Collaboration in Schools: Let's Define It

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this article is to guide professionals, including speech-language pathologists (SLPs) working in schools and those in academe, to operationally define the type of collaboration they are targeting. As professionals collaborate to support students who struggle with the demands of academic reading, writing, listening, and speaking, it is imperative to differentiate the type of working together necessary to meet the needs of the students they serve. The lack of a definition in research literature and practice is problematic for a variety of stakeholders, including practitioners, administrators/supervisors, professional learning facilitators, university instructors, researchers, and authors of professional literature. The authors offer as an example their work in operationally defining a specific kind of collaboration called “shared-creation collaboration.” They situate shared-creation collaboration on one end of a working-together continuum. Then, they detail why and how they used the conceptual framework of an Innovation Configuration (IC) Map, developed by Hall and Hord (2015), to create an IC Map for SLPs and teachers to use for shared-creation collaboration. Additionally, they offer scenarios to illustrate a range of interactions in which SLPs might engage in schools. Conclusions The SLP/Teacher Shared-Creation Collaboration IC Map and working-together continuum are examples of two tools that can guide school professionals to design and implement working-together practices that match specific purposes and students' needs. However, many configurations of working together are possible and worthwhile; stakeholders can advance the work of assisting learners who struggle by defining their practices specifically.