The Special Educator's Guide to Collaboration 2/e

Sharon F. Cramer is a distinguished service professor at Buffalo State College, where she has been a member of the faculty since 1985. Her leadership roles include serving as executive director of the SABRE Project (implementation of the Oracle Student Information System) (1999-2004), chairing the Exceptional Education Department (1995-1999), and leadership roles in state and national professional organizations (e.g., president of the Northeastern Educational Research Association, NY Federation of Chapters of the Council for Exceptional Children, publication chair of the Division on Developmental Disabilities). She earned her PhD at New York University in 1984 in human relations and social policy, her master of arts in teaching (MAT) from Harvard University in 1972, and her bachelors of arts degree from Tufts University in 1971. She participated in the Management and Leadership Education (MLE) program at Harvard University in 2001.

Preface to the Second Edition Acknowledgments About the Author 1. Why Can't We Just Be Friends? Becoming Proactive: Improving the School Climate Through Collaboration Overview of the Collaboration Project Principals of Collaboration Distinguishing Between Collaboration, Consultation, and Teaming Conclusion 2. Background: Making the Case for Collaboration Legislative Mileposts Collaboration: Relevant Trends and Events Conclusion 3. Ingredients for Successful Collaboration: Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Characteristics Intrapersonal Foundation for Collaboration Interpersonal Foundation for Collaboration Problem Solving: Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Skills Bringing It All Together 4. Evaluating Your Situation Honestly: Appraising Your School as a Context for Collaboration Assessing Resources Available to Collaborators Factors Promoting Collaboration Applications to Use in Your School Setting Communitywide Collaboration Experiments 5. Developing an Effective Collaboration Strategy: Half Empty or Half Full? Collaboration Component Checklists Compatibility Checklist Success Checklist Conclusion 6. Designing a Plan for Change Starting With You Guidelines for the Collaboration Project Designing a Self-Referential Plan for Collaboration Overview of Pragmatic Goals Development of Pragmatic Goals and Objectives Incorporating Expertise: Marshaling Resources 7. What Now? What Works and What Doesn't When Collaborating Effective Communication Strategies: Something for Everyone Accomplishing Pragmatic Goals and Associated Evaluation Methods Making Use of Your Collaboration Resource Network Conclusion 8. Evaluating the Success of Your Plan: How Can You Tell? Objective Measures of Change Subjective Measures of Change Conclusion 9. Self-Encouragement: Keeping Yourself Going Self-Talk: The Cornerstone for Self-Encouragement or Self-Discouragement Looking for the Positives: Positive Reinforcement for Yourself Sample Projects Incorporating Reinforcement Teaching Yourself to Look: Observing Yourself Conclusion 10. Summing Up the Outcomes: What Have You Accomplished? Assessing Success: How Did Your Plan Work Out? Communication Habits Problem-Solving Habits Cooperative Work Efforts Conclusion 11. Generalizing Your Plan to Others: Improved Collaboration With Parents and Family Members of Your Students Key 1: Understanding Family Diversity Key 2: Developing Practical Communication Habits Key 3: Build on What You've Already Learned Conclusion 12. Generalizing Your Plan to Others: Improved Collaboration With Members of Your Interdisciplinary Team The Life Cycle of Your Interdisciplinary Team Additional Use of Teams Conclusion References Index

"The valuable information and numerous strategies and resources make this a must have book for all teachers striving for effective collaborative relationships with others." -- Spencer J. Salend, Professor of Special Education