Bruce 1

Melissa Bruce
SPED 854
Suzanne Robinson
2 November 2015
M1: Personal Philosophy Statement
The readings in this week's module set me on the path of thinking about collaboration as
a style a communication. As I began to think of collaboration in these terms and followed Friend
and Cook's ideas surrounding collaboration it led me to the conclusion of the chapter where the
elements of collaboration are divided into different parts: personal commitment, communication
skills, interaction processes, programs or services, and context. I used these elements to develop
my own philosophy of collaboration. Collaboration is a concerted effort between two or more
individuals who establish a means of communication and work together to reach a common goal.
In order to get this definition I used the concept mapping strategy to give me the key words I
believe are always present in collaboration. Those words were: effort, two or more,
communication, work together, and common goal.
In my opinion one of the most important elements of collaboration is a shared common
goal. This fits into the first factor of collaboration within special education, personal
commitment. I and the people I am working with must be devoted to the student and/or issue we
are collaborating about. Of course as educators we should all have a professional commitment
towards the student, issue in the school, and the professionals we are working with. I believe
there also has to be some sort of personal commitment by each participant as well. It can be the

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parent committed to raising their child; the speech-language pathologist committed to doing their
job to the best of their ability; or the teacher committed to seeing the student advance during the
school year. If each person has a personal interest there will be a deeper investment in making
sure the common goal established is reasonable and achievable. Having a deeper investment also
encourages another element of my definition: effort. Establishing a common goal also makes the
process of communication between the participants easier.
This brings me to the second factor in successful collaboration: communication. I have
been in environments where communication is open and honest about all aspects of the job and I
have been in workplaces where that kind of communication is not welcome. If we are successful
in creating a common goal then it is a way of opening the doors to more communication. Even in
environments where communication seems unwelcome and shut down, if you enter a meeting or
bring up the topic of a shared goal there seems to be a more open door about that specific topic.
The third factor, interaction processes, encompasses the ideas of two or more and
working together. Of course you cannot be collaborative on your own, you need multiple people
involved. My definition included the phrase two or more, but I would hate to see a collaboration
in special education only involving two people on a bigger level. I would expect to see two
people collaborating on a daily basis within the classroom: the teacher and paraprofessional. On
the larger stage, IEP meetings, behavior goal setting, ideally I would like to see every person
who will assist in implementing these procedures or achieving these goals involved in
collaborating about them. This could include the special education teacher, general education
teacher, parent(s), student, SLP, OT, interventionist, out of school services, and/or administration.
In my work I have seen this be a challenge for people and it has been a challenge for me as well.
Sometimes it seems impossible to set up a time where all of these people are available. Some

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years we encounter a student, fellow staff member, or parent we just do not "click" with; but in
those times I find it best to remind myself that working with these people is apart of my job
description. If I want to be successful I must set aside personality issues and focus on the
common goal we share.
When it comes to the final two factors of programs/services and context these can vary
based on the situation. The program or service that the collaboration is occurring really depends
on where you are working. I have taken part in collaboration in school environments and also
clinical environments that have involved the student's school. The context of the collaboration
also depends on the situation. Is it an in the moment decision between those professionals
constantly present in the classroom? Is it is a bigger picture meeting that includes people
involved with the goal? In order for correct context to be met the collaborators must be
practicing the first three factors: commitment, communication, and interaction.
Collaboration is an extremely important concept within the field of education. In order to
engage in successful collaboration you must be practicing the three major factors: commitment,
communication, and interaction. If each member is committed to being open and working
together towards a common goal the correct contexts will be met. The communication must be
occurring between all adults that will be effected by the choices of the collaborative team, this
includes parents and programs or services outside of the student's school day. The members of
the collaborative team must also be committed to working together, putting aside personality
issues and focusing on the common goal and creating an environment where the student can be
successful.