Making Collaboration Effective

Making Collaboration Effective

The books I have referred to are

·      Building and Connecting Learning Communities: The Power of Networks for School Improvements by Steven Katz, Lorna Earl & Sonia Ben Jafar (2009)

·      Coherence: The Right Drivers in Action for Schools, Districts & Systems by Michael Fullan & Joanne Quinn (2016)

I read the these books because the authors have been involved in setting up, supporting and evaluating networks of schools in North America and the UK. The knowledge and insights they share will be useful for us as we begin working with Communities of Schools in New Zealand.

Understanding Collaboration - We need to ensure there are common understandings within a group about to embark on joint schooling improvement projects about what is meant by collaboration.

Katz, Earl & Jafar (2009, pg. 13) provide the following description of collaboration in educational networks

·      “Collaboration encompasses much more than relationships. It is intensive interaction that engages educators in opening up their beliefs and practices to investigation and debate” They describe this as a dynamic process of interpretation and evaluation of practice used to enhance personal and group learning. The process of collaboration enables people to address tough issues whilst building group understanding, mutual problem solving capacity, and spreading innovations beyond the borders of a single school site.

·      Interwoven through their notion of collaboration is the central importance of fostering inquiry habits of mind by always considering three vital questions - Where you are? Where you are going? How you will get there? In addition to responding to these questions they make the point that along the way a process of rethinking and adjustment should be used to keep the learning on track and responsive to emerging evidence.

Michael Fullan & Joanne Quinn (2016, pg. 75) make the following statement about cultivating collaborative cultures focused on improving educational outcomes for students

·      “Cultivating Collaborative Cultures – Collaborating is not just about creating a place where people feel good but rather about cultivating the expertise of everyone to be focused on collective purpose (pg. 75).”

·      They go on to stipulate that collaborative work to shift school, district & systems need to have; a strong learning design that incorporates a whole system, a focus on learning, capacity building, measureable impact, flexibility and be sustainable.

There is considerable agreement from these writers about the need for collaborative efforts aimed at improving educational outcomes both within and across schools to be focused on building relationship whilst immersed in the work of making improvements. Educationally effective collaboration goes beyond co-operation and resource sharing.

In order to move the work of networks of schools beyond comfortable spaces for sharing ideas that may not lead to deliberate inquiry into current practice and collective capacity building it is important to examine and move beyond common pitfalls. Group work can range from sporadic contacts and idiosyncratic affiliations to work of a more enduring and truly collaborative nature (Judith Warren Little, 1990 cited in Katz, Earl & Jafar, 2009).

Pitfalls masquerading as collaboration can include

·      Story telling & scanning for ideas

·      Mutual aid – help and advice: The danger here is that the advice may not be evidence based and it could dissuade teachers from more analytical investigation of effective practice.

·      Sharing: A potential snag is that the sharing may not extend to direct commentary on curriculum, learning and instruction. The practice shared may reinforce the use of current ineffective practices.

The fourth and more promising aspect of collaboration Judith Warren Little (1990, cited in Katz, Earl & Jafar, 2009) describes is Joint Work – and it includes deprivatisation and collective commitment to change. Joint work focused on challenging the status quo is a relative rarity however it is the critical core required for collaboration to change practice for the benefit of students (Katz, Earl & Jafar, 2009).  When joint work is framed as capacity building and inquiry the potential for worthwhile educational results is amplified beyond joint idea sharing approaches. Joint work can stimulate internal group accountability to finding new ways of working that will benefit students.

In conclusion here are my thoughts on collaboration

As a result of my reading the books listed above I believe that effective educational collaboration requires joint commitment to working together on an inquiry to learn and create new ways of meeting the needs of the students. Perseverance in collaborative efforts where honesty is a core relational value will be required as the group reflects on current practice that may have contributed to student underachievement. Within a network the voice of all the participants needs to be heard so that there is genuine commitment to the task and the development of expertise utilizes the group rather than just the highly vocal individuals. For such collaborations to thrive the following conditions will need to be cultivated

·      Clear identification of worthwhile shared goals based on student learning needs

·      Joint work to identify current practice (Where are we?)

·      Joint work to identify alternative effective evidence based practice (Where do we want to be?)

·      Inquiry based on the examination of current practice, new learning and evidence of the impact of new/changed practice (How are we doing?)

·      Flexibility and the recognition that agreed directions may need to change in the light of emerging evidence.

·      Developing internal accountability so there is commitment to persevering in the interest of finding best practice on behalf of the students.

·      Relational trust developed through open commitment to achievement goals based on evidence – build the relationships as we engage in the work

Thanks

Kay