Collaboration

      Last year, I became very familiar with the process of collaboration. I had a student who was mainstreamed into my class for several portions of the day. She spent the remainder of her day in a Neuro Self-Contained classroom. At a very early age she had been diagnosed with autism. The collaborative team (or A-Team) consisted of the principal, district autism specialist, district office representative, district special education coordinator, speech therapist, occupational therapist, special education teacher, related arts teacher, the parents, three advocates (autism, legal, and parent advocates), and myself. I loved the statement in the book stating that "no one person is considered to be the expert; the expectation is that everyone has expertise to contribute and that individuals can learn from each other."This captured my feelings of our collaboration as we decided what was best for this particular child. My interpersonal skills were greatly improved throughout the year. I was expected to show strengths in all four categories of effective collaboration. Two areas that I excelled in were being facilitative and personal. During the course of the year I developed a relationship with the parents. In the past, the parents felt that no one in the school was hearing them. I felt it was important to be empathetic to their needs and wants. The parents had strong views, opinions, and concerns about their daughter's education. I collected an enormous amount of data on the student's academic and behavior progress in the general ed setting. Using the parents as my ally, I was able to determine what strategies would be most effective in the classroom. The student had very limited verbal abilities, as well as writing skills. Therefore, I made extensive accommodations for every aspect of the curriculum. In order for her to respond to a question, she was given three picture cards to select an answer. Every day I would email the parents the results of her one-to-one assessments. A paraprofessional assisted the child in the classroom, although her main objective was to redirect behavior while I was responsible for the educational component. The A-Team provided me endless support, suggestions, strategies, and information in order for me to be the best teacher I could be for not only this student, but my entire class. This year-long experience was one of the most challenging, yet rewarding tasks of my teaching career.
       At times, collaborating and depending on others can be difficult. In the meetings I was intimated by the number of people I had to present my case to each month, but the team of advocates made me extremely uncomfortable. I was unfamiliar with the specifics of special education law, specifically IDEA and FAPE. It was up to me to educate myself, as much as possible, on the details that pertained to this situation. The advocates were well versed in the rights and laws, and it was hard for me to defend myself when questioned on legalities. I pride myself on my willingness to try new things, but I become defensive when I feel like someone is attacking something I feel is going well. Something else I could improve in all parts of my life is my responsive listening. When I do not agree with what someone is saying I find myself already thinking of my rebuttal and not actually listening to their argument. It is probable that I am missing key points in the conversation. If I am close to the person, I interrupt during the conversation. Another issue I struggle with is avoiding conflict. Confrontation makes me nervous, stressed, and tense.
       I believe that there is always room for improvement when collaborating with others. Each situation is different, so one must figure out how to build on each other's strengths. Every opportunity will present will new and different challenges. I will continue to educate myself on special education laws and provisions. However, this is an overwhelming amount of information so I could make a "cheat sheet" with terms and short definitions to keep handy for reference. In addition, maintaining sensitivity to the families is an area that I would like to further develop. Presently, my own child is undergoing testing for a learning delay and it feels different to be on the other end of the spectrum. I hear my "teacher voice" telling me the rational things, but my "mom voice" tells me what I know in my heart. This too is an experience that will make me a better educator. The more experiences and knowledge I have, the more comfortable I will become with handling conflict. Being too sensitive is something I address every day and will likely be a life-long struggle. Being confident in my choices, decisions. and actions ease some of the sensitivity. Therefore, I must continue to educate myself and trust my instincts.