Collaboration

There are several different forms of collaboration that I have observed and/or heard about during my time at G Elementary school. The first type of collaboration is teacher to teacher collaboration. The main teacher in my class, Mrs. M teaches alongside another teacher, Miss L. Mrs. M and Miss L are actually cousins, which I found rather interesting. They work very well together and are able to help each other out in order to make the classroom as best as it can be. Sometimes they split the students into two groups, such as when they get in their reading groups. Mrs. M takes one group of students, and Miss L takes the other. This way the students can be in smaller groups and work more directly with the teacher and a smaller group of students. Other times one teacher will work directly with the students while the other does the busy work, such as grading papers or running off copies. I think the system they have going on is very effective. Mrs. M and Miss L also work with other teachers in the school as well. They teach other teachers students for certain subjects in order to benefit the student. The general education teacher and Mrs. M work together to come up with the best possible way to teach each of their students. Another type of collaboration is parent and teacher collaboration. I have not actually observed this type of collaboration is person, but I have heard about it and seen some results of this collaboration. One way in which the teacher hopes to work together with their students parents is by having the parents sign their child's planner each night. This way the parent can see what their son or daughter did in school that day and what homework they might have as well. Another way parents and teachers collaborate is through parent-teacher conferences. I know that IEP meetings are another way collaboration of this form can take place. Lots of collaboration must be done in order to make a student's education the best it can be. The more minds working together effectively, the better off the students involved are.