The document discusses cogenerative dialoguing (cogen), a process that can empower teacher-paraeducator teams through equitable participation and mutual understanding. Cogen involves establishing protocols to ensure all voices are heard and building on others' ideas. The document reviews cogen's benefits, such as improved relationships and learning environments. It suggests cogen could help address problems faced by teacher-paraeducator teams by providing a proactive way to collectively handle issues. Examples demonstrate

1. Talking About Collaboration;
Cogenerative Dialoguing and the
Teacher-Paraeducator Team

2. Communication
(basic definition)
Act of imparting information;
Social intercourse
(Australian Oxford Dictionary, 2004)

3. How you say it is just as important as what you say
This is where dialogue fits into communication

4. Dialogue
(basic definition)
A written or spoken conversational
exchange between two or more
individuals
(Australian Oxford Dictionary, 2004)

5. An interactive exchange of information,
ideas, techniques and knowledge leading to
improved understanding and greater
consensus
Dialogue
(cooperative dialogue)
(Phillips, 2011)

6. Activity 2 Yes but… Yes and Game
Step 1. Find a partner
Step 2. Person with shiniest shoes is
Person A
Round 1
Step 3. Plan a dream vacation – each
person says only one sentence e.g.
Person A “Let’s go to the sea”
Person B rejoins “Yes, but …” and
fills in the sentence any way they
want.
Step 4. Keep this up for one minute then stop
Round 2
Step 5. Try it again. This time when A makes
a suggestion B replies with “Yes, and..”
and adds something to A’s suggestion.
Step 6. Keep it up for one minute then stop.

7. Debrief
Questions for you to think about …
Did you have more fun playing the game in Round 1 or Round 2?
What was the experiential difference between the two rounds?
Compare the two vacations you just ended up with. Which one
was more interesting? Which one was more fun to plan?
In real life, how does a “Yes, and” attitude affect thought and
interaction? How about a “Yes but” attitude?
Key Point – cooperative dialogue
You will create more momentum (and have more fun!) when you build on
your workmate’s ideas instead of tearing them down.

8. Collaboration in Schools
Current school reform initiatives call for more than cooperation.
They call for collaboration.
Individuals working equitably, pooling and sharing expertise, on an
ongoing basis to achieve mutually beneficial goals
Elliott, A. (2001). Introduction. In M. Richards, A. Elliott, V. Woloshyn & C. Mitchell (Eds.) Collaboration uncovered: The
forgotten, the assumed, and the unexamined in collaborative education (pp 1-15). Westport, CT: Bergin & Garvey
A definition of collaboration as it relates to education

9. Dialogue
(collaborative dialogue)
A process of genuine interaction where individuals listen deeply
and respectfully to each other, striving to incorporate the
concerns of other participants into their own perspectives even
when they disagree. Participants do not give up their identity but
recognise the claims of others.
Cuentas, M & Méndez, A. (Compilers) (2013). A practical guide on democratic dialogue. Canada: United Nations
Development Program, p. 9.

10. The Promise of the New Dialogue
Collaboration
Ownership of outcomes
Mutual respect and consideration
Equality between participants
Democratic approach to dialogue

11. Bohm, Buber and Freire have contributed
to the thinking around dialogue and how
we see ourselves within that dialogue
Key theme in this
work on dialogue is
the idea of
Equality

12. Activity 3 Go!
Step 1. Form circles of groups of 6 to 12 people
Step 2. Shortest person begins: making eye contact with another
member of the group he/she loudly says, “Go!” then quickly walks
towards that person, taking their place in the circle.
Step 3. The second person now moves. Looking at someone else in
their circle the second person says, “Go!” and walks across to take the
next person’s place. And so on.
Step 4. After a while speed it up. Don’t wait for the ‘goer’ to begin
walking toward you. With just the word and eye contact immediately
look at another player and say, “Go!” and head for them. Get to the
point when there is always more than one person moving at a time.
Step 5. (Challenge round!) Finally, eliminate the word ‘Go’ – just make
eye contact and move! See how many people can be moving at once
while still knowing at every point whose ‘turn’ it is.

