Collaboration Practices: What NOT to do

Collaboration is something that all special education teachers must practice at some point throughout their careers. Future educators must therefore prioritize collaboration and develop the skills they need to successfully collaborate with others. This chapter explores collaboration practices that teachers can utilize so that they can support their students effectively.

Effective Collaboration: the Research^[1]

The Council for Exceptional Children partnered with the CEEDAR Center to publish a set of high-leverage (very effective) practices in special education in 2023. One of the key areas they covered was collaboration.

A causal relationship exists between effective collaboration practices and improved student outcomes (Ronfeldt et al., 2015). In order for effective collaboration to occur, communication skills are needed, as collaborators’ verbal and nonverbal skills largely define whether collaboration can occur. Some things that promote a perception of collaboration include relatively equal amounts of talk by collaborators, the use of words that suggest instead of advise, and the interplay of who structures the flow of the interaction and who influences its content (Erchul et al., 1999). An additional element of collaboration is trust, and qualitative research indicates that trust is a facilitator for collaboration because it enables participants to communicate clearly, even on topics that might be considered sensitive (Hallam et al., 2015).

Collaboration is not just about soft skills, though. Preparation and organization are fundamental to successful collaborations, particularly for Individualized Education Program (IEP) teams. A research study exploring the mid-pandemic experiences of parents on IEP teams found that parents felt empowered and participated equitably on the IEP team when they were given key documents ahead of time, which included clear instructions for when and how to participate (and assistance with any technologies employed for the meeting), and an agenda that is followed during the meeting (Guerrero et al., 2023).

Another key factor in successful IEP meetings is how conflict is resolved. One study found that 90% of conflicts in IEP meetings were due to differences in opinion between parents and educators regarding the student’s needs and how those were being met. These disagreements can be heightened by perceptions of decision-making power, expertise, or past conflict between IEP team members (Lake & Billingsley, 2000). While not every IEP team experiences conflict, many will. Knowing not just the legal process for conflict resolution but approaches that can de-escalate conflict before it goes to mediation or a due process hearing can make all the difference for a student’s learning experience.

Improving Control, Inclusion, and Affection on an IEP Team

The next section of the module will provide guidance regarding specific practices that can help future teachers build trust, collaborate equitably, prepare IEP team members for organized and effective meetings, and manage conflict legally, ethically, and with the student’s best interests as the first priority.

High-Leverage Practices in Special Education

Building Relationships

As you begin to collaborate with others, you will begin to notice things about them, but outside of these interactions, it is also helpful to understand their histories, cultures, experiences, and needs, as knowing these things will make a huge difference in the relationship. All too often, educators impose their own implicit expectations and practices on others, thereby creating the conflicts described in the Self-Discrepancy Theory. One parent shared in a study that their child “needs to be recognized as an individual, with individual strengths and abilities. . . [Instead, school officials] were interested in keeping him where they thought he belonged” (Lake et al., 2000). It is not just about getting to know the parents and student, either; it is equally as important for the education professionals on the IEP team to get to know each other, as they might not know each other prior to the formation of their team. If the LEA representative and the classroom teacher are not on the same page, frustrations can mount over what each believes the other will or can do.

Drawing from what has been covered already, here are some ways special education teachers can build relationships and trust while collaborating with an IEP team.

• Self-disclose. Create a warm welcome video that offers self-disclosure, making it easier for others to take the risk of offering their own self-disclosure. You might place this on a school website and include the link in communications with the IEP team.
• Ask questions. When formulating an IEP team, create a brief set of open-ended questions inviting each participant to self-disclose. Be sure you allow them room to choose what and how much they feel comfortable sharing. This can be an excellent jumping-off point at the first live meeting: “How’s your dog Trixie doing? She sounds like a wonderful part of your child’s life!” When you affirm that you truly see another person as an individual, you demonstrate affection, which meets a key need in interpersonal communication.
• Reflect on what you do and do not know. What do you know about each team member’s cultural dimensions? Their environmental systems? Although identifying what you do know ahead of time is useful, it can be just as helpful to identify what you do not know. This allows you to exercise caution in your communication choices, making it easier to pick up on clues that can fill in those blanks as the relationship develops.
• Practice empathy. Unlike sympathy, empathy allows us to see things from other people’s perspectives. Imagine what it might be like to be an IEP team member, including the child’s perspective. What steps are needed to ensure that conversations go smoothly?
• Mirror others’ practices. If you can do so without seeming inauthentic, identify preferred behaviors from other team members that you might practice to put them at ease. Does the LEA representative typically greet people with a firm handshake, eye contact, and a smile? Maybe another participant’s body language suggests physical contact would be unwelcome; mirror their greeting practice when you greet them, then shake the LEA representative’s hand.

