MAKING THE MOST OF TEACHER COLLABORATION

Making the Most of Teacher Collaboration Amanda Cestnik Pepperdine University Graduate Advisor: Dr. Margaret Riel

MAKING THE MOST OUT OF TEACHER COLLABORATION Collaboration The process of collaboration is a method of working that has been practiced throughout

history. From early civilizations whose workers joined forces to construct elaborate architecture, to modern day committees formed in the work place, people all over the world have banded together to accomplish diverse and varied tasks. Where there is work to be done, there are also countless opportunities for learning to evolve. Roy Pea, a professor of Learning Sciences and Education at Stanford University has been studying the way people (primarily students) come together in order to learn. Pea (2002) has looked at learning as a social activity that cannot be done in isolation, but rather through the participation of collaborative learning conversations and activities. In both schools and workplaces, this type of interaction is frequently happening in order to learn, problem solve, and produce products together. Collaboration is an act that requires more than people just coming together to work on a task at an organization, which is a stigma the word collaboration has previously held. Instead, collaboration requires more deeper levels of interactions in some way throughout the process. For example, lawyers at a law firm may very well be working at the same business, taking on different jobs in order to split a load, and sharing ideas per case, but ultimately they are doing their jobs independently. Collaboration is more than merely consulting. Rather, collaboration is all about more. More translates into anything from people chunking up jobs and pulling everything together in order to meet a time frame, to engaging in collective brainstorming (Perkins, 2003). Instead of just sitting down to briefly talk, colleagues have the opportunity to methodically share human skills, ingenuity, and intelligence with their peers to help bring numerous skills and ideas to the task at hand (Tapscott, 2006:18). Every work places has their own unique formula to make their collaboration efforts most successful. With increasing

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opportunities to study groups collaborating, researchers are discovering and sharing additional avenues in order to come together in a more cohesive manner, especially with the inclusion of more readily available advances in technology.

Collaboration in Education There are certain professions where the adaption of collaboration can come together more naturally than others. In Education for example, teachers are not accustomed to collaboration, as they have a career in which they are traditionally isolated. Perkins lawyer example also describes the work role of teachers. They work in the same establishment, have a similar objectives, delegate classes, and can seek out periodical guidance from administration, specific grade level teachers, or specialists, but most of their work time is spent within the confines of a classroom. Stevenson (2005) describes this situation, During the past twenty years the intensity and scope of American teachers jobs have rapidly increased. Teachers seem not only to have more students to teach, but also have more ancillary responsibilities (135). From isolation to busy schedules, there are numerous factors that are not in favor of teacher collaboration; nonetheless, opportunities to collaborate together are starting to increase. (Hindin, 2007)

Collaboration Research in Action Research that has pointed to an increase in teacher collaboration tends to revolve around additional communication for the sake of professional development. In diverse communities where people are working together, multiple goals and collaborations often take place. Within a study of how teachers best work together and learn about technology in order to share with their students, the use of informal collaboration was heavily discussed. Stevenson (2005) defines

MAKING THE MOST OUT OF TEACHER COLLABORATION informal collaboration as the direct interactions between at least two parities who voluntarily engage in, and have full discretion over, the process of working toward the goal of their choice. (129). Stevens noted that when teachers had more ownership of their own learning, their informal collaboration among peers was considered to be more meaningful than that of organized meetings or classes, because teachers could focus on their needs, whether they were curriculum ideas or how-to information (2005). Rather than planned activities, informal collaboration was found to be a more effective way of learning and professional development (Stevens, 2005). Because teachers often had spontaneous conversations about technology, their questions started to become less separated from other conversations. Conversations about technology became imbedded in daily conversations among teachers who utilized informal collaboration and technology. Instead of having a formal meeting, these casual conversations

were increased the time and rate at which teachers were able to get the specific information about technology they needed, which then allowed them to implement their new knowledge into their planning or teaching sooner than later. Stevens (2005) asserts that teachers recognized the people in their workplace who were able to help them with curriculum and how-to information and tended to turn to different people to help them with different problems, pending on their needs.

