Question: What is the difference between COOPERATION and COLLABORATION??

Being a COL teacher, alongside Silivia, my school asked me if I could present to the staff about our journey so far this year. 

We both always find this type of thing a little bit intimidating, but... if we do it together we know we have each other's back!

Term 2 has been a tough term for everyone at school. Silivia and myself know its hard to focus and take information in in a staff meeting in week 7 of a particularly hard term.

What to do to make it count! Get them moving, get them involved!

Initially, I asked who knew who were in the collaborative team. This was information that not many people knew, so introductions were made and the reasoning why we had these people.

I shared the school's aim: "to use common language around collaboration throughout the school". We have a representative from every area of the school!! Everyone has a voice. 

The next step was shared: how examples of collaboration can be shared and sourced throughout the school. This is going to be done through videos, written suggestions, photos, observations and continual discussions in pathway meetings.

  EVERYONE STAND UP PLEASE AND MOVE OT THE MIDDLE!!

First of all a big thank you to the collaborative team for helping me out. They did not know they were going to be lending a hand.

Is it collaboration or cooperations: 

The answers were not given, so I will do that now. But it did generate discussion and people listening closely to the wording of the scenarios:

COLLABORATION SCENARIOS: 

• 2 teachers, different satellite classes. We both feel that play is important for the children's social development, can  we set up a time where the my class can come to yours as you have a great set up for play.
• 2 teachers: we both think fine motor skills are important, let's put a mixture of activities out and then we can do 1:1 short bursts of teaching. We let the children from both classes mix
• Can we reflect, how do you think the session went, do you feel they understood the activity or do they need. to revisit?
• 
  
• Everyone has a common goal
• We have our meetings with the parents together, we share the TAs, we all support each other.
• We have a behaviour issue with a certain child. Can we brainstorm the issue and possible support that we can put in place.
• Mix the 2 classes for numicon so that the children at the similar levels can be together, reflect with the adults fo each group at the end of each session, discuss if the children need to more or can move on with their learning.

COOPERATION SCEANRIOS:

• One person has a goal and we help to achieve it.
• Telling the TAs about a literacy activity and how to carry it out.
• I would like to set up more table top activities for sorting can you help me please.
• This is what the day will look like. Can you oversee MT and if you are able to take this activity.
• I need help with my music can you please do it for me.
• I can take your class.
• 2 teachers: 1 mainstream the other satellite. Can we get the classes together, I think it would be good for my children to develop a relationship with yours

HERE'S A COUPLE MORE TO THINK ABOUT:

• I need help with teaching music. Can you please give me a hand as I know your strength is music, can we work together to develop the LOs and activities???
• Can we look at doing the long term planning together as you are my release teacher. If we initially discuss the timetable, we can look at what area you would like to focus on. Let's make the learning outcomes together and then how about you think of the activities since you are doing it.

Our next steps as the collaborative team.

So good to catchup face to face. It feels a bit strange but definitely good!

Upon reflection,  making sure that all areas of the school were represented, we realised that the specialists did not have representation. 

I know of a great specialist colleague who has great ideas and loves to collaborative with the class teacher in order to best support the children's growing. Watch this space...

We have a goal. We are very focused on deepening the staff's understanding and ability to collaborate for the benefit of all learners in school. 

Our goal: when children move to different classes through the school, the aim is for all teachers they meet to speak the same language around collaboration and provide the children with a rich environment to learn through collaboration if possible.

Wonderings: if collaboration became an integral part of Pathway discussions, not just a one off discussion, then it will be forefront in everyones minds and therefore may be used more with in school.

How can we get a better understanding of collaboration:

• Examples of collaboration need to be shared and discussed: This can be started with the collaborative team sharing photos of videos of collaboration taking place in their classes. This can be the starting point of discussion in the Pathways.
• A bank of these videos and photos can be a resource for everyone so that they have examples of how to incorporate collaboration. It is a growing bank and can be added to.
• Devs has discussed with us her idea of giving staff time to visit ad observe collaboration taking place. The aim is for staff to visit a certain person during CRT time. The can choose who and what to observe. The aim is for this to be put into place by the end of the year.
• During the next staff meeting the COL teachers are going to be sharing their journeys so far.For me this will informing everyone of where we are at as The collaborative team. It is also a time for me to also share examples of collaboration and cooperation, opening up a discussion where the difference could be identified.