Classroom collaborations can be
incredibly rewarding or incredibly frustrating. As an art teacher, I love
finding ways to work with other courses or community members to enrich
student’s education. However, inviting outsiders into your classroom can be
very stressful. If you are looking for some advice on how to strengthen your collaborative
efforts; Edutopia blogger, Joshua Block outlines some guidelines for Creating Successful Collaborations.
Block highlights ways to establish shared leadership and outlines some
important tips for planning collaborative lessons. While there is no fool proof
checklist that can be followed to create a successful collaboration; following
Block’s tips and advice a teacher can help prepare and avoid some of the common
pitfalls that come with unsuccessful collaborations.
Joshua Block makes some very astute points about the collaboration process that can be used for just about any type of classroom setting. And you are certainly correct saying there is no foolproof list but his list is pretty comprehensive. Good read.
ReplyDeleteI have recently began teaching collaboratively with two other special education teachers at my school. While last year (the first year) was a little difficult to find time to collaborate, I think now that we have a year of experience it will be a very effective style of teaching. We did many of the strategies Block spoke of in the article this past year. I am excited to see how year two goes. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about how collaborating with other can be frustrating. This article had some great ideas for making collaboration easier. Good find!
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