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Melissa Bruce
SPED 854
Suzanne Robinson
18 December2 November 2015
M81: Personal Philosophy Statement Revised
The readings in this week's module set me on the path of thinking about collaboration as
a style a communication. As I began to think of collaboration in these terms and followed Friend
and Cook's ideas surrounding collaboration it led me to the conclusion of the chapter where the
elements of collaboration are divided into different parts: personal commitment, communication
skills, interaction processes, programs or services, and context. I used these elements to develop
my own philosophy of collaboration. Collaboration is a concerted effort and process between
two or more individuals who develop and use establish a means of communication in order toand
work together to reach a common goal. In order to get this definition I used the concept mapping
strategy to give me the key words I believe are always present in collaboration. Those words
were: effort, process, two or more, communication, work together, and common goal.
In my opinion one of the most important elements of collaboration is a shared common
goal. This fits into the first factor of collaboration within special education, personal
commitment. I and the people I am working with must be devoted to the student and/or issue we
are collaborating about. Of course as educators we should all have a professional commitment
towards the student, issue in the school, and the professionals we are working with. The
professional committment is apart of the job and is a requirement in order to the job effectively. I

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believe there also has to be some sort of personal commitment by each participant as well. It can
be the parent committed to raising their child; the speech-language pathologist committed to
doing their job to the best of their ability; or the teacher committed to seeing the student advance
during the school year. If each person has a personal interest there will be a deeper investment in
making sure the common goal established is reasonable and achievable. Having a deeper
investment also encourages another element of my definition: effort. Establishing a common goal
also makes the process of communication between the participants easier.
This brings me to the second factor in successful collaboration: communication. I have
been in environments where communication is open and honest about all aspects of the job and I
have been in workplaces where that kind of communication is not welcome. If we are successful
in creating a common goal then it is a way of opening the doors to more communication. Even in
environments where communication seems unwelcome and shut down, if you enter a meeting or
bring up the topic of a shared goal there seems to be a more open door about that specific topic.
After going through the modules in this course I have realized there are many different aspects of
communication. The verbal communication is only a part of it. The techniques of verbal
communication can include skills such as questioning, paraphrasing, and summarizing. These
skills are not inherint and must be practiced and used in every occurrence of communication in
order for them to become second nature. We also have to be aware of our non-verbal
communication. How does our body look when we are listening? Are we open and receptive with
eye contact and engaged in empathetic listening or are we closed off, too worried about what we
are going to say next in order to properly hear what the other person is saying? I admit I am
frequently guilty of the latter. The readings and ideas about communication in this course have

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made me more aware of how I am listening. Hopefully I can keep these ideas in mind as I engage
in communication and collaboration, improving my technique and job performance.
The third factor, interaction processes, encompasses the ideas of two or more and
working together. Of course you cannot be collaborative by yourself. Communication should be
a transactional process, meaning that the people involved are using a give and take method. In
order to effectively collaborate all parties involved must be engaged in the collaboration process.
on your own, you need multiple people involved. My definition included the phrase two or more,
but I would hate to see a collaboration in special education only involving two people on a
bigger level. I would expect to see two people collaborating on a daily basis within the
classroom: the teacher and paraprofessional, the teacher and family at a conference. On the larger
stage, IEP meetings, behavior goal setting, ideally I would like to see every person who will
assist in implementing these procedures or achieving these goals involved in collaborating about
them. This could include the special education teacher, general education teacher, parent(s),
student, SLP, OT, interventionist, out of school services, and/or administration. In my work I
have seen this be a challenge for people and it has been a challenge for me as well. Sometimes it
seems impossible to set up a time where all of these people are available. Some years we
encounter a student, fellow staff member, or parent we just do not "click" with; but in those times
I find it best to remind myself that working with these people is apart of my job description. If I
am struggling understanding someone it may be that they have different communication skills
than I do. Their culture and background may influence their ideas about collaboration and the
ideas about the student in very different ways than my thinking. If I want to be successful I must
try to understand my collaborative partners and practice empathetic understandingset aside
personality issues and focus on the common goal we share. If I can demonstrate to my co-

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workers and parents that I am truly trying to see it from their perspective and work hard to work
together with them then we can focus on the student and/or the common goal we are working
towards.
When it comes to the final two factors of programs/services and context these can vary
based on the situation. The program or service that the collaboration is occurring really depends
on where you are working. I have taken part in collaboration in school environments and also
clinical environments that have involved the student's school. The context of the collaboration
also depends on the situation. It is something we need to take into consideration before we sit
down to discuss or work together. Is it a moment of coaching? It could be the first interaction
with a family so we will need to think about how the family is entering into the collaborative
process. Is the family experienced? Or is this their first child, first experience with something
like an IEP? Does the family speak English well? Is it an in the moment decision between those
professionals constantly present in the classroom? Is it is a bigger picture meeting that includes
people involved with the goal? In order for correct context to be met the collaborators must be
practicing the first three factors: commitment, communication, and interaction.
Collaboration is an extremely important concept within the field of education. In order to
engage in successful collaboration you must be practicing the three major factors: commitment,
communication, and interaction. If each member is committed to being open and working
together towards a common goal the correct contexts will be met. The communication must be
occurring between all adults that will be effected by the choices of the collaborative team, this
includes parents and programs or services outside of the student's school day. The members of
the collaborative team must also be committed to working together, understanding one another,

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putting aside personality issues and focusing on the common goal and creating an environment
where the student can be successful.