Co-Teaching: Partners, Instruction, and Assessment

1. Co-Teaching: Partners, Instruction, and Assessment By Chris Martinez ADMS 625

2. Essential Question for the year… • What do we do as a collaborative team that one teacher cannot? “Two or more professionals delivering substantive instruction to a diverse or blended group of students in a single physical space.” (Cook & Friend, 2001)

4. Co-Teaching is……. • Simultaneous instruction with a heterogeneous group of students • Instruction by two or more teachers (adults) • Instruction within the same physical space • Instruction given in a coordinated fashion • Needs to be pre-planned • Involves collaboration • Does not mean just showing up, but instead providing in-class support

5. Co-Teaching is……. • A method to meet the diverse needs of all students in the same classroom • A service delivery model based on the philosophy of inclusion • A collaborative practice among professionals • A relationship

6. “Co-teaching arrangements… are one promising option for meeting the learning needs of the many students who once spent a large part of the school day with special educators in separate classrooms.” (Friend, 2007)

7. Benefits of Collaboration • Best for ALL students • Collaboration of ideas and strategies for teaching and learning • Transition between activities is smoother • Behavior Management • Professional Growth • Shared Responsibilities

8. Models of Collaboration • Lead and Support • Duet Model • Speak and Add Model • Adapting Model • Complimentary Instruction

9. Lead and Support • Teacher A (Reg Ed): primary responsibility for planning a unit of instruction • Teacher B (Sped): shares in delivery, monitoring, and evaluation • Pros: Saves time for Teacher B • Cons: Differentiation feels like an add-on (not as a comprehensive part of instruction)

10. Duet Model • Teacher A & B: Both teachers plan and design instruction. Teachers take turns delivering various components of the lesson • You MUST PLAN together to do this effectively. PLAN PLANPLAN

11. Speak and Add/Chart Model • Teacher A: Primary responsibility for designing and delivering • Teacher B: Adds and expands with questions, rephrasing, anecdotes, and recording key information.

12. Adapting Model • Teacher A: Primary responsibility for planning and delivering a unit of instruction. • Teacher B: Determines and provides adaptations for students who are struggling. • Both teachers are doing what they are specially trained to do. • The sped teacher is not involved with ALL students in the classroom, therefore, he or she may be viewed as the “helper” teacher rather than a “real teacher”.

13. Complementary Instruction Model • Teacher A: Primary responsibility for delivering core content. • Teacher B: Primary responsibility for delivering related instruction in areas of study and survival skills. • Expects Sped teacher to bring their specialty into the classroom. • Cons: Sped teacher is not involved in the rest of classroom.

14. Other Models… • Parallel Teaching • Split classroom in half and each teacher teaches the lesson.

15. Other Models • Skill Groups or Station teaching • Students broken into small groups and teachers instruct skills/stations.

16. Once you pick a model… • COMMUNICATE about responsibilities and expectations. • Discuss grading, supervision of students, classroom discipline, and lesson planning. • Discuss communication with parents/students – cc each other on emails, both should know of phone calls made and make sure to document ALL communication. • Be flexible – know that using a variety of styles can also work for your team. • Remember you are a TEAM. • You are BOTH responsible for ALL students in the class!!!

17. “The biggest challenge for educators is in deciding to share the role that has traditionally been individual: to share the goals, decisions, classroom instruction, responsibility for students, assessment of student learning, problem solving, and classroom management. The teachers must begin to think of it as our class.” (Ripley, 2006)

18. Challenges of Collaboration: • Lack commitment to plan and organize • Planning time together • Relationship factors • Administrative support • Continuous investment of time • Fear of change • Poor communication • Definition of roles/following roles

19. Working through the tough stuff… • Communication • Conflict Resolution • Sharing • Grading

20. Communication • Identify strengths and areas of need for each team member. • Stay on the same page…students will try to find the teacher who gives in and play you against one another. • Communicate frequently about lesson planning. • Discuss behavior management – both team members have to be on the same page.

21. Conflict Resolution Collaborative teaching is like a relationship, it takes work. • Be professional • Establish guidelines Remember, students can sense discord.

22. Sharing Teaching Responsibilities Duties and responsibilities to discuss • Who starts class • Who does warm up • Who reviews homework • Who explains directions, expectations for class… Every facet of the class is discussed and assigned so both teachers share responsibilities.

23. Grades and Grading • Grades and grading are a shared responsibility. Both teachers should know the grades when going into meetings • When emailing parents, include both teacher names • The key to assessment in collaborative settings is to MODIFY the work not the grades • Contact with parents is essential – PowerSchool is NOT the only way for parents to get input on grades • Discuss how you are going to set up your Blackboard sites

24. The Big Ending • Establish a model that works for both of you and the students • Communicate – it is the key ingredient for success • Share responsibilities and teaching, including grading responsibilities Collaborating teaching should be a great experience for both the students and the teachers.

25. Curriculum Adaptations • Lottery Tickets – tickets for positive reinforcement – tickets are put in bowl for drawings • Cup Stacking – write content on outside of cup. Students work in teams to stack cups in hierarchical order • Station Work – Create 4 to 5 stations for students to move through. Covers a lot of content FAST!!! • Jigsaw – Cooperative learning strategy in which each student learns a component of material, then teaches others • Jeopardy/Who Wants to be a Millionaire • CRISS strategies – Two column notes, pattern puzzles, KWL, selective highlighting (color code)