Promoting Effective Collaboration Between Special and General Educators: A Toolkit for Administrators

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Promoting Effective Collaboration Between Special
and General Educators A Toolkit for
Administrators

• Lynne Harper Mainzer, Ed.D.
• Nicole Tucker-Smith, MT
• Council for Exceptional Children 2006 Conference

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Boundless Learning Overview

• Focus
• Provide high quality professional development to
  teachers and administrators using a full
  complement of instructional and technology
  resources in order to improve achievement and
  performance among students, including students
  with disabilities, in general education classes.
• Boundless Learning Public Resource Center (PRC)

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Administrator Workshops Target Areas

• Developing a Collaborative School Culture
• Establishing Successful Collaborative Teams
  Between General and Special Educators
• Executing Data Driven Decisions for AYP
• Delivering High Quality Professional Development
• Executing Instruction to Maximize Student
  Achievement

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Developing a Collaborative School Culture

• The role of the school principal
• Inspire mutual vision that supports achievement
  and productivity for teachers and students
• Establish a team-based organizational structure
  that incorporates cooperative principles and
  practices
• Positive interdependence
• Individual and group accountability
• Promotive interaction
• Interpersonal skills
• Build professional learning communities
• Grade level teams
• Content area teams
• Special education general education
  partnerships
• IEP teams
• School Improvement Team
• Whole staff learning community

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Developing a Collaborative School Culture

• Recommendation The leader ensures that
  cooperative principles and practices are in place
  to produce highly productive professional teams.
• Tools
• Electronic Learning Community
• Digital Portfolio

Changing to a team-based, high-performance
organizational structure requires faculty to use
cooperative learning groups the majority of the
time and participate in a collegial teaching team
focused on the continuous improvement of
instruction. Johnson Johnson, 1989
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Establishing Successful Collaborative Teams
Between General and Special Educators

• The role of the school principal
• Establish the expectation, time, and opportunity
  for collaboration with monitoring protocols.
• Facilitate productive co-teaching partnerships
  for instructional decision making, delivery, and
  assessment
• Promote Collaboration Principles and Practices
• Respect of Knowledge and Skill
• Established Communication System
• Common Understanding of the Classroom Environment
• Co-Accountability
• Use of Cooperative Principles and Practices

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Establishing Successful Collaborative Teams
Between General and Special Educators

• Recommendation The leader maintains the
  expectation, provides the time and opportunity
  for teachers to build successful collaborative
  teams, and monitors for student and teacher
  success.
• Tools
• TEAMS Protocol
• Collaboration/Co-Teaching Look-Fors

In an effective partnership, each member commits
to optimizing their own and each others
performance to maximize student success.
(Mainzer Tucker-Smith, 2006)
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Executing Data Driven Decisions for AYP

• The role of the school principal
• Develop and apply a school-wide, team-based
  approach for measuring performance for all
  students, including subgroup populations
• Ensure that all teachers use student data to plan
  and implement instruction according to student
  needs
• Implement Cycle Of Data-driven Decision Making to
  maximize teacher and student performance
• Ongoing Formative Assessment Analysis
• Scheduling
• Strategic, Embedded Professional Development
• School Improvement Plan
• Implement Cooperative Faculty Teams and
  Partnerships

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Executing Data Driven Decisions for AYP

• Recommendation Using cooperative teams and
  partnerships, implement a yearly cycle of
  data-driven decision making that includes
  protocols and tools designed to promote
  co-planning, co-analysis, co-teaching, and
  co-accountability.
• Tools
• Student Compass Wizards Performance Tracking,
  Accommodations Class ProfileMatrix,
  Instructional Goal-Setting
• Cycle of Data-Driven Decision Making to Increase
  Student Performance

Schools improve when purpose and effort unite.
One key is leadership that recognizes its most
vital function to keep everyones eyes on the
prize of improved student learning. Schmoker,
1996
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Delivering High Quality Professional Development

• The role of the school principal
• Incorporate data analysis to provide high quality
  professional development at the individual, team,
  and school-wide levels to address achievement
  gaps.
• Build effective professional learning community
  networks to support the continuous improvement
  process focused on increasing student performance
  
• Implement High Quality Professional Development
  Standards
• Teacher Learning
• Content knowledge and quality teaching
• Research-based
• Collaboration
• Diverse Learning Needs
• Student learning environments
• Data-driven
• Evaluation

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Delivering High Quality Professional Development

• Recommendation Implement a continuous
  improvement process in which teams and
  individuals focus on analyzing data, instructing,
  and learning to grow professionally to meet
  school improvement goals.
• Tools
• Electronic Learning Community (Coursebook
  Feature)
• Teacher Compass

Leaders encourage and inspire teachers to take
the difficult leaps toward increased competence.
Johnson Johnson, 1994.
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Executing Instruction to Maximize Student
Achievement

• The role of the school principal
• Create a clear, mutual vision for student
  learning that analyzes the current reality, uses
  up-to-date data, and challenges the status quo to
  maximize achievement for all students.
• Promote and facilitate the use of evidence-based
  practices
• Peer-assisted learning cooperative learning
• Explicit instruction
• Ensure a safe, productive learning environment
• Positive recognition, rewards
• Cooperative-based standards, expectations, and
  management procedures
• Appropriate accommodations, modifications,
  technology implementation

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Executing Instruction to Maximize Student
Achievement

• Recommendation Use cooperative principles and
  practices in leading teams of teachers to
  establish safe, productive learning environments
  that employ evidence-based practices.
• Tools
• GLOBE Tech Instructional Delivery System
  Online Manual

Knowing is not enough we must apply. Willing
is not enough we must do. Goethe
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Boundless Learning Offerings for Administrators

• 1-Day Workshops
• Developing a Collaborative School Culture
• Establishing Successful Collaborative Teams
  Between General and Special Educators
• Executing Data Driven Decisions for AYP
• Delivering High Quality Professional Development
• Executing Instruction toMaximize Student
  Achievement

• Online Tools
• Electronic Learning Community, Digital Portfolio
• TEAMS Protocol, Collaboration Look-Fors
• Student Compass Wizards Performance Tracking,
  Accommodations, Class Profile Matrix,
  Instructional Goal Setting
• Electronic Learning Community Coursebook
• Teacher Compass
• GLOBE Tech

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Boundless Learning Offerings for Teachers

• Professional Development
• Success Strategies for the Inclusive Classroom
• Planning Instruction for Diverse Learners
• Establishing a Positive Classroom Environment
• Data-Driven Decision Making
• Implementing Assistive Technology

• Online Tools
• Hybrid Course, Electronic Learning Community
• Class Profile Matrix, Accommodations Wizard
• GLOBE Tech Cycle of Instruction
• Student Compass, Performance Tracking Wizard
• GLOBE Online Manual

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For more information about Boundless Learning

• Contact Nicole Tucker-Smith
• nsmith_at_jhu.edu
• To access the Boundless Learning web site, visit
  www.cte.jhu.edu/boundlesslearning