Early Planning

Christina, my teaching partner, and I met last week to discuss our collaborative project. We decided that we needed a working definition of collaboration. I introduced her to an outgrowth version of Loertcher’s Taxonomy of teacher/ SLMS as presented in Montiel-Overall’s article, Toward a Theory of Collaboration for Teachers and Librarians. I had given Christina a copy of the article earlier in the week. We were both on an equal basis as we began our discussion. We settled on the definition “collaboration as a process in which two or more individuals work together to integrate information in order to enhance student learning.” Collaboration is also based on trust, mutual respect and faith in one another’s teaching skills.

We decided to use Model C: Integrated Instruction, because our unit of study will be an integrated unit using Language Arts as the dominant subject combined with Social Studies focusing on cultural diversity and uniqueness. Because of my interest in travel and perceptions of individual uniqueness, I am struck on diversity and will enjoy sharing my passion with Christina who wants to explore a global world with unique characteristics and values. Christina is doing her Master’s program in Reading and Language Arts and is anxious to use her newly acquired skills to enlighten me. Each of us will be enriched by one another’s talents, and the students will learn to think globally as we work together to bring about a world of peace and understanding. We both believe that knowledge is the key to understanding. Our philosophies are visionary and challenging.

Assessments will be prepared as we use the “Backwards Design Process” that we learned earlier in this course. Then, we will prepare a rubric that covers Language Arts and Social Studies standards. We will place more emphasis on covering Language Arts areas.

We will work on Loertcher’s Taxonomy (Level 8) and see how the elements of collaboration, reading literacy, enhancing learning through technology and information literacy can be presented in our rubric assessment. That will need some co-thinking!

The only roadblocks we have faced so far are time and scheduling.

The blending of both our experiences and backgrounds is overwhelming. We have so much knowledge. We need to narrow our scope.

Our collaboration so far is phenomenal, because we consider ourselves “born teachers,” and we have a passion to go above and beyond the call of duty.

I am anxious to get this project in action within the classroom and library. I anticipate that productive teaching and learning will take place. Christina and I have so much to offer our students. After all, they are the ones we must reach, because they are our future readers and dreamers and leaders.

Pre-Planning

My name is Yvonne Kuhlman. I am a third grade teacher at Long Meadow Elementary in Rochester Community Schools. I am currently pursuing my LIS degree at Wayne State University, and hope to become a School Library Media Specialist (SLMS) upon completion of my degree, I decided to pursue a SLMS degree because of my love of children, literature and technology. 

My collaborating teacher partner is Christina Thompson. Christina is also a third grade teacher in Rochester Community Schools. I have been very blessed to have been able to work with Christina for the past few years. Christina is pursuing her Masters degree in Reading and Language Arts from Oakland University. Christina loves literature and reading, and enjoys teaching reading skills to her third grade students.  

The students that I will have in mind as I design the unit are third graders (8-9 year olds). In a regular education classroom setting composed of twenty-four students (approximately 100 third grade students are in the building). The school is located about thirty miles north of Detroit in a square mile area surrounded by upper-middle class single family homes. Most of the parents are professionals and about fifty percent of the children have two working parents. The students enjoy learning and exhibit a good work ethic, because education is valued in their homes. Our student population come from diverse backgrounds. Diversity is valued in our school system. 

The following is a list of Third Grade benchmarks for Reading Literacy Development in Rochester Community Schools. 

It is expected that most third graders will be at the Expanding Stage of development by the end of the year. 

   The following standards are assessed:

• Uses word recognition strategies
• Uses comprehension strategies
• Recognizes elements of narrative text
• Recognizes elements of informational text
• Reads with fluency and expression
• Is enthusiastic about reading; chooses to read independently

After reviewing recent assessments (i.e. Fountas & Pinnell) administered by Christina, we have decided that the "fluency" standard would be beneficial to the third grade students focus group. During the "Early Planning" blog entry, I am sure that we will have a better idea of the direction we will move in for a successful unit for all involved. We may need to change our original ideas of benchmarks to focus on, or add more to make learning most beneficial for the students.  

We are still trying to decide on Technology Standards that would be most beneficial and attainable for our third grade students. 

Some thoughts that I have about the upcoming collaborative unit: 

Aspirations - I hope to have a profitable time collaborating with Christina. I think that we can learn a lot from each other and benefit from the knowledge that we share with one another. As teachers, we both love children and love our students. We want what is best for them and always have their learning in mind. I think that this unit will not only benefit us, but our students as well. 

Fears - My only fear is that Christina may have an idea to incorporate some type of technology that I may not feel I am an "expert" in. I am still learning a lot about being a media specialist and, may not be able to do something right away. However, I am not afraid to research and ask questions. If Christina has an idea and I am not sure how to go about accomplishing a goal, I will work hard to find out how to achieve that goal. 

Strengths - I am a good listener and will be able to talk and listen to Christina's classroom needs. I am energetic and enthusiastic about teaching and learning. I am a patient, dedicated and hard worker. I will give 110% towards achieving our unit goal!

Weaknesses - I have high expectations for myself and at times this can be stressful. I generally aspire to go above and beyond the call of duty and then this puts added pressure on myself. I have a reflective nature and need time to digest and mull over ideas. At times, this can bother some people who want immediate answers. 

I know that in order for this collaborative unit to be successful. Christina and I have to keep an open line of communication. Communication is vital for success. When I have witnessed unsuccessful LMS/teacher collaborations in the past, usually the downfall was that there wasn't enough communication or someone misunderstood the other person. This will be a learning experience for both my partner and I because we will be collaborating as LMS/teacher roles. We both have to communicate what we would like to see as an end result and I am determined to reach a positive outcome. I will work hard to help achieve this goal.