Collaboration between ELL and mainstream teachers in a K-12 setting can be very beneficial to students who are still learning English. It can also promote professional development for teachers. Explore the topic of collaboration through these teachers' perceptions of the benefits and challenges of collaborating. Then look for links to your own experiences and professional goals.

Background

about the teachers and students

about the teachers and students

about the teachers
and students

1. What are the most interesting points the teachers talk about regarding collaboration?
2. Share with each other how collaboration between ELL and mainstream teachers is working in your school.
3. Identify ways collaboration benefits the school community.
4. Are any of the challenges the teachers discuss similar to challenges at your school? If so, how did teachers work to overcome the challenges?
5. Discuss limitations that impact collaboration.
6. What personality traits do these teachers find helpful for a productive collaboration?
7. How do the ELL teachers and the mainstream teachers work together to meet the needs of ELL students at your school?
8. Interview an ELL teacher about this as well as other mainstream teachers. Ask them what they would wish for if they had three wishes regarding collaboration.
9. Brainstorm the personal strengths/weaknesses you would bring to a hypothetical collaboration.
10. What role might collaboration play in your future professional development?
11. Teachers encounter problems frequently. Ms. Terry Fritz talks about instances when collaboration was not entirely productive. When asked how she coped, she talks with her co-teacher and reflects on what went wrong. ("sometimes talking it out helps") Do you see examples of reflective practice such as this in your own setting? How do you think reflective practice will promote your future professional development?
12. If you are an ELL teacher, in what subject area would you seek a collaboration? Why?

1. In the collaborations we have presented, the teachers were able to choose who they work with. If you were not able to choose, what steps would you take to assure a productive collaboration?
   
   Quote from Ms. Natalie Tourtelotte (watch video of quote)
   "For us, it has been very successful, but I think that it's important that people who are collaborating are choosing to collaborate and that they have some voice in who they are collaborating with, forced collaboration is less likely to be successful."
2. Ms. Terry Fritz, an experienced ELL teacher, discusses the need for the ELL teacher to be more aware of the mainstream class demands. She feels that the collaboration helped her understand what her students need to be successful in a mainstream class. (see quote below)
   
   Quote from Ms. Terry Fritz (watch video of quote)
   " [After collaborating] I realize now all that goes into a mainstream class, all that careful planning in a field outside of language…. this year it affected my teaching of English, and then I realized, more in-depth when I should be preparing them for so they would be successful in a mainstream class."
   
   According to this quote, teachers are not aware of what goes on each other's classroom. How will you make time to learn about areas outside of your expertise? How would this benefit your students?
3. Some people believe different academic departments have different cultures, e.g., grading procedures, classroom management, expectations, style of teaching. How might this be an issue when two teachers from different departments collaborate?

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For questions or comments please contact Martha Bigelow mbigelow@umn.edu - 612-624-7087