About the Book
"An all-in-one book—a lighthearted and well grounded introduction to collaboration, how it can improve education for all children, and its role in effectively educating students with special needs. Murawski and Spencer tell it like it is, and they do so with humor and straight talk."
—Lynne Cook, Professor, School of Education
California State University, Dominguez Hills
"As a kid who struggled in school, this is the book that I wish every one of my teachers had read. It is a stunning achievement and huge step forward to making all schools inclusive of all learners!"
—Johnathan Mooney, Author, The Short Bus: A Journey Beyond Normal
Collaboration 101 for teachers, parents, and school communities
Teachers in both general and special education classrooms are being asked to collaborate to give all students access to the general education curriculum. The challenge is that teachers receive very little training in how to work together to educate students successfully. Do you wonder how to get started, how much time it will take, and what the results will be? Collaborate, Communicate, and Differentiate! addresses those issues and more, taking collaboration out of the abstract and supplying easy-to-use strategies that apply to daily tasks such as
Planning and differentiating instruction
Communicating with families
Using Universal Design for Learning to form instruction
Assessing students with diverse backgrounds and abilities
Co-teaching
Coordinating with all staff members
This reader-friendly text ties each strategy to the goal of improving student outcomes. Included are vignettes, In a Nutshell and Eye on the Research quick-reference guides, reproducible forms, Principal Points to share with administrators, and a companion website. Educators who have wondered how to make collaboration reasonable, feasible, and time-efficient will find the answers in this book!
Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
Introduction
1. Understanding the Historical Context
2. Unscrambling the Range of Settings and Services
3. Improving Student Outcomes by Working in Teams
4. Improving Collaboration Through Powerful Communication
5. Proactively Planning and Differentiating Instruction
6. Modifying and Accommodating to Reactively Address Student Needs
7. Improving Student Learning Through Co-Teaching
8. Collaboratively Planning and Assessing
9. Addressing Conflict and Engaging in Problem Solving
10. Creating a Collaborative School Culture
References
Index
Appendices on the Internet (http://www.corwin.com/diverseschools)
Appendix I. UDL Lesson Plans
Appendix II. Instructional Strategies
Appendix III. Examples of Adapted Work
Appendix IV. Adaptive Products and Services
Appendix V. Student Profile Sheet
Appendix VI. Co-Teaching Lesson Plans
Appendix VII. What/How/Who Co-Planning Format
About the Author :
Wendy W. Murawski, Ph.D., MBA, MEd, EdS, is the Executive Director and Eisner Endowed Chair for the Center for Teaching and Learning at California State University, Northridge (CSUN), where she is also a Full Professor in the Department of Special Education and the Director of SIMPACT Immersive Learning. Dr. Murawski is the national Past President of the Teacher Education Division (TED) of CEC and an internationally known speaker and author, presenting in Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America. Her research focuses on co-teaching and inclusive practices nationally and internationally. She has published extensively around inclusive education, co-teaching, collaboration, and Universal Design for Learning, to include 18 books and numerous chapters, blogs, and peer-reviewed articles. She is the CEO of 2TeachÒ Global (www.2TeachLLC.com), an educational consulting company dedicated to promoting inclusive education around the world. In her personal life, Wendy enjoys traveling with her husband, learning languages, reading, drinking merlot, seeing movies, going to Book Club, visiting her college-bound son Kiernan, and pretending she is going to work out.
Sally Spencer, Ed.D. is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Special Education at California State University, Northridge, where she teaches courses in assessment, special education teaching methods, reading instruction, and collaborative processes. Prior to that, she was a special education teacher for the Los Angeles Unified School District, where she experienced the joys and challenges of collaboration as a teacher of self-contained special education classes, as a resource specialist, and as a co-teacher in a fully-inclusive elementary school. In 2001 she was awarded Outstanding Special Educator of the year by the Southern California branch of the Council for Exceptional Children, and her heart is still in the classroom with the hundreds of students who touched her life and taught her everything she knows about special education. Sally is a presenter nationally on the subject of teaching reading to students with mild to moderate disabilities, and is published in the areas of reading instruction, collaboration and inclusion. She lives in Northridge, CA, with her husband, three dogs and six birds.
Review :
“Collaborate, Communicate, and Differentiate is an accessible and engaging resource that could serve equally well for teacher training programs as well as for use in professional learning communities. The authors conversationally address the most important skill sets required of educators in 21st century schools, providing compelling rationales and numerous examples from the field. Other beneficial features include essential questions and the In a Nutshell, In Practice, and Eye on the Research sections. The appendices are extensive and highly useful for practitioners. I predict the book will be dog-eared, flagged, highlighted, and often loaned.”
"An all-in-one book—a lighthearted and well grounded introduction to collaboration, how it can improve education for all children, and its role in effectively educating students with special needs. Murawski and Spencer are accomplished classroom teachers and teacher educators who share their expertise and enthusiasm as they provide key approaches to collaboration as a method for achieving critical goals for diverse learners. They tell it like it is, and they do so with humor and straight talk."
"Collaborate, Communicate, and Differentiate invites and prepares educators to insightfully dive into today’s classrooms. Its informal tone is backed up with applicable research and practical ideas that walk the collaborative talk!"
"I plan to give Murawski’s book to my first-year teachers because it covers all subjects, not just special education, and helps teachers in all interactions with students. This is not a ′one-time, sit-down and read′ book. It will become a well-used resource thanks to its support and easy-to-locate information."
"As a kid who struggled in school, this is the book that I wish every one of my teachers had read. It is a stunning achievement and huge step forward to making all schools inclusive of all learners!"
"This book is a great tool for learning methods for increasing student success. The research-based ideas are clearly explained. The authors’ writing style makes the topics enjoyable and easy to access. I am energized and excited to try out new strategies after reading this book."
"Murawski and Spencer provide practical ideas in a clever and engaging format. Collaborate, Communicate and Differentiate! is a great resource for preservice and inservice teachers who want to increase their toolkits with practical ideas. The authors help educators understand a range of topics. The book provides quick and easy strategies for teachers to use immediately in their practice including co-teaching, planning, differentiation, learning, and assessment. The content will enrich the practice of teachers at all levels."
“Once again Wendy Murawski has produced a practical tool to enable educators to provide success to all students. Reading through the book I found myself saying out loud. “That’s right! That’s what administrators need to know; that’s what teachers need to know; that’s what parents need to know…and here’s how you do it.” The insightful, down-to-earth, and jargon free explanations will leave educators believing they have taken the first steps toward successful collaboration. I am eager to provide this resource to the leaders (administrators and teachers) in my school division where I am confident it will be embraced as enthusiastically as Dr. Murawski’s previous works.”
