Collaboration Station is a picture book to help set the foundation for effective teamwork in the classroom! A mentor text to establish cooperative learning in partners, small groups, and as one big class family.
It serves teachers and students in helping to create a supportive and collaborative classroom community. One where kids are inspired and motivated to want to be a valuable member of their team.
Before I dive into more details about my newest book with Sandie Sonke (and give you a sneak peek of some of the illustrations!) let’s take just a quick moment to make our teaching mentors proud, and start with the standards first. 😉
Collaborative Learning as it relates to Content Standards
Decades ago, the top three skills required by the workforce were reading, writing, and arithmetic. But in more recent years:
“The top three skills in demand [are] teamwork, problem-solving, and interpersonal skills. We need schools that are developing these skills.”
(Quoted by Linda Darling-Hammond, Professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Education, and President & CEO of the Learning Policy Institute).
When taking a look at content standards nationally, it’s evident that we are in fact making it a priority to work toward developing those skills in schools.
Whether it’s Common Core, Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), or Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL), student collaboration is a significant focus.
Here are just a few standards (out of many) that relate to collaborative learning:
Common Core:
- Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
- To build a foundation for college and career readiness, students must have ample opportunities to take part in a variety of rich, structured conversations—as part of a whole class, in small groups, and with a partner.
TEKS:
Students develop collaboration skills to participate productively in diverse interactions within a variety of digital and social environments.
Virginia Standards of Learning for various grade levels:
- Participate as a contributor and leader in collaborative and partner discussions.
- Work respectfully with others in pairs, diverse groups, and whole class settings.
- Demonstrate the ability to collaborate with diverse teams, while sharing responsibility for the work.
Cutting through all of the jargon, and putting it in the simplest of terms: Kids need opportunities to have discussions and work together!
And a read aloud is always a helpful way to set the stage for those learning opportunities.
The Inspiration Behind Collaboration Station
Taking into account the content standards (and just our own personal work and life experience), we know it’s definitely beneficial to make collaborative learning a priority in the classroom.
But like many things when it comes to teaching, this is easier said than done.
Even adults can attest to the fact that working with other people is not always 100% easy.
Ever had to do a group project back when you were in school, with not-exactly-your-first-choice of teammates? Or not always been in full agreement with every single co-worker at a grade level meeting?
And so if it can be troublesome at times even for grown ups, we can easily understand how hard it can be for many kids to work well in a productive group setting. It’s not exactly a skill that every child automatically comes in with.
Virtual learning during the pandemic made student collaboration even more of a challenge. It was actually around that time that I was inspired to write a book about working together in the classroom. I wrote my first draft of the manuscript in 2020.
During all of that time spent learning on screens- I anticipated that once we returned to the classroom, it would be more important than ever for kids to learn how to work together in person.
As teachers know firsthand, there’s a lot that goes into laying the groundwork for collaborative learning in the classroom:
- clear guidelines & modeling
- behavior expectations
- cooperative learning strategies, job roles, talking stems, etc.
And it doesn’t always go seamlessly!
I would’ve LOVED to have a picture book to read aloud to the class when introducing or reviewing our routines for working in partners & small groups.
A mentor text that:
- addressed the common challenges that can arise when students work together, and how to best conquer them
- would get kids excited about working together, and motivate them to want to use their own strengths to be a great team member
- could serve as a helpful jumping off point for further class discussion, and to help teachers to establish a collaborative learning community with their students
And so…Collaboration Station is that book! 😁
It’s crazy for me to believe that this is book #5! All of my books have been geared toward building a positive community at school, and each one of them is uniquely special to me. I am excited for this newest addition, and how it really focuses in on the “team” aspect of being a class family.
Illustrations for Collaboration Station
I have partnered once again with my same illustrator, Sandie Sonke. A true example of collaboration in “real life.” Sandie and I work together very closely on the illustrations, and she is by far one of my own favorite people to work with.
Before she began the sketches, I told her that I envisioned this book as having very brightly colorful and whimsical illustrations. She did not disappoint!
Setting the Stage for Working in Partners and Small Groups
Collaboration Station is meant to help get students in the best possible mindset for working together in teams. The phrase “Attitude is everything” may be a little cliche, but it’s also a common phrase for good reason. It’s because it’s absolutely true!
When kids are motivated and excited to get to work together with their classmates, it makes all the difference.
This book helps lay the foundation for creating the type of positive, supportive environment that’s necessary to be an effective collaborative learning community.
When students want to be a helpful member of their team (and they feel valued by their teacher and peers for the work they put in), your job becomes a WHOLE LOT easier when it comes to any kind of group work in the classroom.
Introducing and Reviewing Routines for Collaborative Learning
The book is also intended to be used as a tool for teaching specific collaborative learning strategies.
I’m sure you have certain guidelines you like to implement before having students work in partners or small groups. For example, do you sometimes assign specific job roles to students, or provide talking stems that they can refer to during group discussions?
You could do a read aloud of Collaboration Station as a starting point, right before introducing any of your own unique classroom procedures.
You might also go back and revisit the book throughout the school year, any time your students need a refresher on your class’ routines for group work.
Addressing Common Challenges in the Classroom
Even when you’ve done the legwork of establishing a positive class community and setting clear guidelines, the reality is that challenges are still bound to arise.
Whenever having students work together, there are recurring problematic issues that can tend to come up from year to year.
One of them is certain types of common behaviors.
If you’ve ever experienced kids tattling on someone in their group, you are certainly not alone. Let’s call that particular student “so-in-so.” Do any of these sound like something you might have heard before during any sort of group work in class?
“So-in-so is trying to be the boss of us.”
“So-in-so won’t help or do any work.”
“So-in-so keeps playing around.” [goofing off, making noises, or any other distracting behavior that has nothing to do with the task at hand]
In Collaboration Station, many of these types of challenges are brought to light. The text can be used to help set behavior expectations for working together with others.
Pages such as the one above could be used to lead into a class discussion about the importance of effort and positive behavior during group work.
Many parts of the book are intended to help students develop a greater sense of self-awareness. It serves as a way of empowering kids to utilize their natural abilities in the best way possible. Essentially, for students to learn how to use those traits as strengths that will help benefit their team.
In various ways, Collaboration Station can spark those important class conversations about how to handle group challenges that could potentially arise, prior to having students jump in and start working together.
Collaboration Station activities
You might also use the book a way to kick off any lessons or activities that have to do with collaborative learning.
Here are several resources to go with Collaboration Station! Book companions that can be used during back to school time (or any time of year) to help your class become the very best it can be when it comes to working together collaboratively.
The activities are all available individually, or in a Collaboration Station Activity Bundle. I’ve also included all of them in both of my book companion bundles (the original one and the MEGA one that includes my weekly Class Family Morning Meetings):
If you happen to already own either of these book companion bundles, all you have to do is re-download the file from where you purchased it (TPT or the shop on my website). And then it’s all yours and ready to use with the new book. Yay!
Where Can I Get the Book?
Collaboration Station is currently available in eBook, paperback, and hardcover on Amazon.
And if you prefer to order direct, paperback and hardcover copies are also sold through the shop here on my website! Through the shop, you can get special pricing for bulk orders, and a discounted hardcover bundle of all 5 books (including Collaboration Station).
After reading the book, I would be so incredibly appreciative if you might be able to take just a couple of minutes to leave a quick review. Not only are book reviews useful for fellow educators, but it’s also extremely helpful to me as the author. Thank you in advance for your support! 💛
A Collaborative Classroom Family
Student collaboration is a huge piece of the educational pie, and rightfully so.
Whether it’s having a discussion, solving a challenging problem, or creating something together, collaborating with others is an immensely important skill for students to develop. And one that they can continue to apply for years to come- in the workplace, and in their personal lives.
One of the truly most valuable gifts you can give your students is to create a supportive learning community where they have opportunities to work together. When kids have that type of safe space, they can learn to openly share with others, and also to respect the points of view that other people have to offer.
My favorite quote about working together is: “Teamwork divides the task and multiplies the success.” Teaching students how to work as a team is no easy hill to climb. My hope is that Collaboration Station will serve in making that tall task just a bit easier for you (and in giving you even greater success with it too).