13. Debrief
In what ways did you have to focus outwards to make the game work
well?
Could we have moved at optimal speed without those techniques?
Key Point
This game allows you to see how much more quickly we pick up on
other people’s signals when we focus out.

14. Idea of co-generating in dialogue
Eldon and Levin (1991)
Participants in dialogue need to be empowered to
actively participate in that dialogue
In the workplace dominance free dialogue cannot
be assured
Protocols of behaviour need to be developed to
support active and equitable participation by all
involved in the dialogue
Empowering participation = cogenerative dialoguing
Eldon, M., & Levin, M. (1991). Cogenerative learning: Bringing participation into action research. In W.
F. Whyte (Ed.) Participatory action research (pp. 127-142). Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications Inc.

15. Protocols in Dialoguing
Summary of Gustavsen’s protocols to enhance equality in dialogue
1. Dialogue is a process of exchange of ideas
2. All concerned parties must participate
3. Participation must be active participation
4. All participants are to be considered equal
5. Every participant must be able to develop an understanding of the issues
under discussion
Gustavsen, B. (1985). Work place reform and democratic dialogue. Economic and Industrial Democracy 6(4), 461-479.

16. What the protocols do
• Guarantee a set of procedural rights (ground the discourse/talk)
• Protect the participants and relevant arguments from being left
out
• Keep the exchange focused on relevant workplace experiences
and issues
• Result in action!

17. Cogenerative Dialoguing (cogen) in Education
• Cogen is predominantly used in education settings (schools/uni)
• Implemented with as few as two people and as many as a whole
classroom (teachers and students)
• Used by experienced and new teachers, preservice teachers,
supervising teachers and researchers
Cogen in Education is often associated with the work of Roth and Tobin

18. New protocols for cogen
While based on those of democratic dialoguing, protocols for cogen can vary with
the needs of the cogen participants.
Here are three basic protocols as used by La Van and Beers in their work with
students
1) Speaking is voluntary
2) No voices are privileged, including those of adults
3) What is discussed stays in the group, unless the group decides to share the
conversation with others
It is usual in cogen sessions, particularly the early ones, for the protocols to be read
out at the beginning of the session so that everyone is aware of what is required.
The protocols are also referred to during the session to help keep participants ‘on
track’ – maintain equity.
LaVan, S. -K., & Beers, J. (2005). The role of cogenerative dialogue in learning to teach and transforming learning environments. In K. Tobin, R.
Elmesky, & G. Seiler Improving urban science education: New roles for teachers, students and researchers (pp. 147-164). Lanham, MD: Rowman
& Littlefield Publishers Inc.

19. All this talking … Who’s listening?Activity 4
Step 1. Think of a time you weren’t listened to (work, home, shopping,
doctors, plane!)
Step 2. Partner up with someone you have not partnered up with before
Step 3. Take turns sharing your ‘not listening’ stories
Step 4. Each listener must identify two things in their partner’s story that
demonstrated non-listening and identify the impact this had on
the speaker

20. Debrief
What were the things that demonstrated not listening ?
When you weren’t listened to, how did it make you feel?
What are some principals of good listening?

21. Active Listening
Maintain eye contact with the speaker
Do not interrupt someone when they are speaking to you
Suspend your judgement! – (radical listening!)
If you do not suspend that ‘voice in your head’ it can be a block to
clear thinking and understanding for instead of listening you expend
your energy in forming opinions or working out how to refute the
speaker’s ideas
When the speaker has finished speaking paraphrase what he/she has
said so they know you have been listening
Get clarification if you do not understand something the speaker said
Provide feedback – verbal such as saying ok, uh huh, yes and physical
– positive body language such as nodding your head or smiling

