Page 6 - Exploring Interprofessional Collaboration and Ethical Leadership

COLLEGE OF EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS & ONTARIO COLLEGE OF TEACHERS
Narrative One
Building a House: Co-Constructing Knowledge
On a bright, crisp spring morning, Sasha looked inquisitively through our classroom window. “Ms. Jabouin! Ms. Jabouin!” he yelled. “Look at those guys out there! They are building a house!” “So they are,” she replied. The events that unfolded from
this initial sighting reflected some of the most harmonious collaborations I had ever experienced with another professional.
The house that was being built across the street became a hot topic for the children; furthermore, it gave my teaching partner and me an amazing platform from which we could share our knowledge of early learning and combine our individual teaching styles. This was a true meeting of the minds, where I was able to witness the beauty of collaboration between a registered early childhood educator and
a teacher.
Watching the construction of the house provided us with many opportunities for observing and documenting the children’s learning and interests. We watched and listened as the children’s excitement grew and they began to transform their block structures into more complex designs. At this point, we thought it was important to make the most out of this self-directed interest. I suggested that we try and contact the builder to see if we could visit the construction site. We were all very
delighted when the site builder invited us to tour the model home and show the children the floor plans in great detail.
When we returned to the classroom, Sasha was the first to head back to the blocks and create a floor plan of his own. Ms. Jabouin was quick to come up with a new idea; to enhance the children’s recently lived experience into something more. “Sasha, if you would like to use the blocks to build a floor plan, perhaps you could draw your plan first. Then, either Ms. Maras or I could give you the building permit required to build your structure.” “Oh, okay!” he said, and proceeded to
tell all of his friends that they also needed plans to get building permits to build their structures.
The construction of the house provided
us with so much to build upon. The
entire learning experience was facilitated collaboratively, from visiting a real model home building site to learning about building permits. We managed to focus
on the children’s interests and meet the appropriate learning expectations as an educator team. We provided real-life learning experiences to the children without overlooking or rejecting ideas from each other, as we valued and understood the knowledge and skills that both professions could bring to the table.
3 EXPLORING INTERPROFESSIONAL COLLABORATION AND ETHICAL LEADERSHIP