1. Teaching Effective Collaboration Skills
Success Beyond the Sandbox
Laurie Dinnebeil
A presentation at the 2005 Inclusion Institute, Chapel Hill, NC

2. The Purpose of this Session is to:
Describe major types of collaborative relationships:
Coaching
Consultation
Supervision/Mentorship
Teaming
Discuss ways to prepare individuals to be effective partners

3. Teaching Skills for Effective Collaboration
Dinnebeil, L.A., Buysse, V., Rush, D., & Eggbeer, L. (in press). Teaching Skills for Effective Collaboration. In P. Winton, J. McCollum, and C. Catlett (Eds.) Preparing effective professionals: Evidence and applications in early childhood and early intervention. Washington, DC: ZERO TO THREE Publishers.

4. What’s So Important About Collaboration?
The success of early education and intervention is dependent on the quality of relationships that adults have with children and each other
Given that services to young children involve more than just one adult, the quality of the interactions between and among adults will have a direct impact on the quality of services.

5. Collaboration Defined
Each person both teaches and learns.
Mutual respect for the role of each individual is implied and demonstrated.
A strong degree of reciprocity underlies each of these relationships.
A joint goal helps to serve as a roadmap to collaborative work.

6. Major Types of Collaborative Relationships
Coaching
Consultation
Supervision/Mentorship
Teaming

7. A Variety of People Can Serve in a Variety of Roles
EI/ECSE Professional
ECE Professional
Parent
Supervisor
Coach
Consultant
Team Member
Orange handout—examples of roles. Ask audience to talk with each other for 2-3 minutes to discuss real-life examples. Discuss

8. Coaching Key Components of a Coaching Model Iterative and Interactive
Reflection and Feedback
Refine existing practices
Develop new skills
Promote continuous self-assessment and learning
Note importance of feedback—identify characteristics of effective feedback.

9. Process of Coaching Agree to participate in coaching relationship
Identify goals, expected outcomes and criteria for measuring learner’s mastery
Observe one another, reflect on current and/or new skills,
Learn and practice new skills, provide feedback
Evaluate success of coaching plan

10. Consultation
An indirect, triadic service delivery model in which a consultant and a consultee work together to address an area of concern or common goal for change.

11. Process of Consultation
Gaining entry—clarify need for consultation and process, identify expected outcomes, delineate roles
Gather additional information
Use results of assessment to formulate observable and measurable outcomes
Identify possible strategies; select one or more
Consultee implements selected strategies
Evaluate success of plan

12. Supervision/Mentorship
Professional relationships designed to support knowledge and skill development, often in younger or less seasoned practitioner.
Effective supervision or mentoring relationships are characterized by reflection, collaboration, and regularity.
Ask audience to recall characteristics of memorable supervisors or mentors…

13. Process of Supervision/Mentorship
Preparing for discussion
Greeting and reconnecting
Opening the dialogue and finding the agenda
Information gathering and focusing on details
Formulating hypotheses about the meaning of the issue being discussed
Considering next steps—discuss options and make decision about issue.
Closing— acknowledge end of session, briefly recap, consider what lies ahead

14. Descriptors of an Effective Team (Friend & Cook, 2000)
articulated goal understood by all team members,
a climate in which all team members feel respected and valued,
recognition that individual team members are accountable to the group,
effective group process and “ground rules” that lay the foundation for the team’s work,
appropriate leadership skills of all team members.

15. Process of Teaming
Coming together—acknowledge role of team, clarify goals and objectives
Identify problem and gather information about it
Generate possible solutions; plan for solution
Plan for and implement solution
Evaluate success of solution

16. Common Features of All Models
Stages reflect a problem-solving approach to triadic intervention
Stages are fluid, rather than fixed.
Ask audience to name major stages of collaborative relationships. Blue handout

17. Outcomes of Collaborative Models
Coaching
Skill-based
Focus on acquisition, fluency, maintenance generalization
Consultation
Supporting changes in learning environments
Supporting systems level change
Supervision/Mentorship
Support a practitioner’s ability to self-reflect on the work and her reaction to it.
Teaming
Can focus on all of the above—teaming is a broader construct
Pink handout.
Pink handout…prepare for next slide—what kinds of knowledge do those in a leadership role in a collaborative relationship need?

18. Requisite Knowledge, Skills and Dispositions
Knowledge of
One’s discipline
Typical/atypical child development
Setting and child’s environment
The collaborative process
What are the interpersonal skills and style that’s most conducive to collaboration?

19. Interpersonal Style Successful collaborators are…
Flexible, adaptable approach to interaction
Able to consider others’ perspectives and are able to set aside their own beliefs or expectations if they interfere with a productive working relationship
Are objective and make sound decisions based on the reality of a situation.

