and Responsibilities

Create a roles/responsibilities worksheet to be completed early in the teaming process.

Establishing a team meeting process and schedule

1.        What do we want to accomplish in our team meetings?

Examples: assess student progress; develop lessons; adapt curriculum, teaching methods and materials; assign grades; address interaction issues.  An agenda should be established prior to a team meeting and provides the reasons for meeting.  The agenda is reviewed at the beginning of meeting and revisions are made as deemed necessary.  The agenda drives the meeting and can include student-focused items as well as team focused items.  At the end of the meeting the agenda is reviewed and all items left and those that need to be added are placed on the agenda for the next meeting.  Meeting note forms may be utilized.  Good examples in the book.

2.        How will we proceed during our meetings?  At the first meeting, team members volunteer to fill roles that will help the group accomplish their job and allow leadership to be distributed among team members (ex. facilitator, timekeeper, recorder, jargon buster, processor/observer).  Then apply a procedure for how your team will go about the agenda’s business – define, share, discuss, brainstorm, evaluate, select options, etc…

3.       When and how often will we meet?  Because this is built into our master schedule, this has been established.

4.       Where will we meet?  This is tentatively established – meetings will be held in rooms of members who are not self-contained classroom teachers.

Preparing for and conducting team meetings

Initial meetings should focus on things such as redefining the school’s mission into goals that are specific to the team, defining shared values, identifying ground rules, determining member’s roles and responsibilities, and clarifying the teaming process members will use. 

Conducting the meetings

1.        Socialize a bit

2.       Facilitator opens meeting

3.       Assign roles or review assignments

4.       Facilitator leads a review of agenda

5.       Facilitator review action plan and celebrates successes with team

6.       Use team process to ensure structure and focus

7.       Timekeeper watching and keeping track

8.       Other members filling their roles or parts (note taker, encourager, etc…)

9.       Process the functioning of the team

10.   Go through agenda items and discuss, share, brainstorm, problem-solve, etc..

11.   Facilitator closes meeting

12.   Notes are recorded and disseminated to team members

Preparation for the Next Meeting

At the end of each meeting, members will leave with a defined part in one or several action plans.  Team members must come to meetings prepared.  When one or more members come to meetings unprepared, team processing is required.  Issues to consider:

Are team members overloaded with too many competing commitments?

Are team responsibilities distributed unevenly in their action plans?

Do action plans set forth workable and defined responsibilities?

Does everyone agree with the action plan?

 Do the members agree with the general goals and purpose?

Do the members share and operate by a common set of values?

Clarifying team goals

 Teams need to be aware of their purpose and reasons for gathering. 

Thoughts on inclusion

I love your input!!!!!!  Please get your teammates to log on!  I don't want to leave anyone behind and this is such a great way for me to learn more about our faculty and what we need.  I agree with all of you, and do strongly believe the learning environment must be protected for all students.  I am so hopeful that collaboration and the support it brings each of us will help us to address the behavioral, academic,  and social-emotional needs of our students as well as the professional needs of our staff!  Please know that your thoughts and opinions are very important and, for me, this is such a powerful venue, especially during the summer months when we have just a little extra time to share!  I'll be back this week with Chapter 2 - Building Team Structure.

Inclusion Thoughts - please give yours!

The book, Collaborative Teaming, in my opinion is geared toward those beginning inclusion and teaming.  My thoughts are that we have inclusion in various forms, and that we do team, but not 100% in an academic way due to a lack of time. 

I value inclusion for a number of different reasons.  First, that is how I “grew up” as an educator.  In Montgomery County it was thrust upon us with little input from the staff.  However, I was most fortunate as I had great support and absolutely wonderful students – except for one very unstable parent.  I feel (don’t really know why) that most people believe I am for 100% inclusion.  So, for clarity, I will offer you my beliefs of inclusion.

I feel inclusion is a way to set up the “real world” in your classroom.  ALL PEOPLE  need to learn to be patient, tolerant, understanding, compassionate, and helpful if we are going to create a world that doesn’t discriminate against, but understands and appreciates our differences.

I feel inclusion helps those with disabilities live in the “real world” and feel accepted and valued.  All of us have disabilities!  Those who are “identified” in the schools, have disabilities challenging their success in school.  My challenges may not be school related, but may be relationship or socially challenging.

We need to support persons with identified disabilities by identifying their needs (as we do with non-identified students) setting expectations (as we do with non-identified students) and finding ways to prepare them academically so they can compete with all students in an academic setting (as we do with non-identified students).  Hmmm…so basically our job is to expect from, teach to, and learn from all children in our midst.

So how do we do this in our school?  My belief about inclusion is to examine each child and determine what academic setting is best for him or her.  The settings may look different for each child and each subject.  Inclusion may be appropriate for a student in regards to math, but not for language arts.  If we can support that decision with data and experience then I feel we have chosen the right educational setting.

I think I truly love inclusion because it provides an environment that is appreciative, respectful, and dedicated to all of its members – students, teachers, parents, community.  We are extremely fortunate in that we have such great teachers who, when placed together to do a job, produces over the top results.  We must always respect one another and believe in our hearts and head, that each of us brings to the table professionalism, wisdom, insight, and creativity.  I learn from you each day!  Without all or your knowledge, experience, insight, ideas, our school would not be the wonderful place it is!

So, in a nutshell, I believe that inclusion should happen as much as possible.  A number of teachers working collaboratively in a classroom, in an effort to propel all students, is always more powerful than one.  We can move mountains if we move them together!  But again, student needs must be examined and met in the best way possible!  And I respect the decisions we make as professionals in regard to our students’ individual needs if they are well thought out, discussed and agreed upon by all stake holders.