Spotlight on Support: Collaborator
Collaborator
by Dr. Jeremy Sullivan
In Greek mythology, things didn’t work out too great for Sisyphus, the king who cheated death only to be punished by Zeus for his trickery. As Odysseus recounted in Homer’s The Odyssey, Sisyphus was forced to push a giant boulder to the top of a hill in Hades. Every time he reached the top, the weight of the boulder became too great for one man, and it came rolling back down. Sisyphus would once again have to push the boulder knowing that, in the end, his hard work would amount to nothing.
Teaching can sometimes feel like a Sisyphian task, especially in a year with challenges never experienced before in the classroom. However, unlike Sisyphus, we do not have to labor up that hill alone when things get tough. Collaboration is one of the support functions learning specialists provide for educators throughout our district. Since the word collaborate comes from “co-labor” (Costa & Garmston, p. 12, 2016), educators never have to get the boulder of student learning over the hill on their own.
The beauty of the collaboration support function is the partnership it creates between the learning specialist and the educator they are supporting. The work is grounded in the goal of the educator, and the expertise of both parties is utilized to chart a path towards that goal. Garmston and Wellman (2016) explain, “The teacher and [learning specialist] plan, reflect, or problem solve together. Both are learners, offering ideas, listening deeply to one another, and creating new approaches toward student-centered outcomes.”
When might collaborating with your learning specialist be beneficial? Essentially, anytime a thought partner would help. Whether it is working out a new classroom schedule, planning learning stations, tackling new lessons, or planning major classroom events, meaningful collaboration, grounded in specific goals, can enhance teaching and learning by tapping into a broader spectrum of educator expertise.
So, how might having another brain at the table help you continue to implement powerful learning for your students and/or staff? Your learning specialist is ready to join you at that table whenever needed to ensure the boulder of student achievement reaches the top of the hill and doesn’t come back down.
Costa, A. L. & Garmston, R. J. (2016). Cognitive Coaching: Developing self-directed leaders and learners. Lenham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield.