Building a Collaborative Culture

In traditional environments collaboration can be difficult but it holds great importance. To support and create connected learning people may need to have a change in their values, norms or even beliefs. This is because when sharing these pieces it encourages collaboration. It is said that most educators do not do a good job at encouraging collaborative construction, not all connections can be taught or helped through technology because they grow through relationships that include trust, collegiality, shared vision, and group development. I personally feel building relationships is one of the biggest parts in creating a collaborative community. Getting to know someone whether it is a face to face interaction or not you will find common perspectives and experiences.

It's important to know the difference between congenial and collegial relationships. The text defines them by stating, "Congeniality refers to the polite, friendly relationship we have with one another, and it parallels nicely with our earlier discussion about cooperation. Collegiality is something more. Collegiality is a shared belief that none of us is as good (or smart) as all of us, and we can all contribute to improved individual practice.” These two relationships help move and develop connections and allow people to learn from one another. Do you think the relationships that you have are congenial or collegial? Together people can create a shared vision, which I do experience with my close coworkers. We share the same dreams and hope to move beyond these dreams. This is discussed more commonly than not which creates an even closer connection between us. This chapter also spoke about the stages of collaboration which include forming, storming, norming and performing. The usage of these common words make it very easy to remember for when utilizing this information to build a community. What important fact did you take out of this chapter?