The Importance of Collaboration In Education

For my blog this week I thought I would write about the importance of teacher collaboration. I came across this article by Robert J. Garmston entitled, Can Collaboration Be Taught? He writes how collaboration techniques need to be taught to the staff though staff development and various seminars. Most importantly faculties need to know what the word collaboration means, and all the benefits it can offer students who are educated by a community of teachers. Adult learners tend to learn more as a result of working collaboratively because they support each other’s learning methods, and they work harder in an effort to please the group. Mr. Garmston then goes to share many examples on various forms of teacher collaboration including: looking at and considering why a certain number of students are failing standardized test or when teachers meet regularly to explore different models of learning.
The second portion of the article deals with four specific ways that collaboration can be integrated into education and they are: knowledge and skills, creating think environments, achieve mastery by practicing fundamentals, and co-cognition.
The knowledge and skills section is where the author shared seven different aspects of collaboration and they include: seven norms of collaboration, distinguishing dialogue from discussion, three meeting structures, managing the environment, templates for group development, and a range of planning and problem-solving models. These strategies can be employed by districts who wish to have a programs like this installed in their schools.
The section entitled, creating links and environments, has to deal with creating an environment that is conducive to learning. Taking down notes on notepads and chart paper is necessary in order to jot down ideas that the group has. These ideas can then be presented to other teachers or administration in order to create an effective learning environment.
The achieve mastery section deals with listening to other’s thoughts and brainstorming to determine the best educational outcomes. The idea in this section is to set up norms in the collaboration area that will eventually become habit and a normal part of the teacher’s day.
Finally, this section deals with the idea of co-cognition, this is the idea that two minds thinking about a problem is like three. Collaboration has the power to call upon the different teacher’s ability and strengths. Where one teacher is not as strong in an area the other teacher could provide support.
Mr. Garmston concludes his article by stating that there is still more work that needs to be done in order for teachers reap the full benefits of collaborative learning. Teachers cannot simply work alone in their classrooms anymore, they need to diversify and work with other teachers. By working collaboratively student’s can prosper and learn effectively by having a multi-range approach to their education.
In conclusion, I feel the article did great job explaining various ways that teachers can collaborate with each other. I learned how important this type of open communication can be to educators who are trying to diversify their teaching methods. I also learned that a collaboration program takes much more work to get together than simply getting together and talking. Schools need to train their teachers in these techniques to get the most out these sessions.
I can use the information put forth in this article to properly run or take part in collaborative planning. I can use proper brainstorming techniques that this article set forth while utilizing the correct learning environment to promote collaboration. The most important aspect of this article I will use in my teaching is to make collaborative planning a habit in my everyday teaching. This type of planning has a tremendous effect on student learning if done correctly. Teachers can complement each other and the result will only benefit student learning.

How Technology Enhances Learning for At-Risk Students

For this week blog I decided to write about how technology can be used to promote learning. I happened to come across this article set forth by the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory, entitled Critical Issue: Using Technology to Enhance Engaged Learning for At-Risk Students. This article deals with the idea of using technology to boost learning in students.
The issue section stated that not only can technology be used to boost learning for students who are at risk, but it can also be used to bring about educational reform.
The overview section continues to lay out how a school system can go about implementing various technologies into their schools. It then goes on to state how students can organize, obtain, manipulate, and display information more readily when technology is utilized. Some of the computer programs that students can use include word processing and graphing software. A recent study shows that by using word processing programs students are willing to write longer, more complex sentences and are more likely to edit their own work. By using this technology, students no longer have to worry about penmanship, grammar, and spelling because the computer program will correct these errors automatically, and as a result, students now can concentrate on writing good quality papers.
The goal section sets forth five main ideas that offer a target for prospective schools to attain when trying to integrate technology. Classrooms need to serve at-risk students by using collaboration, in that, all students of different abilities share information to make decisions and solve problems. All students have the opportunity to use various modern technologies, and teachers need to have the ability and training to implement projects using technology. Administrators, parents, and community also need to support the use of technological innovations by making these training sessions possible. Finally, school districts need to improve facilities so technology can be implemented and used by all students.
The action options portion of the paper has to deal with steps that teachers and the community can take in order to utilize technology in education. Teachers can specifically create classroom activities that challenge the students by using technological aids that will help in learning the material. Teachers can also promote learning by fostering cooperative learning so that students can work together in order to reach their goals in education. The community can help by giving all students access to various technology including computers, the internet, and computer programs. They also need to make available to teachers a technical support system that teachers can use when problems occur with the technology. It is important for the teachers and the communities to work together in order to fully immerse each student in an education that is rich in technology.
The final portion of the paper deals with “pitfalls” that the educator may come in contact with when trying to incorporate technology into education. It is important to train teachers in technology though staff development on various programs. However, the author of this article warns administrators to not only have staff development on various technologies but to also give time for teachers to experiment and fully understand the new programs. Teachers will be less likely to use something they do not fully understand. Teachers also have to be careful not to let the students get too distracted by glitzy technological presentations. Students may be more interested in looking at the animation on a PowerPoint than reading the information the slide has to offer. It is up to the teacher to select worthy information that will excite the students to learn but not distract them.
This article dealt with using technology to help at-risk students learn more effectively. This cause has tremendous value to children labeled as at risk, but this article can be applied to children of all ages and ability levels. It is important to utilize technology not for just its learning sake but to get children acclimated to using it. This article reinforced my belief that technology is an important part of education because not only does it allow the teacher to share information by many different methods, but it allows students to do work more accurately and efficiently. Most importantly this article affirmed to me that in today’s world technology is everywhere, and if students do not know how to use it they will fall behind.