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Collaboration: What Exactly Is It?

Many of the current educational reform movements call for increased teacher collaboration. When schools foster a spirit of collaboration and collegiality among teachers, everyone benefits. For teachers, collaboration reduces the isolation of the classroom, provides a forum for new ideas, and establishes coherence in the curriculum so that accomplishments are visible within and across classrooms. Students reap the benefits of a unified academic program and consistent expectations (Little, 1987). Too often, however, "collaboration" only occurs in a superficial way. Teachers may meet briefly for staff or team meetings, but they plan lessons and deal with instructional and management problems individually. Therefore, in order to build collaboration, it is important to gain a better understanding of what it is and how it differs from other types of professional interaction.

The terms networking, coordination, and cooperation are often used interchangeably to mean "collaboration." However, these terms actually reflect different levels of complexity and commitment. They build upon one another in a continuum with collaboration being a synthesis of all three. Let's take a closer look at each term (Himmelman, 1996).

Networking

Networking is defined as the exchange of information for mutual benefit. It is the least formal on the continuum, and it is the quickest and easiest to implement because it does not require working with others beyond the initial exchange of information.
Example: At a team meeting, a group of teachers share the units they plan to teaching during the upcoming month.

Coordination

Coordination is an exchange of information that results in the altering of activities to achieve a common goal. Coordination involves more time, trust, and interaction than networking, but it is an integral part of improving the coherence of the academic program.
Example: At a team meeting, Mrs. Reyes, the science teacher, and Mr. Smith, the language arts teacher, decide that Mr. Smith will teach a lesson on writing a research report at the same time that Mrs. Reyes's students are doing research for their science fair projects.

Cooperation

Cooperation is an exchange of information that results in the altering of activities and a sharing of resources to achieve a common goal. Because cooperating involves sharing both time and resources, it requires more interaction and more trust between or among participants.
Example: Mrs. Reyes and Mr. Smith agree to combine their nonfiction books and reference sources into a "research library" in Mr. Smith's room so that students have access to a variety of materials to use for their reports.

Collaboration

Collaboration is an exchange of information that results in the altering of activities, a sharing of resources, and a commitment to the mutual benefit of all participants in order to achieve a common goal. Collaboration differs from cooperation in that it strives to move beyond greater efficiency to achieve greater effectiveness. Collaboration occurs when all participants are truly interested in helping one another become better at what they do. It involves the greatest commitment of time and resources, but it also has the potential to yield the greatest rewards.
Example: Mrs. Reyes and Mr. Smith create a rubric for evaluating the science fair project as a whole. Then they work together to grade students' projects and plan follow-up lessons based on their observations of students' work.

Summary

As Himmelman points out, networking, coordination, cooperation, and collaboration can all be appropriate for a particular circumstance depending on the level of time and commitment that participants want to commit. However, the time commitment that collaboration involves may be particularly beneficial for teachers. Teachers working together in a spirit of collaboration have the skills, organizations, and resources to deliver a level of instruction that would be beyond the energy and resources of an individual teacher. The accomplishments of an efficient, resourceful group are usually more significant than the accomplishments of individuals (Little, 1987).

References

Himmelman, A. (1996). On the theory and practice of transformational collaboration: Collaboration as a bridge from social service to social justice. In C. Huxham (Ed.), Creating Collaborative Advantage. London: Sage Publishers.

Little, J.W. (1987). Teachers as colleagues. In V. Richardson-Koehler (Ed.), Educators' handbook: A research perspective (pp. 491-510). New York: Longman.