[HOME] [teacher vistas] [online training] [FAQs] [forums] [resources] [links] [contact us] 08-01-2000 FEATURE ARTICLE Myths and Misunderstandings about Professional Collaboration By Marilyn Friend May/June 2000, Remedial and Special Education, 21, 130-132, 160. Copyright 2000 by PRO-ED, Inc. Reprinted with permission.      When I think of collaboration, the first word that comes to mind is ubiquitous. The promise of collaboration has apparently permeated every dimension of society. Communications companies advertise their services by proclaiming in the newspaper in 3-inch-high letters that they offer the tools to make collaboration a reality. One high-technology firm touts the ways it can assist clients to realize global goals by showing a stylized half-mask cantering across the television screen to the strains of The William Tell Overture. The mask is soon joined by a like-styled feather, and a narrator delivers the simple message, "Even the Lone Ranger had a partner." The professional literature in medicine, mental health, and social services is replete with books and articles on the topic (e.g., Gavin et al., 1998; Stroul, 1996; Sullivan, 1998). Perhaps Bennis and Biederman (1997) best captured the extent to which collaboration has commanded attention at the turn of the millennium when they asserted that the truly significant inventions of the 20th century, including modern aviation technology, personal computers, and even feature-length animated films, were all produced by collaborative efforts occurring in work environments that not only respected such initiatives, but fostered an ethic of sharing.      Even a cursory look at current trends and issues in education and special education illustrates that these disciplines also embrace collaboration. Middle school models are premised on creating opportunities for instructional collaboration among teachers. Collaboration is exhorted as a critical knowledge and skill area for school leadership personnel, especially principals. It is extolled as a means for conducting staff development, working with families, addressing student behavior, and responding to reform initiatives. In addition, virtually every treatise on inclusive practices, whether conceptual, anecdotal, qualitative, or quantitative, concludes that inclusion's success in large part relies on collaboration among staff members and with parents and others, and that failures can typically be traced to shortcomings in the collaborative dimension of the services to students.      One can easily be left with the impression that the discussion of collaboration should be nearing its end-that its application is assured, its use is widespread, and we can move ahead to grapple with some of the many other complex issues we face. But what do we really know about collaboration? Looking past the enthusiastic rhetoric, much of what passes for collaboration in schools appears to be guided more by popular belief than by careful inquiry. What follows are four prevalent myths and misunderstandings that, unless challenged and directly addressed, have the potential to derail current and future efforts to build collaboration as a powerful tool schools can use to achieve their goals. Click here to view the rest of the article Archived Feature Articles 01-NOV-02 20 Ways To.... Work Effectively with Paraeducators in Inclusive Settings Cathryn G. Riggs 01-APR-02 Three Steps for Gaining Access to the General Education Curriculum for Learners with Disabilities Margaret E. King-Sears 01-DEC-01 Accessing the Curriculum Creating Instructional Rubrics for Inclusive Classrooms Catharine R. Whittaker ? Spencer J. Salend ? Devon Duhaney 01-OCT-01 Responding to Student Concerns about Fairness Ann B. Welch November/December 2000, Teaching Exceptional Children, 33, (2) 36-40. 01-SEP-01 What?s Good? Suggested Resources for Beginning Special Education Teachers By: Sharon A. Maroney 01-JUN-01 Bright Futures for Exceptional Learners: An Action Agenda to Achieve Quality Conditions for Teaching and Learning Reprinted with Permission from CEC Today Online by the Commission on the Conditions for Special Education Teaching and Learning 01-MAR-01 Vocabulary Development: A Collaborative Effort for Teaching Content Vocabulary SUSAN S. JOHNSTON, BETH L. TULBERT, JOAN P. SEBASTIAN, 01-FEB-01 Tips for Communicating Academic Progress DR. JANE B. PEMBERTON, Assistant Professor of Special Education 01-JAN-01 The Good Student Game: Behavior Management for Diverse Classrooms ALLISON E. BABYAK, GAYLE J. LUZE, AND DEBRA M. KAMPS 01-DEC-00 Cooperative Learning and Social Skills: What Skills to Teach and How to Teach Them By: Marilyn W. Goodwin 01-NOV-00 Strategies and Resources to Evaluate the Impact of Inclusion Programs on Students By: Spencer J. Salend, Associate Professor of Special Education 01-OCT-00 Planning High Quality Assignments in Diverse Classrooms By: Joyce A. Rademacher, Associate Professor of Special Education 01-SEP-00 Boldly Going Where Angels Fear to Tread By: KAREN D. HOWELLS 01-AUG-00 Myths and Misunderstandings about Professional Collaboration By Marilyn Friend  Back to this month's feature article
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