Collaborative Theory Research Articles

Working together: why language policies of international schools must evolve to incorporate collaborative strategies between EAL and the mainstream

This article arises from a research study that aimed to contribute to a better understanding of the essential nature of collaborative relationships between English as an Additional Language (EAL) and mainstream subject teachers at an international secondary school in Ukraine. The research focuses on how EAL teachers support EAL learners in the mainstream classroom through collaborative practices. The article draws on qualitative data from interviews and field notes with Language & Literature, Science and EAL teachers. The interviews investigated how EAL and mainstream collaboration help support EAL learners in the mainstream classroom, and which co-planning strategies most effectively encourage collaboration, as well as EAL and mainstream teachers’ views and experiences about co-planning and working collaboratively. Arising from these data, discussion focuses on the disconnect between collaboration in theory and in practice. The article concludes that although effective collaborative strategies often exist, school language policies need to include scheduled collaborative planning time between EAL and the mainstream, and that professional development for mainstream teachers should be led by EAL teachers in order to foster more balanced content and language classroom teaching.

How to create functioning collaboration in theory and in practice – practical experiences of collaboration when planning public transport systems

The creation of an efficient public transport system increasingly requires collaboration between independent organizations. Institutional reforms in Europe have created governance situations where collaboration between organizations is a critical issue, and examples include the integration of transport and land-use planning and the planning of large public transport projects. The organizational context of public transport, with several formal, discrete organizations that need to collaborate, raises questions about how functioning collaborations can be accomplished. This paper examines how to create functioning collaboration between organizations in the public transport sector. We depart from a theory of collaboration as a stepwise trust-building process, and we present results from a comparative case study of collaboration in two Swedish public transport projects. The results show some of the prerequisites that must be in place in order for the collaboration to work, but also the boundaries of what collaborative approaches can bring about. Conditions such as honest, open, and inclusive dialog between stakeholders and resources in the form of finance, knowledge, mandate, and leadership are important. While there is no guarantee that this will lead to differences in interests being resolved, the results indicate that it improves the chances of finding compromises that all of the involved stakeholders can accept, especially if favorable conditions for collaboration are established at an early stage of the planning process. Building on these findings, we suggest some practical recommendations for improving collaboration in future public transport projects. These practical recommendations are aimed at improving the handling of unavoidable conflicts in collaboration in a constructive way.

Networking, collaboration, and home brewing: An exploratory study

This exploratory study contributes to the academic leisure literature, examining perceived benefits from and barriers to networking and collaboration among home brewers, employing social exchange theory (SET) and the theory of collaboration (TOCL). Sharing basic knowledge of recipes, camaraderie, and mutual support in home brewing activities were main perceived benefits, and lack of time and geographic isolation challenges of networking. Quality improvements, gains in strategic knowledge, and learning alongside others were key beneficial outcomes from collaboration; again, lack of time, and perceptions of giving more than receiving from collaboration, were main perceived challenges. Alignments between various tenets of the theories and the findings were revealed, for instance, concerning value, reward, outcome and transaction (SET), stakeholders of a problem domain and interactive process (TOCL). The study will discuss practical and theoretical implications that could be considered in and guide future leisure studies; in addition, new research avenues will be suggested.

Cultures of professional collaboration: their origins and opponents

PurposeThis Commentary is a review and critique of arguments that oppose the desirability and impact of professional collaboration in education. The purpose of this paper is to analyze two recent high-profile reviews of professional development and collaboration. The analysis is informed by a historical typology of five phases of professional collaboration in theory and practice.Design/methodology/approachThe Commentary reviews and summarizes selected key texts that represent different phases in the development of advocacy for and research concerning the emergence of professional collaboration. It then critiques the methodology, findings, and recommendations of two key critiques of professional collaboration and development that have been widely disseminated for educators and policymakers.FindingsContrary to the views of its opponents, professional collaboration as a whole has a record of indirect, long term, yet clear and positive effects on teachers and students. Particular kinds of professional collaboration can vary a great deal in quality and impact, however. Short-term collaborative interventions, such as data teams, are often dependent for their success on the prior existence of deeper cultures and processes. These processes and cultures characterize high-performing systems globally. Advocacy for competitive alternatives is based on insufficient evidence.Originality/valueAlthough advocacy for more competition in public school systems is common, high-profile critiques of professional collaboration are relatively new. This paper engages with these critiques from a broader historical perspective, and finds they have serious flaws of reasoning and methodology. Thus far, the critiques provide insufficient warrant for moves toward more competitive systems of schooling and teaching.

A Case Study of the Guiding Principles for Collaborative Approaches to Evaluation in a Developmental Evaluation Context

Abstract: Recently, Shulha, Whitmore, Cousins, Gilbert, and al Hudib (2015) proposed a set of evidence-based principles to guide collaboration. Our research undertakes a case study approach to explore these principles in a developmental evaluation context. Data were collected at two points in an 18-month period where an evaluation group collaborated with the program team from a national organization. This article explores the contributions of selected collaborative approaches to evaluation principles as they are applied in a developmental evaluation. The article concludes with a reflection on the implications for collaboration in theory and practice of developmental contexts. Also identified are the practical insights for implementing the principles in evaluation practice.

