Introduction
I have been developing the District Mission statement for the Discipline program (Teacher Asst-25-2058.00 Special Education Secondary School Collaboration) to orient parents and students (add place). From my experience in that role, I learned that effective work in the unit requires improved collaboration between teachers, enhanced communication, and practical orientation.
First Skill
Concrete Experience
Working at the center, I had the chance to observe the event emphasizing the importance of collaboration. The case of a problematic student required a team approach and effective interaction between various educators. I was involved in the situation and had the chance to realize the importance of the skill as it helped to realize the necessity of finding common ground and ensuring all parties can contribute to resolving a problematic situation and guaranteeing the best possible results are attained. The others also agreed that collaboration is key to managing complex situations.
Reflective Observation
As a result of the learning event, I concluded that when teachers work together, their interests, skills, and knowledge can contribute to a project. Educators collaborating in teams can share tasks according to their personalities and skill levels (Hargreaves, 2019). It helps to attain the best performance levels and avoid problems because of the too complex tasks or cases. The situation that helped to make these conclusions can be compared to others as, in numerous cases, the benefits of collaboration can be apparent in complex cases. It helps to distribute tasks more effectively.
Second Skill
Concrete Experience
During my working activities, I noticed the importance of communication while observing everyday tasks and interactions. The experience took place when I noticed that parents and students had resistance to the program designed to address students’ poor choices in behavior. I was involved in the situation as I was responsible for designing the program for parents and students. As a result, I acquired the chance to understand that maintaining good communication with parents and students is key to attaining better results and ensuring that effective collaboration between the main parties is aligned.
Reflective Observation
The situation provided me with the opportunity to analyze the importance of communicative skills in everyday work. First, it allows specialists to resolve conflict situations emerging between students, teachers, and other parties (Coffelt & Smith, 2020). Second, the correct choice of communication strategy is key to achieving the existing goals and completing various tasks. At the same time, for educators, communication is fundamental for discussing instructions or creating the basis for future collaboration and academic success. For this reason, the situation helped to analyze the critical importance of communication and the need to develop it.
Third Skill
Concrete Experience
I was responsible for designing an orientation for students to understand the basics of the program and its major peculiarities. I used the PowerPoint presentation to visualize the information and ensure students and parents possess its enhanced understanding. The event made me realize the importance of orienting others and providing them with the information critical for further cooperation. Parents also accepted the vital role of the process and its importance for building an atmosphere of trust and higher engagement levels. In such a way, orientation skills are critical for achieving the desired goals.
Reflective Observation
The situation provided me with the chance to understand the importance of orientation skills and their major components. The success of this activity depends on the effective use of communicative patterns and collaboration with other parties involved in the process. It means that conducting practical orientation and clarifying the major issues implies interacting with others. Body language, non-verbal communication, and the ability to present information influence the orientation process (Bambaeeroo & Shokrpour, 2017). It also requires successful information exchange, sharing, and discussion between all actors.
Abstract Conceptualization
In general, collaboration is an important domain of knowledge that might have a significant impact on the working process and outcomes. In general, the experiences and observations mentioned before help to formulate a generalized idea. Teachers collaborating in teams can divide and delegate tasks regarding their experiences and skill levels, while a better understanding of these peculiarities might contribute to achieving positive goals (Jortveit & KovaÄŤ, 2022). At the same time, cooperation and close interaction might help to promote personal and professional connections between educators and improve the atmosphere within the collective. For this reason, collaboration becomes a central component shaping teams’ work and their ability to attain the desired outcomes (Paju et al., 2022). At the same time, aligning effective collaboration might be challenging within collectives because of the differences between individuals and the necessity to consider all parties’ interests.
In such a way, a higher level of collaboration can be attained only if all conflicts and causes for their emergence are addressed. The existence of tensions, personal issues, or misunderstandings might have numerous adverse impacts on the results and the unit’s work. The personal experience proves that the lack of involvement and the problematic delegation might also be barriers to building effective collaboration. For this reason, another important idea is that effective interaction between individuals within a collective is effective only if the background problems are resolved and there are no potential causes for the emergence of the conflict (Kolleck et al., 2021). At the same time, it might require a strong leader who can manage risks and establish the basis for collaboration (Weiss et al.,2017). Finally, the ability to discuss tasks and distribute them is vital for achieving improved outcomes.
Active Experimentation
The information acquired from conceptualizing the knowledge about collaboration and its importance can be used in real-life settings. As stated previously, it is an important domain of knowledge linked to outcomes and the ability to achieve current goals. It means that aligning an effective collaboration with colleagues is one of the first tasks when interacting with new team members and trying to find a common language. From my experience of working with parents, educators, and students, I realize that conflicts emerge mainly because of a lack of understanding, poor delegation, or failed negotiations. For this reason, the interaction should be aligned by outlining the major terms of collaboration, delegating tasks, and discussing the most difficult moments. It will guarantee that all parties will acquire an improved understanding of the situation and how it can be resolved.
Conclusion
The practical importance of the acquired information comes from the fact that it can be used in various settings. For instance, effective communication helped to conduct orientation within the center and find common ground with parents and educators. For this reason, I think that the idea of establishing collaboration through communication and delegation is a crucial takeaway acquired as a result of experience. It is vital to consider the peculiarities of settings and how the colleagues can be contacted. It will help to create a more effective framework for collaboration and resolve possible tensions. In such a way, it is possible to conclude the critical importance of the communication and collaboration domains for aligning interactions between teachers. Using effective leadership models, it is also possible to attain better results and minimize the risks of conflicts of problematic results.
References
Bambaeeroo, F., & Shokrpour, N. (2017). The impact of the teachers’ non-verbal communication on success in teaching. Journal of Advances in Medical Education & Professionalism, 5(2), 51–59. Web.
Coffelt, T. A., & Smith, F. L. M. (2020). Exemplary and unacceptable workplace communication skills. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly, 83(4), 365–384. Web.
Hargreaves, A. (2019). Teacher collaboration: 30 years of research on its nature, forms, limitations and effects. Teachers and Teaching, 25(5), 603-621. Web.
Jortveit, M., & Kovač, V. B. (2022). Co-teaching that works: special and general educators’ perspectives on collaboration. Teaching Education, 33(3), 286-300. Web.
Kolleck, N., Schuster, J., Hartmann, U., & Gräsel, C. (2021). Teachers’ professional collaboration and trust relationships: An inferential social network analysis of teacher teams. Research in Education, 111(1), 89–107. Web.
Paju, B., Kajamaa, A., Pirttimaa, R., & Kontu, E. (2022). Collaboration for inclusive practices: Teaching staff perspectives from Finland. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 66(3), 427-440. Web.
Weiss, M. P., Pellegrino, A., & Brigham, F. J. (2017). Practicing collaboration in teacher preparation: Effects of learning by doing together. Teacher Education and Special Education, 40(1), 65–76. Web.