Standard VI - Collaborates with Colleagues/Parents/Others

This is probably the hardest standard to provide evidence for. Most of my collaboration is done in the moment. I speak to the students, I speak to the teachers, I speak to the principals. Whenever I substitute or student teach, there is tons of collaboration going on. I have had many a conversation about teaching in the teacher's lounge. Some great minds cross through that room. I've worked with different teachers and administrators. But most of this is conversation. There is no transcript of these conversations. I do have numerous e-mails between me and the assistant principal, my high school mentor teacher, my university mentor teacher, etc. But due to the private nature of most of those conversations, none of them will be reproduced here.

However, that does not mean I don't have some proof. Following is the proof I have found that should show that I collaborate:

Formal Observation - One of the ways we collaborated during the year is through formal observations by our mentor teachers. Ms. Rachel McAbee, my high school mentor teacher, and Mrs. Dana Sorrell would wtach me teach a class and then fill out an observation form on it. This document is an example of one of those observations.

Marked Lesson Plan - This is another example of information I received from a mentor teacher during a formal observation. This is a page from a lesson plan that has been marked with comments.

Drama Outline - During one of our conferences, Ms. McAbee and I designed an outline for a couple of the steps I would be teaching. This is that outline after I typed it up and modified it some to fit the days better.

Example E-mail - I know. I know. I said I wasn't going to post one, but I scrounged through my e-mail and found one I could give as an example. This was from Ms. McAbee to me.

Professional Growth Plan - Speaking of the professional growth plan mentioned in that e-mail, here it is with the notes I wrote on it as I talked to Ms. McAbee.

Reflection

Collaboration is constantly going on. Just the conversations you have in the teacher's lounge can be enlightening. It's a necessary and important tool during teaching.

One of the things I love about the district I live in is they require home visits. These are collaborative measures taken to ensure the teachers are working together with the parents. You may have noticed by now that I believe teachers should get to know their students. Home visits help with this. You find out the environment they live with every day. So, yeah, I'm quite the fan of home visits and hope they are part of what I am required to do when I become a teacher. Even if not, I'll do them anyway. I believe as most instructors do that parent involvement is crucial. My daughter has learned a lot from her parents. We work with her constantly. I believe home visits can help foster such an environment for all kids.

Parent/teacher relationships are not the only important ones however. You have to work with the other teachers and the administration at the school you work in. Throughout this year I've talked to several teachers and have found that things run much smoother if everyone is on the same page. Also, getting to know the teachers and administration can really be helpful when you need assistance. You end up knowing who to go to for specific assistance. And let's be honest, networking is never a bad thing. It's a form of collaboration that's also good for your career.

"Never look down on anybody unless you're helping them up."