Organizing for Collaboration

Families are rarely familiar with the special education process the first time they become part of an IEP team. To help ensure they understand the process, be sure to do the following:

• Use plain language. There are several reasons why using legal jargon or terminology specific to education can be problematic for your IEP team. Some team members may have a different first language than yours; others may have a different literacy level or simply be unfamiliar with the terminology used in special education. Here is a guide to help identify how to use plain language: Using Plain Language for Effective Communication with Parents.
• Provide information ahead of time. In a study exploring IEP team experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, parents overwhelmingly pointed to the provision of information (testing, prior IEPs, teacher feedback, etc.) as one of the most helpful practices in empowering them to participate fully on an IEP team (Guerrero et al., 2023). When team members are forced to process information while being asked to offer opinions and make decisions, the team cannot perform as effectively.
• Follow an agenda. Transparency around what is going to happen, along with confidence that no surprises will pop up, ensure that every team member is able to follow along and be prepared for each part of the meeting.
• Use equitable speaking practices. Research suggests that even distribution of talk time between team members, using language that suggests rather than directs, and shared control over meeting topics improves team member perceptions about how collaborative the team environment is, thereby increasing trust and improving communication (Erchul et al., 1999).

Watch this video for more pointers on improving collaboration by being organized and prepared for an IEP meeting.

How Can You Include a Student in Their IEP Meeting?

Rethinking Conflict

Even if you have an excellent relationship with the rest of the IEP team and have practiced transparency throughout your work together, there will still be times when IEP team members disagree. Disagreements are not necessarily bad, as they indicate that team members are comfortable sharing their perspectives. Sometimes disagreements can even lead to better alternatives for the student, as new ideas may emerge. Even if the disagreement includes some negative feelings between team members, it does not have to end up in a formal, time-consuming, and expensive legal proceeding.

Here are some practices you can try when a conflict arises, adapted from Lake and Billingsly’s study of common causes of conflict in IEP teams that resulted in formal conflict resolution (Lake & Billingsly, 2000).

• Don’t try to “win.” Approaching a conflict with the belief that there must be a winner and a loser is a recipe for conflict escalation, as this perspective tends to lead people to devalue their perceived opponent personally, seek opportunities to wield power, and dismiss compromise solutions. Constructive conflict can result in all parties feeling like they have achieved their goals.
• Consider the needs beneath the conflict. Discrepancies between what a family believes their child needs and what school officials believe the student needs are often less about who is right and more about perspective. Listen for what needs are being expressed, then seek ways to meet those needs as part of a compromise solution.
• Have an open mind. Lake and Billingsly noted the tendency for educators to resist creative service delivery options that parents found elsewhere and suggested for the student. One mediator who had seen this scenario many times shared: “[I]t’s an error to say we don’t do that or we’re not going to provide that. . . [T]ry to think of your negotiation without walls, without artificial boundaries between what you can do and what you can’t do.” Essentially, they are saying that conflict, if handled constructively, can result in innovation and even better learning outcomes for the student.

If you are looking for additional resources about collaboration, the Edutopia article IEP: Students Benefit When We Collaborate evokes several of the practices listed above, while offering mindsets both educators and families can use to make the most of their partnerships on an IEP team. Ultimately, special education’s first priority is supporting a student’s learning journey. Entering collaborative relationships with that priority in mind makes all the difference.

When Conflict Cannot Be Resolved Within an IEP Team

Conclusion

Special education collaborators are as varied as the students supported by special education services. Therefore, it is necessary to establish relationships, ensure transparency by providing timely information and consistency with the process, and seek opportunities to make conflicts constructive to ensure special education collaborations are successful. This module explored communication theories and models that can be applied to your own collaborations, as well as high-impact strategies that you can use to ensure that your collaborations are effective for the students you are serving.

Identifying Effective Collaboration Practices

References

Allen, R. (2020). Ensuring equity: Engaging families using culturally responsive practices. Keynote address for National Parent Center Capacity Building Conference, Center for Parent Information and Resources.

Erchul, W. P., Sheridan, S. M., Ryan, D. A., Grissom, P. F., Killough, C. E., & Mettler, D. W. (1999). Patterns of relational communication in conjoint behavioral consultation. School Psychology Quarterly, 14, 121–147. doi:10.1037/h0089001

Guerrero, B., Hayes, L., O’Shea, R., Wiedemann, K. D., & Bowen, L. (2023). Lessons learned from IEP meeting experiences of parents and school professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Educational Research and Innovation, 11(1)

Hallam, P. R., Smith, H. R., Hite, J. M., Hite, S. J., & Wilcox, B. R. (2015). Trust and collaboration in PLC teams: Teacher relationships, principal support, and collaborative benefits. NASSP Bulletin, 99, 193–216. doi:10.1177/0192636515602330

Lake, J. F., & Billingsley, B. S. (2000). An analysis of factors that contribute to parent-school conflict in special education. Remedial and Special Education, 21(4), 240-256. https://doi.org/10.1177/074193250 002100407

McLeskey, J., Barringer, M-D., Billingsley, B., Brownell, M., Jackson, D., Kennedy, M., Lewis, T., Maheady, L., Rodriguez, J., Scheeler, M. C., Winn, J., & Ziegler, D. (2017, January). High-leverage practices in special education. Arlington, VA: Council for Exceptional Children & CEEDAR Center.

Ronfeldt, M., Farmer, S. O., McQueen, K., & Grissom, J. A. (2015). Teacher collaboration in instructional teams and student achievement. American Educational Research Journal, 52, 475–514. doi:10.3102/0002831215585562.