Date of Award
2004
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Fischler Graduate School of Education and Human Services
Advisor
Paul Borthwick
Committee Member
Mel Coleman
Committee Member
Maryellen Maher
Keywords
academic achievement, classroom management, collegiality, collaboration, collaborative cultures, conflict resolution, cooperation, cross-curricular learning, data-driven instruction, educational change, educational improvement, effective participation, elementary education, learning communities, lesson preparation, middle grades, middle schools, norm setting, organizational climate, organizational culture, organizational effectiveness, partnerships, professional study groups, reading achievement, reading improvement, reading instruction, reading strategies, school collaboration model, school improvement, Secondary Education, student achievement, student learning, teacher collaboration, teacher consultancy, teamwork, team meetings, transform school culture, workday integration
Abstract
This applied dissertation discussed the implementation of a school collaboration model and its effects on reading instruction, academic achievement, and organizational culture in middle grades. The model was designed to present a process that enabled teachers who share a common purpose the opportunity to work together in a supportive, reciprocal, and rewarding relationship. The program was structured into the regular teacher workday.
The model proposed that teachers who are members of a collaborative relationship take the time to understand that knowing themselves is the foundation for understanding and relating to others. A collaborative partnership among teachers and students was essential to enhance academic achievement and student learning. The applied dissertation included the steps a middle school would take in order to transform from highly individualistic to collaborative. The model emphasized protocols for reviewing schoolwide and student data, strategies for use in lesson preparation, norm setting for team meetings, professional study groups, teacher consultancy, classroom management, establishing learning communities, building collaborative cultures, and correlation to the School Improvement Plan. All of these elements were essential and germane to the development of strategies to teach reading. They supported students' ability to analyze, draw conclusions, make predictions, and recognize cross-curricular patterns.
The collaboration model reduced conflict, diffused power, promoted effective participation, and facilitated an abundance of rewards for each individual in the organization by eliminating the competitiveness. The comprehensive collaborative model provided a framework for articulating policies and purposes. The key to reading and school improvement was building partnerships among teachers, which enhanced student learning.