APSY 651 Final Exam

Running Head: APSY 651 FINAL EXAM

APSY 651 Final Exam By: France Goulard To: Dr. Brent P. Macdonald

APSY 651 Final Exam Role of Collaboration in Childhood Psychopathology Critical Issue Throughout this course I have been particularly interested in the role of collaboration and how it can positively impact the relationship between parents and

professionals by creating a successful partnership. When I first heard about collaboration I thought that it was something that I was already doing. Ive always respected the people Ive worked with including parents, students and the school staff. But like everything else, there is always room for improvements. After reading a lot about the topic, I realized that I wasnt fully collaborating with others; I was being nice, which is part of it, but realized that there is so much more to collaboration. Collaboration is a ten-step process that includes receiving proper training and acquiring proper skills. Its process is recursive where two or more people work together toward an intersection of common goals. It is not something that you can acquire only by theory. Practice plays a major role on how one can be able to collaborate effectively. One of the biggest challenges that I have faced so far is how to collaborate with others when they dont know how to or do not want to? This is a problem I have been faced with at school, mostly with the school staff. Trying to collaborate with others who have decades more experience than me has not been a very easy thing to do. Some teachers feel that they are able to take care of their own classroom problems and receiving advice from a colleague is interpreted more as an insult in regards to there work instead of seeing it as an opportunity to further help a students needs. I feel that in some cases, trying to collaborate with others at my school has created more barriers than anything else. On a personal level, collaboration has also been hard. Having a son with special needs have made me see what its like to be on the parent side of the partnership. It

APSY 651 Final Exam isnt easy receiving results of your childs inability to do certain things or not reaching important milestones. Trying to maintain a positive relationship with someone who is constantly bringing in bad news about your son is very hard to do and my collaboration

skills often get clouded with emotions. I have had great and not so great relationships with some of the professionals helping my child. These experiences has led me to rethink my role as a professional and a mother of a special needs child and how it is important for me to become a great collaborator on regards to both roles. Understanding of the Area Collaboration is an ongoing process that includes getting proper training, skillsacquisition opportunities and requires a set of specialized skills. Someone in the collaborative role requires technical knowledge and sensitivity. Collaboration it not a new idea, it has been around as early as 1956 where a paper done by Szesz and Hollender discussed the mutual participation of patient and physician (Anderson, 1996). In the evolving context of professional practice driven by technological and social change, clients are being forced to take a more active role in the decisions and provisions of professional services (Anderson, 1996). Most researchers agree that teachers in the collaborative role need formal training in consultation (Erchul & Conoley, 1991; Johnston, 1990; Showers, 1990; Thousand & Villa, 1989). An extensive study done by West and Cannon (1988) determined that nine major categories of skills are needed to function as a successful collaborative consultant: (a) a working knowledge of consultation theory and models and the accompanying research; (b) training and practice in consultation; (c) personal characteristics of the consultant; (d) a working knowledge and skill in interactive communication; (e) skills in collaborative problem solving; (f) knowledge of systems

APSY 651 Final Exam change; (g) experience and knowledge in equity issues, values, and beliefs; (h) skills in staff development; and (i) the ability to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions. Furthermore, to effectively educate students with disabilities in general education

classrooms, school staffs would benefit from ongoing, systematic, and meaningful training in collaboration skills (Bradley, 1994). Collaboration is a ten step process that can be condensed into four concise stages (problem identification, data collection and analysis, strategy selection and implementation, and evaluation) that globalize the various tasks of the collaboration process. Here is a in depth explanation of these key stages: Problem identification. This is an essential first step in the collaborative process and the problem needs to be clearly defined in specific observable behaviors. It is important for both parties involved to perceive the problem in a similar way to determine the procedures for solving it. In this stage, a clear statement of the problem should emerge. According to Erchul & Conoley (1991), accurate problem, identification is the best predictor of whether the plan will be implemented. Data collection and analysis. This is the second essential step in the collaborative process and begins when the specifics of the problem are discussed and decided on in the problem-identification stage. The collection of data must be from various sources to obtain numerous perspectives on the problem. Once the results of the data are analyzed, it is more probable that the problem will be more specifically defined. This step creates an opportunity for teachers to share information that they have collected about a particular student. Friend (1984) said that an effective way to gather data is from observations of a student in various school environments. Another effective way would be to have parent interviews. Data collection makes the students assessment more accurate and pinpoints

