Chapter 3 Building Partnerships Through Collaboration
Multiple Choice
1. Collaboration is best defined as a group of people ____.
a. working in a team that feel their contributions are valued
b. discussing a common issue or concern
c. working together in a collegial manner
d. completing assigned tasks in a shared environment
2. The principal has asked two teachers to work in collaboration to develop grade level curriculum. Both
teachers have been teaching fifth grade across the hall from one another for several years, but they have
very different curricular ideas. The principal has indicated to the teachers, he wants all grade level teams
working together on this. What key element of collaboration is the principal forgetting?
a. It includes shared responsibility.
b. It is emergent.
c. It is voluntary.
d. It is based on parity.
3. Which of the following is not a defining characteristic of collaboration?
a. Each person shares resources.
b. Each person must be able to work with others immediately.
c. Each person must believe all contributions are equally valued.
d. Each person participates in shared goals.
4. Collaboration is based on a belief that values all of the following except ____.
a. shared decision making
b. trust
c. power
d. respect
5. General education teachers who engage in collaborative efforts realize that such efforts ____.
a. require the same amount and level of work from everyone in the collaborative team
b. are easy to accomplish and stimulating to all the members of the collaborative team
c. foster a sense of shared decision making, trust and respect among participants
d. are significantly less time consuming since all team members are sharing and participating
6. Teachers who are willing to engage in collaborative efforts must first be willing to ____.
a. reflect on their personal belief system
b. engage their students in collaborative groups
c. demand that their colleagues work in teams
d. compromise about education practices
7. In order for collaborative efforts to work effectively, members of a collaborative team must ____.
a. agree on every aspect of their common goal
b. ensure the group’s initial vision is maintained
c. debate each critical issue thoroughly
d. develop tolerance of other member’s beliefs
8. To be an efficient member of a collaborative team, a teacher must have excellent communication skills,
which includes all of the following except____.
a. listening
b. resolving conflict
c. paralanguage
d. speaking in a non-threatening way
9. One example of a work environment that supports collaboration is ____.
a. district support
b. time to prepare lessons
c. arranged shared planning time
d. extra compensation
10. When proposing solutions in shared problem solving, collaborative teams often use brainstorming, which is
based on the notion that ____.
a. the quality of ideas is more important than quantity
b. judgment of ideas should be suspended
c. everyone at the meeting must share at least one idea
d. only creative ideas should be generated by team members
11. The most critical step of the shared problem solving process is ____.
a. proposing solutions
b. evaluating ideas
c. identifying the problem
d. discovering a shared need
12. The step of the shared problem solving process in which the collaborative team considers whether an idea
is feasible and will resolve the problem is ____.
a. evaluating outcomes
b. planning specifics
c. proposing solutions
d. evaluating ideas
13. Planning specifics when engaged in shared problem solving requires collaborative team participants to do
all of the following except____.
a. develop a timeline for task completion
b. brainstorm possible solutions to the problem
c. decide who will be responsible for tasks
d. identify major tasks that need to be done
14. When teachers regularly engage in the steps of shared problem solving, they find that the steps ____.
a. lead immediately to simple solutions
b. easily lead to solutions that work
c. support truly collaborative efforts
d. minimize the time spent on problem solving
15. The co-teaching approach in which two teachers take turns, with one leading the lesson and the other
gathering data to improve instructional decisions is called ____.
a. station teaching
b. one teach, one rotate
c. one teach, one observe
d. alternative teaching
16. In alternative teaching, the occasional use of small groups is appropriate for all of the following options
except ____.
a. elaboration
b. remediation
c. pre-teaching
d. enrichment
17. The co-teaching method that increases the student’s opportunity for participation in responses to teacher
questions is ____.
a. alternative teaching
b. parallel teaching
c. station teaching
d. team teaching
18. The co-teaching approach in which both teachers are equally engaged and share leadership is known as
____.
a. parallel teaching
b. team teaching
c. alternative teaching
d. one teach, one drift
19. In order for co-teaching to be most effective, teachers must ____.
a. put the students into homogeneous groups
b. have one teacher consistently take the lead
c. choose an approach aligned to their teaching style
d. let the curriculum guide the choice of approach
20. Which of the following is not a role team members must assume?
a. personal
b. professional
c. individual
d. team
21. Success of teams ultimately depends upon the ____.
a. commitment of the members
b. training of the members
c. homogeneity of the members
d. various roles undertaken by the members
22. When developing task goals, team members should remember to be ____.
a. general and overarching
b. clear and explicit
c. revising them frequently
d. consistent and organized
23. Maintenance goals include all of the following except ____.
a. checking perceptions of team effectiveness
b. finishing agenda items
c. beginning and ending meetings on time
d. improving individual communication skills
24. In consulting, teachers seek the help of another professional with specific expertise so that the professional
is able to ____.
