Multiple Personalities in the Classroom. . . And I Don’t Mean Students!

1. Multiple Personalities in the Classroom. . . And I Don’t Mean Students!

2. Needs, Expectations, and the Roles of Special Education/Regular Education Teachers in the Classroom

3. All About Us • Raccoon School is located in south-central Illinois • Serves a K-8 rural population of about 250 students • Full- inclusion for 6 years

4. Full-Inclusion Includes: • Teachers • Special Education Teachers • Administrators • Paraprofessionals • Parents • Students: regular and special education

5. In A Perfect World. . . Student Needs

6. Special Education Teachers: Feel a loss of control/classroom Don’t feel like real teachers Fear students will not progress or thrive Regular Education Teachers: Feel a loss of control/classroom Feel tied to curriculum/state standards/ISAT scores Fear students will not progress or thrive In The Real World. . .

7. Scheduling!!!! • Everyone must live and die by the schedule • People and papers must be timely, correct, and consistent • The teams’ success depends on everyone carrying their own weight • Changes in scheduling must be agreed to by all parties well in advance

8. Modifications • Need to be made in advance so that the material can be approved and adjusted • Need to be student appropriate and challenging • Need to be predictable in format • Need to be in a clear, clean format

9. Assessment • Parents, administrators, teachers, and students need to view assessment differently • “Buy in” to non-traditional assessment • Understand that grades are not standardized, but are based on individual growth and performance

10. Models of Co-Teaching • One Teach, One Observe • One collecting data, one teaching • One Teach, One Drift • One “working the room, one teaching • Parallel Teaching • Small groups, both teaching same information • Station Teaching • Small groups rotate through stations, teacher instruct different content • Alternative Teaching • One large group with one teacher, small group with other teacher • Team Teaching • Tag team teaching

11. Planning • Time, Time, Time!!!!! • Come prepared! • Be clear, concise, and flexible • Use a format for staying on task – assign roles • Be realistic about modifications, progress, and time

12. The Pill Everyone Must Swallow • Administrators provide team planning opportunities and training • Teachers, administrators, students, and parents must learn to look at grades differently • Classroom management and instruction based on “fairness”

13. Students • Students adjust to full inclusion quickly • Students recognize learning differences • Students quickly adjust to different levels of materials • Students easily utilize all instructors present in the classroom

14. Benefits • Creates a school “community” • Lower frustration levels • Higher academic achievement • Classroom behavior improves because of constant and consistent age appropriate modeling