BFTP: Gardens and Collaboration

A new Saturday Blue Skunk "feature" will be a revision of an old post. I'm calling this BFTP: Blast from the Past.

Gardens and Collaboration (Original post August 10, 2005)

Grandson Paul in Grandma Annie’s garden. ->

My lovely wife (aka the LWW: Luckiest Woman in the World) is a very skillful and ambitious gardener. It’s a genuine passion for her and our yard shows it with a huge sun garden exploding with color in front of the house and a shady terra-formed slope to the lake filled with hundreds of hostas in the back. Day lilies are scattered everywhere in bright profusion.

Other than hauling an oversized rock or bag of peat moss now and grudgingly again, I contribute nothing to these stunning displays. The gardens are the result of individual talent - even genius. Anything I might suggest would, I'm sure, detract rather than add to the composition. (My “yard art” purchases are very tactfully hidden among the blooms.)

I’ve been thinking a good deal about “collaboration” lately. It’s one of the real sacred cows of education. But collaboration, under some circumstances, may work against goal attainment.

There are definitely some downsides to working with others:

• It takes more time to reach decisions and get work accomplished.
• It takes time to find the time to work together.
• Not everyone likes working with others.
• Defining specific responsibilities is too often neglected.
• Team players may get undeserved credit or blame for an outcome.
• Some people are just a real pain in the kiester.
• Genius and imagination may be dimmed through group timidity.
• Collaboration itself becomes the goal, rather than the means to achieve it.

Here are my questions: How do we know when collaboration is the right tool to use? Are there tasks for which we should have sole responsibility? Do librarians and techs who collaborate have more or less job security?

Let me know your thoughts while I go and admire the gardens.

My related writings:

Collaboration and reflection

A Few Words about Collaboration

Comments

[Lesley Edwards]

I have wondered for some time now what LWW stood for and always assumed you meant Lovely Wee Wifey. :)

[Fran Lo]

Yes, working with others can be a big pain in the rear end for all the reasons you stated (and my students state them all). But whenever I do anything, if I kick the idea around with somebody else, it is always better. Always. It's not that I can't do things by myself - I often do, maybe even too much. But when I share ideas with somebody else, the result is better. Even if the conversation just helped me see the problem in a new way.

I think we probably do too much work in groups, when pairs and triples are much more workable, and are small enough to reduce many of the problems you listed.

And by the way, I'll bet your lovely wife shares ideas with other expert gardeners...

[Carole]

Collaboration itself becomes the goal, rather than the means to achieve it.

Sometimes we seem to worry about the "how" of getting there than accomplishing the goal. Ex. Teacher wants a "digital media" format instead of a position paper for a final project after the students do research. I suggest a podcast of an interview. She directs the research, helps students write scripts, etc. I show them how to use Audacity and students catch on faster than me. Result: paired students interviews presenting their side of the position in a question and answer format.
OR I have an idea that requires using some of the teacher's class time as well as library time. I write up the lesson plans. She instructs/supervises the students in class sessions, I do the library sessions.
Did we collaborate or coordinate or assist each other? Does it matter? Isn't our goal student learning not the how of teacher teaching?

[Marian]

I don't know about other states, but in New Mexico, collaboration with peers is actually one of the competencies on which we are evaluated. That probably contributes to the possibility that collaboration, not student learning, could and does become the goal, at least at times. Personally, I feel that collaboration, like everything else, should be done in moderation. I, too, tend to do my best work when I have someone else to bounce ideas around with, but that doesn't mean that there aren't some lessons I can best handle alone. Basic orientation to the library/lab would be one good example. However, any topic that is cross-curricular by it's very nature, say doing a research project on German literature in the 19th century, practically screams for collaboration. I believe Carole has it right when she writes "[I]sn't our goal student learning not the how of teacher teaching?"

[Doug Johnson]

Hi Lesley,

I am running on the edge with Luckiest Woman in the World - no way would wee wifey ever go over!

Doug

Hi Fran,

I expect you are right about my wife sharing ideas about gardening (she certainly reads about it). I too see input on many projects and decisions. I guess my definition of collaboration goes a bit deeper in which individuals have responsibility for distinct parts of a final whole.

Anyway, I appreciate your view!

Doug

Hi Carole,

You make a good point. I know there are certainly formal definitions of collaboration, cooperation etc. It may depend on the person how useful/important those definitions are. Sounds like what you are doing is working - whatever you call it.

Thanks for sharing your ideas,

Doug

Thanks, Marian. I just hope we actually think about collaboration than simply take is as always a positive. Great comment!

Doug

[Janice Robertson]

Great idea to recycle your words! I do a non tech version of that when I clean house and go through all the notebooks in which I've scribbled ideas and then I distill them and rescribble the REAL gems into another notebook! Ha.
I think the answer to your question - how do we know when collaboration is the right tool to use - is a simple one. If the job or task can be accomplished by one person (reasonable workload and reasonable amount of time), and everyone will be happy with the results, then there is no need for collaboration.
I found your repost encouraging because sometimes I find myself thinking exactly the same thoughts and wondered if it was just me ... "this is going to take a lot longer than it needs to..." or "we'll never get X and Y to agree, we can't even agree on a meeting time" and "great, their name goes on the work and they never open their mouth".
Thankfully, I've moved on to another school, but I used to work for administrators whose favourite line was, "We need to form a committee to ..." and I used to just cringe because we didn't need to form a committee - we just needed someone to step up to the plate and volunteer to do the job! In my humble opinion, if one person can do the job, LET THEM!

[Doug Johnson]

Hi Janice,

Nice to hear from you. I just worry when collaboration becomes a sacred cow instead of tool that is sometime useful.

Doug