APSY 651 Final Exam

specific concerns so that all parties involved can select the target behavior(s) for which to plan an intervention and establish a proper measurement procedure. Strategy selection and implementation. This step is crucial in the collaborative process. The interventions used in this stage are referred as the utilization of technical skills (Idol, 1990). West & Idol (1987) explains that staff training must include specific strategies for collaborative consultants to share with teachers. To meet the individual needs of the students in their classrooms, Dugoff, Ives, and Shotel (1985) found that classroom teachers described one of the ideal roles of the resource teachers as working with teachers to provide materials and strategies to meet the individual needs of the students in their classrooms. Other effective instructional practices that are consistently suggested in the literature are: cooperative learning, inductive thinking, peer tutoring, behavior-teaching strategies, problem-solving skills, and metacognitive skills (Bradley, 1994). In order to teach these instructional practices, the collaborating teacher will need to experts in these areas to be able to utilize them in the general education setting. Evaluation. The purpose of an intervention is to help facilitate and improve a childs education. The evaluation stage of the consultation process is to measure the changes occurring and the value of those changes. Experts agree that evaluation is an essential phase of the collaborative process (Bradley, 1994). Friend (1984) reported that general educators indicated that evaluating interventions for effectiveness was a necessary skill for consulting teachers. It is important to note that at any given time, participants in the collaborative process are able to go back to any of the four stages at any point during the process. Also, ensuring that all the four stages are addressed can increase the skill level of those who

APSY 651 Final Exam participate in this process with similar problems in the futures (West & Idol, 1987). Critically analyze After discussing my understanding of the area, I feel it is important to share my

biases and rationales as to why this area is so interesting for me. First and foremost, I have always felt that a strong relationship in any type of partnership is essential to have positive outcomes. This is not just something one must work with in regards to their marriage or kids; it is something that can be applied to everyday life situations. Whether collaboration is used for personal or professional reasons, it is sure to make any situation turn out better. As a mother of a special needs child, I have developed a strong desire to become a better collaborator and to also receive the same treatment by the people involved in my sons treatments and intervention plan. Developing a good relationship with these people will help ease the collaboration process and therefore will help my son get the best treatment plan possible. It is so important to look at the big picture and not just whats in front of you. As much as some steps of the collaborative process are harder than others, it is important to keep in mind that the information gathered will only benefit the child in the end. From my own personal experiences, I have also noticed as a special educator, that by developing good relationship with parents, they seem to be more open about their childs needs and usually give more in depth information and are more willing to collaborate because they feel that their child is in good hands. Those are just a few reasons why I am passionate about the role of collaboration and interested in furthering my knowledge and practice to be able to become a better teacher, mother, and human being. Experiences that has shaped my understanding in regards to the role of collaboration My experiences in this course have helped shaped my understanding in regards to

APSY 651 Final Exam

collaboration in various ways. Doing virtual group work is always good practice because whether we like it or not, collaboration plays a major role. In order to do achieve a good grade it is necessary to create a partnership with your group, to be open to different ideas other than yours, and be extra careful on how you state an opinion especially when youre in a context of disagreement. Also, probably the most frustrating part, is finding a time when everyone in the group is able to meet to assure equal participation and contribution towards the task. To be honest the thing that helped me the most so far in this course was you. More specifically, listening to your comments during our elluminate live session, how well you seem to respond to questions, and how careful you choose your words when talking about various subjects. I have also noticed how you seem to always thank your students when they ask a question (even the bad ones) or give opinions, and how you always seem calm when you are faced with certain issues or problems that come up. So far, I have been amazed on how diplomatic your answers have been and how you always seem to appreciate everyones questions whether they are good or bad. You never seem to be annoyed and make everyone feel comfortable when asking a question or uncertain of a particular task. That is what I want to master and have already started doing by being more patient and accepting of other peoples opinions and thoughts. I have also learned that you dont need to like someone to be able to collaborate with them. It is all about keeping yourself on a professional level and respecting others the way you would want to be respected. Professional plan My professional plan is to take more in depth courses on how to collaborate with others and to put what I have learned into practice. I agree with Bradley (1994) that to

APSY 651 Final Exam

effectively educate students with disabilities in general education classrooms, school staffs would benefit from training in collaboration skills. Thousand and Villa (1990) have found that in-service training establishes a common conceptual framework for special and general educators. The National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities (1981/1988) stated: In-service programs are the principal means through which educational agencies change the interaction between teachers and students p.53 This quote is something I plan to share with my principal and school board. We need to start the training now. The lack of collaboration skills is evident throughout every school board in every province. Therefore there is no time like the present to become knowledgeable in the field of collaboration. One must not assume they already now everything and realize that there is always room for improvement. It is especially important here in Alberta, with the inclusion model being pushed forward that educators receive the right training to become better educators. My professional plan will not only focus on my own development in collaboration but will also focus on sharing some of the information learned in regards to collaboration with my colleagues. Experiences with the topic to date My experience with collaboration to date has been both positive and negative. It has been good in a way that I am more comfortable talking about issues with parents in regards to their child and how it released many barriers that parents had in regards to sharing important information about their child. The challenge has been mainly with other teachers and trying to get them to share their information or to be open to change or recommendations on how to differentiate their teaching methods in order to benefit certain students. I am hoping that this will disappear or get better by providing our school with

APSY 651 Final Exam

some in-service training on collaboration. Hopefully, after the training, more teachers will become aware of its benefits and will have a better understanding on the importance of working with others. This will in turn create a better environment for the school staff and a better learning experience for the students.