I am looking forward to seeing everybody on Saturday.

Unit Introduction and What You Will Learn

Effective collaboration is a vital skill in school social work. Week five of SOWK 587 is a synchronous week, with in-person class on Saturday (09/26/26). Students will read about collaboration in their textbook (Jarolmen & Bautista-Thomas, 2023) and have opportunities to engage with other sources exploring how we work together in schools. In discussion forums, students will share real-world examples of collaboration and engage critically with the material. During class, we will build on these discussions by practicing key collaboration techniques in simulated team settings.

The agenda for class is as follows:

• Multi-disciplinary team meetings
• Best practices and strategies for effective collaboration
• MTDM Role-Play Scenarios
• Intersectionality and working with diverse team members

The Learning Objectives for the week include

• Critically reflect on the experiences of effective collaboration to draw out common elements
• Analyze the topic of collaboration from a number of different perspectives and focuses
• Identify practices that are effective working in teams and strategies for implementing them
• Assess methods to develop rapport and work with diverse team members
• Implement a collaborative meeting using active listening, shared decision-making, and conflict resolution skills

Unit Assignments

Content

• Read Jarolmen and Bautista-Thomas (2023) Chapter 5: Collaboration and Consultation with Parents, Faculty, Staff, and Administration
• Read Avant and Swerdlik (2016) A Collaborative Endeavor: The Roles and Functions of School Social Workers and School Psychologists in Implementing Multi-tiered System of Supports/response to Intervention
• Read the RCW 28A.320.280, 28A.320.290, and 28A.410.044 providing context to school social workers, counselors, and psychologists and our related domains, professions, and collaboration.
• Listen to Lefkowitz et al. (2020) Podcast episode S5E22 - Family Engagement and Equity

W-05 A-01: Asynchronous Participation and Engagement

The expectation is that each of your replies will be substantive and provide meaningful perspectives, contributing to the forum’s conversation and scholarship. They can be related to the prompts or building on conversations shared by peers. There are four forums for this week, and you are expected to make at least 3 replies across any of the forums and read all of your peers’ replies. These forums include the following:

• Examples of effective teamwork are examined in Reflection on Examples of Collaboration, where students analyze what makes collaboration successful and how it supports student learning outcomes.
• The Week Five Reading and Podcast Engagement Discussion allows students to connect with the material shared this week.
• Practical school-based scenarios are explored through the Chapter Five Textbook Questions, prompting reflection on professional identity, safety, referral processes, and culturally responsive engagement.
• The forum for Questions about A-02 Ethical Decision-Making Video Presentations provides a space for clarifying expectations and preparing for the upcoming ethical decision-making assignment.

Unit Resources

Your Assignment 2 - Ethical Decision-Making Video Presentation (see Syllabus Handout with Description and Rubric) is due next week. You can post any questions you have, and I will try to answer them so everyone can read them in the forum Questions about A-02 Ethical Decision-Making Video Presentations.

I’m asking you all to read some of the legal codes defining school social workers. First, in the state definition of certifications, they differentiate between school psychologists and social workers (School psychologists and social workers - Domains and roles, RCW 28A.410.044, 2018). The laws that lay out expectations of districts also include two sections that guide school social counselors, psychologists and social workers and what their priorities as professions are in schools and expectations on professional collaboration (Priorities, RCW 28A.320.280, 2018; Professional collaboration, RCW 28A.320.290, 2018)).

As discussed over the last couple of weeks, a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) and response to intervention (RTI) are essential places for social collaboration. Avant and Swerdlik (2016) provide examples of this collaboration.

Coordinating and collaborating with families is another important aspect of our work. Lefkowitz et al. (2020) explore coordination and communication through family engagement and equity. It is a good episode. You can find the podcast posted on their website S5E22 – Family Engagement and Equity or Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Overcast.

During class, we will use a couple of handouts. These include Skills We Need to Be Effective Collaborators - A-Z and MTDM Role-Play Scenarios

The Lecture Videos tab in the MyHeritage course has class recordings.

To-Do List

• Attend class on Saturday
• Engage with the content for the week
• Complete three replies