a. become a member of a multidisciplinary team
b. form a reciprocal relationship
c. assist the teacher carry out strategies
d. assist the teacher needing the benefit of their expertise
25. Compared to the professional requesting help, the consultant should always be ____,
a. more knowledgeable about the area of concern
b. as knowledgeable about the area of concern
c. more knowledgeable about most special education issues
d. as knowledgeable about most special education issues
26. Which of the following steps in the consulting process must come before the others?
a. The consultant observes in the classroom.
b. A timeline for implementing strategies established.
c. The teacher indicates a concern.
d. Problem solving options are discussed.
27. To view a situation from another person’s perspective is ____.
a. family-centered practice
b. collaboration
c. frame of reference
d. parity
28. In understanding a parent’s perspective on their child’s disabilities, a teacher’s experience can prepare
him/her ____.
a. to understand exactly how parents feel
b. in no way to understand how parents feel
c. to communicate their own beliefs
d. to listen to the parent’s discussion of the child’s strengths
29. Which of the following is not an emotion parents typically feel when they learn of their child’s disability?
a. grief
b. anger
c. ambivalence
d. optimism
30. When working collaboratively with parents, teachers should try all of these except ____.
a. engage in shared problem solving
b. establish regular, consistent interactions
c. participate in home visits to resolve conflicts
d. involve parents in monitoring their child’s learning
31. Teachers can foster more a positive parental reaction to information regarding their child’s disability by
____.
a. telling them only best-case scenarios
b. sparing them details of insignificant behavioral incidents
c. being sensitive to various emotions the parent may experience
d. being honest and succinct when informing them
32. During an initial parent-teacher conference, the teacher should focus on the goal of ____.
a. establishing a two way exchange of information with the parent
b. telling the parent all you know about their child
c. gaining information about the child’s home life
d. determining expected outcomes in the IEP
33. After a parent-teacher conference, it is important for teachers to complete each of the following except
____.
a. share the details of the conference with the special education teacher
b. write a note to the parents confirming the decisions you made
c. schedule a meeting with your principal
d. document the key points of the meeting in writing for future reference
34. One fundamental problem a teacher faces in their working relationships with paraprofessionals is that ____.
a. paraprofessionals often lack experience working with students
b. teachers often lack experience supervising others
c. teachers have no control over interactions between paraprofessionals and students
d. paraprofessionals are able to make most instructional decisions without the teacher
35. The individual most responsible for seeing that the paraprofessional has adequate understanding of
established classroom expectations is the ____.
a. consultant
b. special education teacher
c. general education teacher
d. building administrator
36. According to the guidelines for effective teamwork with paraprofessionals, how often should a teacher
discuss goals, priorities and plans?
a. daily
b. before each lesson
c. at the beginning of each grading period
d. weekly
37. Teachers can expect paraprofessionals to assume all of the following tasks except ____.
a. record keeping
b. working with small groups
c. developing lessons
d. setting up materials for a lesson
38. Which of the following is not a necessary guideline for developing effective teacher-paraprofessional
teams?
a. coordinating activities to increase what can be accomplished
b. asking paraprofessionals for ideas, suggestions and opinions
c. avoiding interrupting paraprofessionals when they are engaged with students
d. including the paraprofessional in multidisciplinary meetings
39. Because of the nature of the teacher-paraprofessional partnership, collaboration ____.
a. is impossible and unnecessary
b. should be limited to the extent possible
c. can take the form of co-teaching
d. may sometimes occur in shared problem solving
40. Positive ongoing collaboration between a teacher and paraprofessional is dependent upon ____.
a. the needs of the student
b. clear communication
c. the level of collegiality
d. shared philosophies of teaching
True/False
1. Teachers may divide work to be completed in a collaborative effort, as long as they share decision making
about the activities and overall effort.
2. Since a collaborative team must share responsibility in making decisions that guide their efforts, individual
members cannot be held accountable for such efforts that don’t succeed.
3. Collaboration cannot be effective if teachers offer constructive criticism.
4. Shared problem solving sometimes occurs informally between general and special education teachers.
5. Building in additional planning time is not necessary when working collaboratively.
6. Co-teaching, teaming and consultation are all specialized types of shared problem solving.
7. Experts emphasize asking someone to restate the problem is of no benefit to the participants.
8. The one teach, one assist method of co-teaching enables one professional to collect data that can be used in
instructional decisions.
9. In alternative teaching, the small group should typically be used only for remediation.
10. Team roles can be both formal and informal
11. Task goals are much more important to a team’s effective functioning than maintenance goals.
12. In consulting, it is assumed that the consultant’s experience will give the teacher insight into solving the
problem.