20. Interpersonal Skills Successful collaborators…
put others at ease and are viewed as genuine and respectful
are reflective and can engage in active listening
ask good questions and provide/accept appropriate feedback from others.
are aware of the nonverbal behaviors that support or undermine interpersonal relationships.
understand and can apply principles of group processing and problem-solving to their work with others.
Successful collaborators know how to “win friends and influence others.”
What are key attitudes, values, or dispositions needed?

21. Attitudes, Values, and Dispositions
Successful collaborators…
Are ethical practitioners
Are highly cognizant of their own values and biases
Possess equal amounts of self-confidence and humility
Appreciate that both partners possess unique knowledge and skills
Are curious and eager learners
Appreciate that they are guiding another person; they are not in control
Understand that being a knowledgeable resource is not the same as being a “know it all”.
Activity—how does the need for knowledge, skills, or attitudes change during the course of a relationship?
Yellow handout

22. Preparing Individuals for Collaborative Work
Preparing individuals for work with other adults is complex and requires experiences along many different levels
The kinds of learning experiences needed to support knowledge, skill, or attitude/value acquisition differs in complexity.

23. (Learning outcomes from low to high)
Examples of Training Approaches and Learning Activities for Building Knowledge and Skill Related to the Collaborative Process (Adapted from Harris, 1980 and McCollum & Catlett, 1997)
Engaging in a collaborative relationship under the supervision of a professional; reflecting on the experience
Attitudes, Values
Observing other professionals engaged in collaborative relationships and analyzing their behavior
Skill
(Learning outcomes from low to high)
Desired Impact
Completing case studies
In-class/In-session simulations
Knowledge
Reading
Lectures
Guided notes
Awareness
Low
High
Complexity of synthesis and application required

24. Instructional Strategies to Promote Skill Building and Collaborative Dispositions
Learners need genuine experiences to learn and apply critical skills. They should participate in group projects that require them to learn skills related to teamwork and collaboration.

25. For example…
Students in a ECSE Methods Class are required to work together to develop an IEP for a fictitious child with a disability.
Students are made aware that the goals of the project include enhancing their ability to work effectively with each other.
Students set ground rules for group work and provide written (anonymous) feedback to each other at the conclusion of the project.

26. Another Example
Students work in teams to design and implement parent-child playgroups under the supervision of qualified personnel.
In addition to gaining experience in conducting playgroups, students are aware that an explicit goal of the assignment is to learn to work together as a team.

27. Another Example
As part of a general “methods” course, preservice ECE teachers are required to videotape themselves teaching.
Students partner with each other, viewing each other’s videotapes, provide written and verbal feedback
Students are also required to provide a written reflection of the feedback process as well as a critique of their partner’s ability to provide feedback.
The ability to provide and receive appropriate feedback is evaluated as part of the student’s course grade.

28. Another Example
As part of a mini-practicum, practicing ECSE professionals were required to design, implement, and evaluate a coaching or consultation plan. As part of this assignment, they identified an ECE professional who worked with a child with special needs.
See Dinnebeil & McInerney, 2001

29. Components of the Plan
Practicum Requirements were based on work by Wesley (1994) and were undertaken jointly between the student and her learning partner:
Identified child-focused goals and objectives,
Evaluated the child’s learning environment with the ECERS or ITERS
Identified components of the environment that could be enhanced to support the child’s learning,
Developed a plan to modify or enhance the environment,
Outlined child-focused intervention strategies to achieve the child’s learning goals,
Engaged in coaching or consultation strategies that helped their partner learn how to use the strategy,
Gave feedback to the learning partner, and
Monitored the child’s progress through easily implemented data collection strategies.

30. Another Example from Dr. McWilliam…
Students are required to develop an intervention checklist designed to help a learning partner use a specific strategy
The checklist must outline operational steps to follow to correctly implement an intervention strategy.
Students use the checklist to teach a learning partner to implement the strategy
Both students and learning partners use the checklist to guide observations of each other and provide feedback about implementation
For what types of interventions could checklists be developed?

31. A Final Example
In order to give students authentic opportunities for giving and receiving specific and appropriate feedback, an instructor holds a knitting session in class.
Those who know how to knit are required to teach a classmate, in class how to knit.
After the activity, discussion focuses on giving appropriate feedback and instruction to an adult learner.

32. Other Examples?

33. Challenges to Effective Preparation
Lack of exemplary practice settings
Lack of practiced professionals
Attitudes and values of the learners themselves (e.g., apprehension about being an “expert”, resistance to the model)
Difficulty in supervising learners engaged in collaborative relationships
Other challenges?

34. Discussion or Questions?