Effective Collaboration at the School and District Levels Chapter Two Effective Collaboration at the School and District Levels © 2016 Taylor & Francis

In This Chapter You Should: 1. Identify similarities and differences in continuing teams and ad hoc teams at the school and district levels 2. Explain how to organize effective meetings 3. Explain how to facilitate effective meetings © 2016 Taylor & Francis

School and District Collaborative Teams Continuing teams focused on ongoing tasks that schools and districts must contend with yearly. Ad hoc teams organized when a need arises and are focused on a particular issue that is not typically ongoing. What creates a high-performing and successful team? © 2016 Taylor & Francis

Advantages and Disadvantages to Teams Broad perspectives/diverse points of view Teams can be time consuming and difficult to schedule Members learn more about how decisions are made at the school and district levels “Group think” can occur causing members to get along with other members Better informed decisions can be made Prone to riskier decisions or interventions as one individual does not have to assume responsibility A culture of collaboration and commitment can be formed Group polarization can cause others to perceive unfairness in team decisions Morale can be increased and greater participation in decision making tends to mediate some disagreements The logistics of organizing teams can be difficult, particularly ad hoc teams © 2016 Taylor & Francis

Organizing Teams Identifying the team members Identifying the roles of team members Identifying the specific task(s) to be addressed Identifying outcomes for the team to deliver Identifying methods for evaluating the success of the collaboration for achieving the outcomes © 2016 Taylor & Francis

Facilitating Effective Teams A good facilitator should: Know who to invite to the meeting Develop an agenda for the meeting Make sure everyone knows the time and location of meetings Establish the rules for the team process Be authentic Be capable of dealing with difficult people who are members of the team or interested observers © 2016 Taylor & Francis

Facilitating Effective Teams After a meeting, a good facilitator will: Follow up to make sure that decisions are being implemented Guarantee actions are being taken or information is being distributed Ensure the team process/meeting is evaluated for effectiveness and how the team might be improved upon © 2016 Taylor & Francis