22. Let’s Practice!
Step 1. Find a partner
Step 2. The person with the longest fingers is person A and
goes first
Step 3. Person A tells Person B about some special skill,
interest or talent they have. Person A describes how they
developed their expertise in this area. Person B Actively Listens
Step 4. When Person A has finished. Person B asks two or
three clarifying questions on areas they are not sure about e.g.
How old were you when you began to ….? Where do you go to
practice ….?
Step 5. Change seats …. Now Person B tells the story and
Person A Actively listens and asks the two or three clarifying
questions when B has finished speaking

23. Debrief
When you used the tactics of acknowledging and clarifying did you find you
listened heard and understood more i.e. listened better than you usually do?
When you told your story, what did it feel like to have someone actively listen
(actively focus on you)?
How often do people in your daily life (work, home) actively listen to you?
Key Point
Other people will feel the same way when you actively listen to them!

24. Why? ….
Edmondson & Rottier …. Because we need to engage in teaming
Remember - school reform initiatives call for collaboration
Collaborative practice involves teaming
To succeed in today’s world where expertise is a moving target we must become
life-long learners. The shifting nature of work means we often lack the time
needed to practice team skills as we could for static teams.
To excel in this new and uncertain environment we need to both work and learn
together – this is where teaming comes in
Teaming is about: relating to people, listening to other points of view, making
decisions based on the integration of different perspectives ….
It’s about communicating and, through communication, collaboration

25. To succeed at teaming
and hence collaboration
You need to
Communicate
To successfully communicate you need
a dialoguing technique that supports
your team’s needs
Co-generative dialoguing can do this!

26. But what of teachers and paraeducators?
Cogen has assisted those who have participated by:
• Building collective agreements for classroom activity
• Building collective responsibility for enacting agreed changes
• Generating productive learning environments
• Reducing classroom management issues
• Providing a way for participants to proactively deal with
contradictions and conflict
• Providing the opportunity for participants to design changes that
support their work now rather than waiting for rules, policies and
recommendations from school authorities (proactive!)
Collaboration!
Improved
Relationships
and Learning
Environments!
Supported a
proactive
approach to
work problems
No published research into cogen and teacher-paraeducator teams!

27. Problems faced by teacher- teacher aide
teams in Queensland
• Not taught to work in teams
• Not taught to work with a teacher/teacher aide
• No time (paid time!) to meet and plan together
• No definitive role structure
• Many titles and roles for teacher aide
• Teacher aide often the forgotten staff member –
no place to put their work materials, no pigeon hole for
their mail, not included in staff meetings

28. Benefits of cogen for teacher-
paraeducator teams

29. Activity 4
Cogen exercise – Icing on the cake!
Step 1. Form groups of two
Step 2. The problem – your
school has decided to ban
birthday cakes. The children in
your class like birthday cakes.
Some parents want to bring
cakes – it’s traditional! Others are
worried about too much sugar
and allergies.
Step 3. Remember your earlier
activities Yes and… where you
build on your partner’s ideas
instead of tearing them down
and focus out – look for your turn
to speak, look at your partner,
focus on what they are saying –
Actively Listen!
Step 4. Your job – Using your new
skills, come up with a creative way to
solve this problem

30. What solution did your team come up with?
Did you remember to build on your partner’s ideas?
Did you ‘focus out’ ? Did you engage in active listening?

31. We’ve been talking about collaboration
through dialoguing
We have:
Explored the different developments of dialoguing from its most
basic meaning to the more complex idea of cogeneration as part
of dialogue
Practiced a few equity building activities
Seen how teacher-paraeducator teams might benefit from
participation in cogen
Practiced a very basic form of cogen

32. Cogen is a new concept for teacher-paraeducator teams
It offers a way forward – a way to help solve team problems
now – a way to solve them from the ‘ground up’
A way that empowers and supports both team members
A way that promotes a proactive approach to dealing with the
many issues that these teams face

33. Now it is your turn!