Collaboration. What is Collaboration?

1.

Collaboration
March 25, 2021
Beginning Teacher
Professional Development

2.

What is Collaboration?
... the process of two or more people,
entities or organizations working together
to complete a task or achieve a goal.

3.

The Power of Collaboration

4.

Why is Collaboration Important?
It helps us problem-solve
It brings people (and organizations) closer together
It helps people learn from each other
It opens up new channels for communication
It boosts morale across your organization
It leads to higher retention rates
It makes us more efficient workers

5.

Student
Collaboration

6.

Collaborative learning – the practice of breaking students into
small groups to answer questions, work on projects and learn from
one another – has become one of the strongest core philosophies
operating in classrooms today.
The concept is not new; much of the early research on collaborative
learning (also called cooperative learning) was done in the 1980s
and 1990s when most classrooms favored the traditional teacher
lectures and individual student work. But with the growth of
technology and the increasing value society places on the ability to
work in teams, collaborative learning has become more common.

7.

Collaborative Learning: How Can It Help Your Students?
Students make individual progress in tandem with others,
working towards a common goal.
Students are accountable to one another and, with
appropriate direction, will self-manage this.

8.

10 Strategies to Build Student Collaboration in the Classroom
1. Deliberately select which students will work together
2. Size the groups for maximum effectiveness
3. Teach your students how to listen to one another
4. Set the rules of language and collaboration
5. Make goals and expectations clear
6. Assign roles to the members of each group
7. Use real-world problems, not imaginary ones
8. Consider giving each group a different task
9. Play a game to get students warmed up
10. Evaluate each group on its own merit

9.

Ways to Help Your Students Collaborate in the Classroom
1. Play games- games help students become critical thinkers, learn to work with one another and
establish a positive classroom environment
2. Give everyone their moment in the spotlight- Flipgrid is a powerful tech tool that allows students
to express themselves creatively and amplify their voices
3. Create a safe space for discussion- Edmodo is a multi-platform, kid-safe platform that is perfect for
active learning. Kids can share content, have a dialogue (in or out of the classroom), and even get
parents involved
4. Dive into a Fishbowl- a teaching strategy that lets students practice being both speaker and

10.

https://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/20-collaborative-learning-tips-and-strategies/

11.

Some Ways to Collaborate
1. Google / Microsoft: Many students are part of schools that either use Google or Microsoft as their classroom management
systems. Within these two tools alone, teachers and students have access to documents and different presentation formats
that enable students to collaborate
on the same document or presentation, whether in the same physical space or not.
2. Blogging: Blogging is a good way to help students develop their literacy skills and to practice the content by applying their
knowledge in a more authentic way. Blogging can be used for any grade level or content area. Students can also
collaborate on writing posts together and then share to build upon the learning happening within the collaborative group.
3. Project Based Learning: The use of project-based learning is a good way to help students prepare for their future by
engaging in authentic work, exploring real-world issues and working with peers to come to a solution.
4. Hands-On Activities: Students are very creative and sometimes, when given basic materials and tasked to find a way to
practice, they work together and come up with innovative ideas that move away from completing a worksheet or textbook
activity or doing something that is already created online.
5. Creating a Wall of Discussion: Digital tools available for having students share ideas, such as Padlet, are quite helpful for
collaborating. Students can post their ideas, even anonymously, share photos, videos, weblinks links or record audio to add to
the collaborative space.

12.

Models of Collaboration
Remote
Role-Based
Shared Screen
Individual devices, connected to a shared
Students work on smaller, individual tasks based on
Students work side-by-side, discussing and taking
document or LMS (learning management
their role within the group. Continuous
turns to complete an activity using one device.
system), are used. Students communicate
communication is needed to construct shared final
via chat or comment feature.
product.
Example: Individuals write an introduction
Example: A group works to solve a school problem,
Example: Pairs of students work to define math
for their narrative essay and post to the LMS
breaking the project into smaller tasks (researcher,
vocabulary terms. They collaborate on illustrations
(Google Classroom, Seesaw, etc). Peers
interviewer, writer, etc). They use a web chat platform
and narrate over a shared document using a
review the intros and provide feedback.
to plan, interview and construct the project.
whiteboard app such as Explain Everything.

13.

7 Factors Useful in Facilitating Student Collaboration FROM A DISTANCE
Getting students to talk with their peers about the content being learned, using academic language, problem-solving,
and negotiating ideas has been a priority for teachers for many years, and tremendous progress has been made since
the days of transmission schooling in which teachers talked and students listened. This need for student-to-student
interaction did not change because of the pandemic and widespread distance learning.
The question is, how can we implement collaborative structures using the technology we now have at our disposal?
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Factor 1 – Complexity and clarity of task: Students understand the task before moving to collaborative groups.
Factor 2 – Accountability via a product: The teacher needs to see the product following the collaboration and the product needs to include
contributions from each member of the group.
Factor 3 – Argumentation not arguing: Student use accountable talk to persuade, provide evidence, ask questions of one another, and
disagree without being disagreeable.
Factor 4 – Language support: Teacher modeling includes the use of academic vocabulary.
Factor 5 – Grouping: Small groups of 2-5 students are purposefully constructed to maximize individual strengths without magnifying areas of needs.
Factor 6 – Time: As a general note, collaboration in distance learning breakout rooms should be 10 minutes per session or less.
Factor 7 – Ask for help: The students understand the procedure to ask for help.

14.

Teacher
Collaboration

15.

Teacher Collaboration
Teacher collaboration occurs when members of a learning
community work together to increase student learning. As
educators, our ultimate goal is student achievement in
which teacher collaboration becomes the journey.

16.

Teacher Collaboration
Common and Shared Goals
● Teachers report that
having common goals
during collaboration
assist in team building
efforts
Shared ownership in student
learning
Focus on Instructional
improvement
● Teachers that have a
shared sense of
responsibility and
ownership in student
learning work more
collaboratively together.
● Teachers suggest that
having an open mind to
innovation instructional
practices is beneficial in
teacher collaboration.

17.

Benefits of Teacher Collaboration
Better instruction
Teachers obtain more support to try new ideas and fine-tune activities.
Expanded teaching toolkit
Provides teachers with more resources and promotes use of recommended instructional practices.
Lesson consistency
Teachers feel they are more on the same page in terms of planning and delivering instruction.
More inclusive methods
Teacher conversations started focusing more on student learning and how to teach to different
learning styles.
Increased student effort
Academic rigor increases as teachers develop core competencies they expected their students to
meet.
Higher teacher responsibility
Teachers developed a greater sense of accountability for promoting student success and meeting

18.

Effective Teacher Collaboration Strategies
Develop and Agree Upon a Shared Vision and Mutual Goals
Having a shared vision and mutual goals can lead to the buy-in required for teachers to have a
genuine sense of ownership.
Foster a Sense of Community
Collaboration is all about building relationships. Taking the time to get to know your colleagues
and relate on a personal level develops a greater sense of respect and trust. Like any
relationship, collaborative teams take time to develop.
Establish Group Norms and Expectations
Unfortunately collaboration can be stressful and uncomfortable at times as educators are
passionate about their work and beliefs. It’s important to develop a culture of trust, respect, and
humility. Your team should delegate roles and responsibilities, as well as protocols for
communication and time management.
Leverage Discussion to Work Through Conflicts
Although dialogue opens doors to new possibilities, it can also open the door to conflict. It’s a
good idea to develop a conflict management plan, monitor your own emotions, and always use
your professional judgment.

19.

Remember the goal:
STUDENT
ACHIEVEMENT