Promoting Effective Collaboration Between Special and General Educators: A Toolkit for Administrators

1. Promoting Effective Collaboration Between Special and General Educators: A Toolkit for Administrators Lynne Harper Mainzer, Ed.D. Nicole Tucker-Smith, MT Council for Exceptional Children 2006 Conference

2. Boundless Learning Overview Focus: • Provide high quality professional development to teachers and administrators using a full complement of instructional and technology resources in order to improve achievement and performance among students, including students with disabilities, in general education classes. • Boundless Learning Public Resource Center (PRC)

3. Administrator Workshops: Target Areas • Developing a Collaborative School Culture • Establishing Successful Collaborative Teams Between General and Special Educators • Executing Data Driven Decisions for AYP • Delivering High Quality Professional Development • Executing Instruction to Maximize Student Achievement

4. Developing a Collaborative School Culture • The role of the school principal • Inspire mutual vision that supports achievement and productivity for teachers and students • Establish a team-based organizational structure that incorporates cooperative principles and practices: • Positive interdependence • Individual and group accountability • Promotive interaction • Interpersonal skills • Build professional learning communities • Grade level teams • Content area teams • Special education – general education partnerships • IEP teams • School Improvement Team • Whole staff learning community

5. Developing a Collaborative School Culture • Recommendation: The leader ensures that cooperative principles and practices are in place to produce highly productive professional teams. • Tools: • Electronic Learning Community • Digital Portfolio “Changing to a team-based, high-performance organizational structure requires faculty to use cooperative learning groups the majority of the time and participate in a collegial teaching team focused on the continuous improvement of instruction.” – Johnson & Johnson, 1989

6. Establishing Successful Collaborative Teams Between General and Special Educators • The role of the school principal • Establish the expectation, time, and opportunity for collaboration with monitoring protocols. • Facilitate productive co-teaching partnerships for instructional decision making, delivery, and assessment • Promote Collaboration Principles and Practices: • Respect of Knowledge and Skill • Established Communication System • Common Understanding of the Classroom Environment • Co-Accountability • Use of Cooperative Principles and Practices

7. Establishing Successful Collaborative Teams Between General and Special Educators • Recommendation:The leader maintains the expectation, provides the time and opportunity for teachers to build successful collaborative teams, and monitors for student and teacher success. • Tools: • TEAMS Protocol • Collaboration/Co-Teaching Look-Fors “In an effective partnership, each member commits to optimizing their own and each other’s performance to maximize student success.” – (Mainzer & Tucker-Smith, 2006)

8. Executing Data Driven Decisions for AYP • The role of the school principal • Develop and apply a school-wide, team-based approach for measuring performance for all students, including subgroup populations • Ensure that all teachers use student data to plan and implement instruction according to student needs • Implement Cycle Of Data-driven Decision Making to maximize teacher and student performance • Ongoing Formative Assessment Analysis • Scheduling • Strategic, Embedded Professional Development • School Improvement Plan • Implement Cooperative Faculty Teams and Partnerships

9. Executing Data Driven Decisions for AYP • Recommendation:Using cooperative teams and partnerships, implement a yearly cycle of data-driven decision making that includes protocols and tools designed to promote co-planning, co-analysis, co-teaching, and co-accountability. • Tools: • Student Compass Wizards: Performance Tracking, Accommodations Class ProfileMatrix, Instructional Goal-Setting • Cycle of Data-Driven Decision Making to Increase Student Performance “Schools improve when purpose and effort unite. One key is leadership that recognizes its most vital function: to keep everyone’s eyes on the prize of improved student learning.” – Schmoker, 1996

11. Delivering High Quality Professional Development • The role of the school principal • Incorporate data analysis to provide high quality professional development at the individual, team, and school-wide levels to address achievement gaps. • Build effective professional learning community networks to support the continuous improvement process focused on increasing student performance • Implement High Quality Professional Development Standards: • Teacher Learning • Content knowledge and quality teaching • Research-based • Collaboration • Diverse Learning Needs • Student learning environments • Data-driven • Evaluation

12. Delivering High Quality Professional Development • Recommendation: Implement a continuous improvement process in which teams and individuals focus on analyzing data, instructing, and learning to grow professionally to meet school improvement goals. • Tools: • Electronic Learning Community (Coursebook Feature) • Teacher Compass “Leaders encourage and inspire teachers to take the difficult leaps toward increased competence.” – Johnson & Johnson, 1994.

13. Executing Instruction to Maximize Student Achievement • The role of the school principal • Create a clear, mutual vision for student learning that analyzes the current reality, uses up-to-date data, and challenges the status quo to maximize achievement for all students. • Promote and facilitate the use of evidence-based practices: • Peer-assisted learning – cooperative learning • Explicit instruction • Ensure a safe, productive learning environment • Positive recognition, rewards • Cooperative-based standards, expectations, and management procedures • Appropriate accommodations, modifications, technology implementation

14. Executing Instruction to Maximize Student Achievement • Recommendation: Use cooperative principles and practices in leading teams of teachers to establish safe, productive learning environments that employ evidence-based practices. • Tools: • GLOBE Tech Instructional Delivery System & Online Manual “Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.” – Goethe

15. 1-Day Workshops Developing a Collaborative School Culture Establishing Successful Collaborative Teams Between General and Special Educators Executing Data Driven Decisions for AYP Delivering High Quality Professional Development Executing Instruction toMaximize Student Achievement Online Tools Electronic Learning Community, Digital Portfolio TEAMS Protocol, Collaboration Look-Fors Student Compass Wizards: Performance Tracking, Accommodations, Class Profile Matrix, Instructional Goal Setting Electronic Learning Community Coursebook Teacher Compass GLOBE Tech Boundless Learning Offerings for Administrators

16. Professional Development Success Strategies for the Inclusive Classroom Planning Instruction for Diverse Learners Establishing a Positive Classroom Environment Data-Driven Decision Making Implementing Assistive Technology Online Tools Hybrid Course, Electronic Learning Community Class Profile Matrix, Accommodations Wizard GLOBE Tech Cycle of Instruction Student Compass, Performance Tracking Wizard GLOBE Online Manual Boundless Learning Offerings for Teachers

17. For more information about Boundless Learning Contact Nicole Tucker-Smith nsmith@jhu.edu To access the Boundless Learning web site, visit www.cte.jhu.edu/boundlesslearning