Planning for Collaboration

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What kinds of support will your school or district provide?

Introduction

Coaching is rewarding but difficult work. Without adequate support from your school and school district it is more difficult, and perhaps impossible. This activity is designed to help you start to define what coaching might look like in your school and how your school can support your efforts.

Part A: Gathering Research to Plan a Collaboration Program

1. Form small groups of three to four participants.
2. Determine who will read each of the following parts of the following research:
   • "Let Your Mentors Do the Coaching" (Barbara Bray) handout in your Participant Handbook.
     • Pages 1–2
     • Pages 3–4
   • Abdal-Haqq, I. (1996). Making Time for Teacher Professional Development. (Split into two parts if necessary.)
3. Read your assigned part and take notes.
4. Share two key ideas from your reading with your group.

Part B: Characteristics of Successful Collaborating Teachers

Coaches who have worked with collaborating teachers have witnessed the following successful characteristics:

• Seeing the need and purpose for the work.
• Knowing that it is okay to make mistakes or ask "dumb" questions.
• Being open to learning and being helped.
• Being committed to learning and willing to try out new things.
• Feeling okay about taking risks and failing.
• Having a flexible classroom and a willingness to change teaching style, curriculum, and scheduling.
• Being able to make use of the opportunity.

Part C: Introduce the Collaboration Plan

What kinds of support will your school or district provide?

Introduction

You can see from the last activity that it is important to create a plan for your T2T program. You will need the support of your school leadership as well as a vision and focus for your work.

1. In your Participant Handbook, locate the following handouts:
   • Collaboration Focus
   • Collaboration Plan
2. Review the Collaboration Focus handout.
3. Review the directions for completing the collaboration plan. Complete as much as possible of Part 1 now. Consider the list of resources and questions you will need to gather once you return to your school.

Conclusion

You will need time once you return to your school to plan with your collaborating teachers and to talk with your principal. You will also need to post your completed plans to the T2T Discussion Board prior to our first follow-up session.

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