|
Judi Moreillon:
Home
| Author | Educator
| Advocate
Two Heads Are Better than One: Interventions During Participants'
Preservice Education
Two Heads Are Better than One:
The Factors Influencing the Understanding and Practice of Classroom-Library
Collaboration
Practicing Collaboration in K-8 Classrooms
Collaborative learning engagements and projects were integrated into all
four of the courses I facilitated before the study participants' student
teaching experiences. Partners worked collaboratively on many assignments
and small groups of up to five people worked on large scale projects such
as year-long planning and designing curriculum units. Role play was used
to learn and review some of the skills and strategies for collaborative
work. In addition, I served as a mediator for groups that solicited my
facilitation when communication broke down. As in life, sometimes the
groupwork was more productive than at other times. Some students were
more comfortable working in teams than others; some surprised themselves
by having positive collaborative experiences. Reflecting on the collaborative
process and the impact of collaboration was part of every rubric in which
this model was utilized.
These are some comments study participants made about their co-planning
and co-teaching.
Another important thing that I learned is that you need to allow for
different teaching styles. When you work with a partner, it is imperative!..
The division of labor is another thing. I need to know that I have it
all done before I can relax. [My partner] does great work, but works
best under pressure. I still think it was good for us to work together.
After all, we will be working [in schools] with different people all
the time.
As far as collaboration is concerned, two heads are better than one;
some of the ideas we used I could have never thought up on my own.
Through collaboration, we also realized how important using various
types of resources and different types of assessments are.
Collaboration is two-fold. The positive side is new, fresh ideas, help,
and also a different perspective on a topic. The negative aspect is
personalities. The positive areas surely outweigh the negative; however,
it [personality] is still something to consider.
Although I had suggested students work with a partner in their fall 2004
teacher-aide practicum experiences, only four students followed my suggestion.
I provided opportunities for these two teams to share their opinions and
positive experiences of coteaching. In the spring of 2005, 13 of the 15
participants in the study conducted their 15-hour teacher aide practicum
experience with a partner. For the most part, these coteaching experiences
were successful as evidenced by the students' feedback on their observation
lesson reflections and the anecdotal comments they recorded in their practicum
journals. As a result, I revised the post-preservice education survey
to include a question about the impact of collaboration during the practicum
(Appendix B).
Return to Interventions Menu.
Last updated: 18 September 2007
|
