Better Together Working with a Co-Teacher to Boost Student Achievement

1. Better TogetherWorking with a Co-Teacher to Boost Student Achievement TFA Insitute: Philly 2013 Sam Biddle July 22, 2013

2. For resources: www.adaptiveteacher.org

3. Objectives • CMWBAT implement methods for building partnership and cooperation with co-teachers. • CMWBAT plan for their co-teacher relationships.

4. Agenda • Opening (5 min) • Co-teacher Mindsets (10 min) • Co-Teacher Consistencies (10 min) • Discussion (5 min)

5. Co-Teacher Mindsets • Your co-teacher will improve your student’s achievement, enhance your class culture, and make your life easier…if you let them. • With proper communication, respect, and humility, you can work productively with any co-teacher. • Approach your co-teacher by looking first for their assets. What are they great at? What do they do well that you don’t do well? What can you learn from them? • When working with a co-teacher is challenging you need to focus on your locus of control and remember to do what will benefit your kids. • You will probably spend more time with your co-teacher than anyone else in your life. This is an important relationship. You need to treat it that way. • In order to work productively I need to build a relationship.

6. Co-Teacher Consistencies: What • What: • A formal discussion at the beginning of the year in which co-teachers agree on who is responsible for every teacher action that occurs during the day…down to the smallest detail. • A time for co-teachers to talk about strengths, areas for growth, working styles, communication styles, and personal interests. • It is recorded in a document that can be referenced and updated as the year progresses. • It is shared with someone else who is a neutral party (preferably an administrator).

7. Co-Teacher Consistencies: How • How: • Sit down with your co-teacher before the pressure of the year arises. Use the co-teacher norms discussion worksheet to guide your conversation. Dedicate a minimum of 30 minutes to this part of the conversation. • On the same day, or at a separate time, begin walking through every teacher action that occurs during the day, talk through how you envision it, and who will be responsible for which parts. • Write it down! • When you are finished take time to both look over the document and make sure you’re comfortable with it. • Plan a follow-up discussion to make sure you’re on the same page. • Revisit the document proactively to respond to the needs of your students, and to maximize the impact that you both have in your classroom.

8. Co-Teacher Consistencies: Why • Why: • Because if you don’t talk about it, you won’t know! • Because in order for the classroom to be a shared space both teachers have to feel a clear sense of ownership. • One of the most important factors in workplace contentment is a clear sense of responsibilities. • Because it’s fun to think about.

9. Discussion • What excites you about working with a co-teacher? • What do you anticipate will be the greatest challenges of working with a co-teacher? • What strengths do you bring to the act of collaboration? • What has been challenging for you when you’ve collaborated with people before? • What will you need to work on to make this an effective co-teacher relationship? • What will you do to remind yourself to put students first when things get challenging?