Using Technology for Collaboration Looking at collaboration at a district level, the Amarillo Independent School District in Texas presents a different solution, making use of technology. This district had the challenge of gathering a curriculum committee composed of teachers from each of their fifty-two schools. Having this many representatives all over the district, the need for an alternative mode of

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collaboration was necessary to be inclusive of all and efficient. When the individuals putting on the meeting discovered that fewer people were in attendance to each meeting after the initial one, the district decided to implement the use of Wikis as a way of communication. This change eliminated the cost and clutter of binders of information. Waters noted that the district found that as an alternative to individuals making edits to all different documents and having to go back edit the master, individuals became literally on the same page. (Walters, 2007:42). For this district the tool of a Wiki was more inclusive to all as well as more convenient, which positively affected the outcome of their current and future projects. Different factors and problems such as time and distance can hinder collaboration, but for every problem there is likely to be a technology tool that facilities efficient collaboration. Brent Wilson (1996) notes that in numerous work environments, computers have demonstrated their top attribute as a way to enhance communication and collaboration among individuals. While pairing this information with the amount of technologies that are increasingly becoming attainable, the tools required to collaborate as well as create new challenges and opportunities have become readily available to a wide audience (Tapscott, 2006). With so many options in the technology arena, Wenger, White, and. Smith (2009) further elaborate on what is meant by a tool, by defining it as any identifiable piece of technology that supports a discrete activity in a community or bridges different types of activities. (39). If a group is able to pick a need or goal that they want to achieve, is not impossible to find a tool that is going to fit . In the book Digital Habitats, a figure of a tool landscape provides guidance in picking resources based on three levels of criteria. These three areas in this model are: Working as an individual or group, being able to communicate together (synchronous) or at different points in times (asynchronous), and finally having the ability of conversations and activity (participation) or the ability to create

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a unique platform tool for sharing (reification). Once the unique needs of the collaboration have been established, finding a suitable tool becomes more realistic. (Wenger et al., 2009)

Figure 5.1: Example of a technology tool collection used in Digital Habits to demonstrate how a sampling of technology tools can be plotted among the polarities used for establishing an appropriate resource for your objective. (Wenger et al., 2009: 60)

Conclusion As researchers help us gain a better understanding of the power of collaboration, we can see an underlying message that more can be accomplished when working together instead of working in isolation. From skills to intelligence, bridging more minds together helps social

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learning that occurs during collaboration. Despite the obstacles of time and distance, many people find technological tools are changing the ability for people to collaborate and work together. With an abundance of technological resources being created, our view of what it means to be together with people locally and globally has been altered. Between these advancements and research gathered on efficient collaboration, a door has been opened to help remedy even more obstacles in the Education world.

MAKING THE MOST OUT OF TEACHER COLLABORATION References Hindin, A., Morocco, C. C., Mott, E. A., & Aguilar, C. M. (August 01, 2007). More than just a group: teacher collaboration and learning in the workplace. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 13, 4, 349-376. Kramer, B., Walker, A., & Brill, J. (January 01, 2007). The underutilization of information and communication technology-assisted collaborative project-based learning among international educators: a Delphi study. Educational Technology Research and Development, 55, 5, 527-543.

Lockhorst, D., Pilot, A., & Admiraal, W. (March 01, 2010). CSCL in teacher training: what learning tasks lead to collaboration?. Technology, Pedagogy and Education, 19, 1, 63-78. Pea, R. D. (May 01, 1993). The collaborative visualization project. Communications of the Acm, 36, 5, 60-63. Pea R. D. (2002). Learning Science through Collaborative Visualization over the Internet. Perez-Katz, A. (May 01, 2007). Teacher support systems: a collaboration model. Principal Leadership, 7, 9, 38-41. Perkins, D. N. (2003). King Arthur's round table: How collaborative conversations create smart organizations. New York: Wiley. Ryymin, E., Palonen, T., & Hakkarainen, K. (November 01, 2008). Networking relations of using ICT within a teacher community. Computers & Education, 51, 3, 1264-1282. Stevenson, H. J. (March 08, 2005). Teachers' informal collaboration regarding technology. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 37, 2, 129-144. Strehle, E. L., Whatley, A., Kurz, K. A., & Hausfather, S. J. (January 01, 2002). Narratives of collaboration: inquiring into technology integration in teacher education. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 10, 1, 27-47. Tapscott, D., & Williams, A. D. (2006). Wikinomics: How mass collaboration changes everything. New York: Portfolio. Waters, J. K. (March 01, 2007). Online collaboration: curriculum unbound!. T.h.e. Journal, 34, 3, 40-48. Wenger, E., White, N. & Smith, J. (2009) Digital habitats: Stewarding technology for communities. Portland, OR, USA: CPsquare

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Wilson, B. G. (1996). Constructivist learning environments: Case studies in instructional design. Englewood Cliffs, N.J: Educational Technology Publications.