Rethinking the idiom for feminist pedagogy: The collaboration of theory and activism

“Feminist Pedagogy for Dialogue between Generations” was the theme that the steering committee of the Korean Association of Women's Studies 2014 suggested for its annual conference held in 2014. I understand that this theme of inter-generational dialogue indicates a crisis regarding the reproduction of the next generation of feminists and the failure in popularizing feminism in Korea, which is not something new. However, what is new is that Korean feminists now seek to resolve this via feminist pedagogy. I contend that collaboration between theory and praxis or academia and field experience needs to be realized, not merely in name but as concrete practice. Democratic relationships between the two spheres are highlighted as most significant. Given that the decline in the socioeconomic situation of junior feminists in their 20s and 30s seems to persist and continue, feminist pedagogy also needs to go beyond the psychological state of relation-oriented-ness, as conceptualized by Carol Gilligan, and instead the sociological appropriation of psychological knowledge is suggested here.

CHARGE SYMMETRY BREAKING IN dd → 4He π0 WITH WASA-at-COSY

Charge symmetry breaking effects can be used as an experimental tool to study quark mass effects. Using recent high precision data from TRIUMF and IUCF an international theory collaboration is working on a consistent description within the framework of chiral pertubation theory. The WASA-at-COSY collaboration has started an experimental program extending the studies on the reaction dd → 4 He π0 towards higher excess energies in order to provide necessary information on the contribution of p-waves. First preliminary results on the total cross section at Q = 60 MeV are presented.

Collaboration in Theatre: A Practical Guide for Designers and Directors (review)

Reviewed by: Collaboration in Theatre: A Practical Guide for Designers and Directors Kathryn Wagner Collaboration in Theatre: A Practical Guide for Designers and Directors. By Rob Roznowski and Kirk Domer. New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2009; pp. xvii + 185. $90.00 cloth, $28.00 paper. Written by longtime collaborators Rob Roznowski and Kirk Domer, Collaboration in Theatre begins with a dialogue between the two recalling a collaboration that they had one evening by drawing ideas on a cocktail napkin. Similar dialogues continue throughout the book, introducing each of its three sections. These sections, titled Collaboration in Theory, Collaboration in Practice, and Collaboration in the Classroom, help guide readers through the material: first in a theoretical sense, next by using an example of the process as implemented during an actual production, and finally by illustrating how to put these theories into practice in the classroom setting. The first section, Collaboration in Theory, is broken up into seven chapters that cover a wide variety of topics, including the first chapter, "The Vocabulary of Collaboration," that defines the necessary vocabulary of communication and collaboration. This section helps the reader "get on the same page" as the writers and join in the collaborative spirit of the book. Although "collaboration" can often mean different things to different people, the authors seek to present their views on the difference between cooperation and collaboration. In their opinion, "cooperation in a production team implies a handshaking group of individuals promising not to tread on one another's toes" (1); and "[c]ollaboration implies a meshing of ideas to us. A production team is comprised of separate individuals who indeed cooperate with one another, but also inspire and affect each other to produce a cohesive production" (1). The collaborators' effect on one another is crucial to the process. The additional chapters in this section cover the topics of script analysis, as the first collaborator with whom one works is the playwright who created the text; research that aids the collaborative process; presenting ideas and participating and revising them within the collaboration; and continuing the collaboration throughout the rehearsal process. The final chapter in this section, "The Collaboration, Post-Mortem," examines the purpose of a postmortem, which is to "analyze the successes and failures of the collaboration [and] ensure healthier collaborations on the next production" (69). Although many postmortems concentrate on the success or failure of a production, very little time is generally devoted to creating better collaborations for all involved. With its focus on learning from the production and emphasis on extending the experience into the next collaborative project, this chapter serves as an excellent guide for avoiding clichéd responses in evaluating productions within the postmortem setting. In the Collaboration in Practice section, the authors set about to put the theories from section 1 into practice in a realized production setting. Although the authors were aware of deliberately testing certain techniques and processes throughout the production, the rest of the collaborators were unknowing participants in the process. This five-chapter section recaps each phase of the collaboration process for a production of The Life produced at Michigan State University. It takes a very honest look at the production process and makes clear that even in the best of situations, with a constant focus on collaborating, mistakes and missteps still occur. Included throughout are candid comments from both authors (one being the director, the other working as the scenic designer), as well as highlights of production procedures and decisions that were handled both well and not so well in terms of collaboration. The fourth chapter reviews the process in detail, with responses and reflections from the authors, colleagues from MSU's College of Music, a newspaper review of the production, and comments from the other collaborators involved. The final chapter of this section is a collection of black-and-white photos from the production of the play. The final section of the book, Collaboration in the Classroom, is intended as a guideline for teachers interested in devising their own collaboration course, though it is also addressed to students working through such a course. The first chapter, "Preparing the Collaborative Class," offers suggestions for creating a syllabus (including a sample version...