Collaboration and Consultation in Education - Research Paper Example

Collaboration and Consultation in Education Introduction Collaboration entails a learning strategy purposely aimed at student groups engaged in co-labouring toward fruitful learning results. Collaborative learning is accomplished through the use of active engagement activities designed to exploit knowledge and to facilitate the sharing of the workload. In this method, learners can generate their individual parts of a larger assignment and then the parts are compiled as a group work. Collaboration is also a style employed by professionals in order to achieve a common and a shared goal. There are several terminologies that may be used inter-changeably when discussing cooperation strategies. These terms include consultation, teamwork, collaborative work and collaborative consultation. However, collaboration will be employed in this paper as the umbrella concept for the various collaborative strategies. Furthermore, there are different forms in which collaboration techniques are created. These are the student collaboration, teacher-student collaboration, teacher-parent collaboration, and student-parent collaboration. All these form of cooperation are primarily meant to help enhance the learning process of a student and to ensure they achieve the best in education. Techniques of collaboration and benefits Collaboration is both advantageous in teaching and learning when it happens on various levels (Goulet, Krentz & Christiansen, 2003). Collective prioritizing of education by the students, teachers, members of a family, and the community as a whole is beneficial to teaching and learning process. The benefits will be more felt when all the stakeholders engage in activities that promote learning institutions, educators, and students. Additionally, the advantage of collaboration becomes more evident when teachers collaborate with other teachers to support innovative classroom practices. And aim at the high level of expectations for themselves and students as well. Further the benefits of collaboration can be achieved more when students are granted the chance to work together for common academic goals in manners that improve learning. According to Goulet, Krentz and Christiansen (2003), Collaborative learning needs team work for the achievement of a common aim. Proponents of collaborative learning point out that the technique is advantageous to students because it increases their interest in learning. It is also beneficial in the fact that it actively engages students, in the sharing, debating and negotiating ideas within groups. Moreover, collaborative learning promotes critical and creative thinking through the engaging in discussions and assuming responsibility for their learning. As a matter of fact, various researchers have claimed that students that engage in collaboration learning tend to learn more than when taught (Salgado et al., 2014). What’s more, students working in small groups retain information for a longer period and also show more satisfaction in their learning. In addition, collaborative learning is also important both at a personal and social level of the students. On the personal level, it is easy for students to share their difficulty with the group members. The technique enables students gain confidence when they observe their team-mates solve problems by encouraging them think and overcome the problem. It is less stressful for students to speak in a small group which they are familiar with than in front of the entire class. Additionally, the members can take criticism positively since they are also in a position to criticize. On the social level, aspects such as tolerance and being accommodative towards other people’s perspective are increased. These aspects are very practical and also advantageous to students in real-life and prepared them to compromise. Moreover, collaborative learning also helps to create close friendships with the group members and thus instrumental in increased class attendance. Finally, this method promotes higher achievement than the individualistic mode of learning. Collaboration with parents is one key form of collaboration in the education process. This category of collaboration requires parents to work closely with teachers and assist in understanding the students (Musti-Rao & Cartledge, 2004). It involves bringing the experiences and knowledge of the parents to serve to create a continuing learning and communication, as well as collaboration. Parents-teachers collaboration is based on understanding of the parents and teachers about each other’s perspectives and realities. It is critical for the parents to grasp comprehensively their children school program, the responsibilities of the members of staff, how individual classrooms address the varied needs of all the students. On the other hand, it is also vital for teachers to understand the role of parents in the education process ant the significance role that education play in parents’ live. These understandings are imperative in the sense that it spurs commitment to collaboration. It motives both parents and teachers to work as one and build a positive and efficient education program for students. Collaboration among teachers is a vital tool for the success of the students. Teachers’ collaboration involves the sharing of ideas, development plans and implementation plans as well as the evaluation results with colleagues (Wong, 2003). It also entails the sharing of any activity that requires one to work with colleagues. True collaboration becomes realized if all the members of a team feel that their contribution and presence are valued, and the goal is also clear. In order to encourage colleagues collaboration among the teachers institution used induction process. The core objective of the induction process is to train teachers to become effective professionals in the teacher career. Well-inducted teachers comprehend better the roles, mission and goals of schools. Furthermore, teachers’ collaboration is beneficial to the teachers since they can learn more about the collaborative networks and groups study when compared with workshops. Teacher-student collaboration is a very imperative strategy in enhancing learning and education. The main objective of cooperation in a learning environment is to learn and unpack the material together and build a collective comprehension (Jordan & Stanovich, 2001). It is through interaction that learning happens. Therefore, putting emphasis on student-teacher interaction in the course of learning is imperative in gaining of knowledge and building skills critical for negotiations. Collaboration calls for a shift from the teacher lead instruction to instruction and learning intended for both teachers and students in equal measures. The interaction between the teachers and students play the crucial of a role in aiding students reflect and engage in their learning experiences as suggested by Jordan & Stanovich, (2001). The technique encourages more students’ participations and teacher to act as a facilitator. The teacher-student participation aids students create problem-solving skills as well as critical and creative thinking ability and to apply them in a productive manner. Conclusion To conclude, collaboration in an education setting is a technique to teaching and learning that calls for students to put efforts together to deliberate, discuss and formulate meaning. It can be described as an umbrella word for several educational approaches involving combined intellectual work by students, teachers, students or teachers and teachers together. Many researchers suggest that collaboration is one of the necessities for acquiring knowledge in the 21st century. Studies further connote that students and teachers learn more and engage more when they work in collaboration. There are myriad benefits that result from collaboration. For one, collaborative learning helps learners to comprehend the content more and to have a higher level of achievements. It gives students the chance to internalize their learning. Secondly, learning through collaboration ensures that more students learn a lot of materials. The learners can discuss the material with each other and ensure that everyone in the group understands. Thirdly, the technique motivates more students to learn more material than when they study alone. Ultimately, working in a group help students gain more positive attitude about the subject they are studying, the teachers, and the classmates too. Moreover, it is worthwhile to note that collaboration is not only beneficial to learners alone but also to teachers. The collaboration among the teachers helps to improve the effectiveness of the teachers by improving their skills and expertise and turn enhancing the success of the students. References Goulet, L., Krentz, C., & Christiansen, H. (2003). Collaboration in education: The phenomenon and process of working together. Alberta journal of educational research, 49(4), 325-340. Jordan, A., & Stanovich, P. (2001). Patterns of Teacher‐Student Interaction in Inclusive Elementary Classrooms and Correlates with Student Self-Concept.International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, 48(1), 33-52. Musti-Rao, S., & Cartledge, G. (2004). Making home an advantage in the prevention of reading failure: Strategies for collaborating with parents in urban schools. Preventing School Failure: Alternative Education for Children and Youth, 48(4), 15-21. Salgado, Y., Carter, J. A., Hurst, J., & Smith, A. M. (2014). The Teacher Preparation Initiative. Journal of Teaching Effectiveness and Student Achievement, 75. Wong, H. (2003). Collaborating with colleagues to improve student learning.ENC Focus, 11(6), 9. Read More