13. Consultation and collaboration have the same purpose.
14. Consultation is most effective when based on principle of collaboration.
15. It is impossible for teachers to understand a family’s perspective of life with a child with special needs
solely from the teacher’s classroom experiences with the child.
16. Family-centered practices are built upon the premise that students are best served when the perspective of
the family is represented and respected by school personnel.
17. Typically, if parents aren’t actively involved in decision making about their child’s educational needs, it is
because the parents are apathetic.
18. Because of the nature of the teacher-paraprofessional relationship, teachers need not worry that the tasks
they assign paraprofessionals might waste the time or hinder the performance of the paraprofessional.
19. Teachers need to explicitly inform paraprofessionals when the matter they are discussing is not a
collaborative matter.
20. If a paraprofessional hovers over a student with a disability, he/she may hinder the development of social
relationships between the student and peers.
Short Answer
1. Explain what is meant by ‘discover a shared need.’
2. In shared problem solving, what steps would be taken to ‘identify the problem’?
3. ‘Purpose solution’ in the problem solving process refers to?
4. When evaluating ideas during the problem solving process the team would?
5. ‘Plan specifics’ includes two steps in the problem solving process. Explain each step.
6. There are the two major components of ‘implement solution’ in the problem solving process. Provide an
explanation of one example?
7. Explain the co-teaching method, ‘station teaching.’ Include the specific role of each teacher in your
response.
8. Explain the difference between ‘station teaching’ and ‘parallel teaching.’
9. Discuss how a teacher would implement ‘alternative teaching’ in their classroom.
10. Explain the major role of the second teacher when utilizing the ‘one teach, one observe’ co-teaching
method.
11. Explain parity as it applies to collaboration.
12. Explain what is meant by ‘collaboration is emergent.’
13. Tolerance is important in collaborative efforts. Provide one example of how you could apply this principle
to fostering a positive working relationship with your special education colleagues.
14. Explain ‘paralanguage’ as it applies to collaboration.
15. ‘Evaluating ideas’ during the collaborative process would include a decision sheet. Provide one example of
a statement found on a decision sheet that would be appropriate for a student having difficulty working
independently.
16. Explain the role of each teacher in the co-teaching option ‘teaming.’
17. Explain two elements of ‘successful teams’ according to your text.
18. Describe two characteristics of your ‘personal role’ as the general education teacher participating in a
collaborative team.
19. Explain the role of the consultant in the consultation problem-solving process.
20. Explain two examples found in your text regarding how you can make a parent feel welcome in your
classroom.
Essay
1. You have been working as a sixth-grade teacher for the past three years. Your principal has been talking
with you about her desire to develop collaborative teams and has asked you to ‘describe collaboration’ to
your colleagues at the next faculty meeting. Explain how you will describe the seven characteristics of
collaboration, as identified in the textbook.
2. How does working collaboratively affect teachers? Your response should include the impact on personal
beliefs and interaction skills, as well as issues of school environment.
3. How can shared problem solving be used to build meaningful collaboration in schools? Your response
should include the seven steps identified in your textbook.
4. Miss Justice, a general education teacher, and Mrs. Earle, a special education teacher, work together in a
sixth-grade ‘inclusion’ classroom. During the course of the day, the teachers share a home room in which
language arts are taught. The students also ‘rotate’ with other sixth graders for math, social studies and
science. Describe two co-teaching options Miss Justice and Mrs. Earle could implement.
5. Describe the difference between ‘consulting’ and ‘shared problem solving.’ Your response should include
the various steps for each strategy.
6. You are having a conference with Jerome’s father tomorrow regarding Jerome’s progress in controlling his
disruptive behavior. This is the first meeting since initiating a behavior management plan developed by
you and Jerome’s father at your last conference. What should you do to prepare for the conference
tomorrow?
7. Mrs. Foster, the paraprofessional in your class, works primarily with Jason, a student with Down syndrome.
Recently, Mrs. Foster has begun to hover over Jason and has become protective of Jason when he is
interacting with his peers. Describe your responsibilities in working with a paraprofessional as they would
apply to Mrs. Foster.
8. The inclusion model offers many opportunities for special education and regular education teachers to
share responsibility. Identify and explain three areas of shared responsibility.
9. Discuss the components and importance of ‘maintenance goals.’
10. Your textbook provides information regarding ‘suggestions for fostering positive working relationships
with immigrant parents of students.’ Recently, Enrico, a transfer student from Mexico has joined your 5th–
grade math class. Explain how you could apply three of the suggestions described in your text.
Chapter 3
Multiple Choice
True/False
Short Answer
Essay
