do now reading – part 1 of 3

PLAN 10: Collaboration & Co-Teaching (Special Education)

[email protected]

Get Ready: Sit with someone you don’t know well (e.g., not someone in your collaborative or CMA group).

Take out the CMIM.

2

Do Now Reading – Part 1 of 3

As you read the following vignette, consider what these teachers may have done to set up such an effective co-teaching relationship.

Mr. Murphy and Ms. Marcell are co-teachers in a 6th grade language arts classroom. Mr. Murphy is the general educator and Ms. Marcell is the special educator. To prepare for the school year, they meet over the summer to reflect on the successes and areas for improvement of the previous year, and to anticipate the individual needs of the students with whom they’ll be working so they can design effective classroom structures. During the school year, they meet after school on Thursdays to develop the coming week’s lesson plans, and to strategize together. The following is an excerpt from one of these planning meetings:

3


Mr. Murphy:What did you think about today’s lesson?

Ms. Marcell: I thought the group work went really well; you gave such clear instructions, the students were totally engaged in

their conversations. The one thing I found, though, when I was working with DeMark, was that he really didn’t

comprehend the material.

Mr. Murphy:Why do you think that is?

Ms. Marcell: Well, remember when I was lead teaching last week and I completely forgot that we’d planned to ask the kids to

come up with examples from their lives that reflected the poem? Well, Alex had similar difficulty then, and I don’t

think he’s alone.

4


Mr. Murphy:I remember when we reviewed DeMark’s IEP, it said that he needed real-world examples to help him make meaning of abstract concepts, kind of like how we use visuals with Sonya. Is there a graphic organizer that would help DeMark in a similar way to Sonya’s visuals?

Ms. Marcell: There isn’t one yet, but I think I could make one if I look at the poems for next week.

Mr. Murphy:Great. I’ll make the visuals for Sonya and make the photocopies of the poems to hand out on Monday.

Ms. Marcell: Okay. Let’s look at the other objectives for next week. I’ve got some ideas about extension work for Mason

and Rosie.

5

Links to Previous Session & CM Placement

PLAN 9 (last week): Understanding Disability and the Continuum of Services

• By law, students with special needs must be placed in the least restrictive environment (LRE).

• In many cases, this means a “push-in” model of inclusion, with a special education teacher coming into the general education classroom for a pre-determined amount of time to support students with special needs who are part of that classroom.

• This is the teaching situation of many CMs in their regions!

Note: This session is also very applicable to elementary CMs who may work with aides or paraprofessionals in their classrooms, and to all CMs who collaborate with content or grade-level departments, and with media specialists, technology teachers, guidance counselors, etc.

6

Objectives

CMWBAT:

1) Define collaboration and co-teaching, and describe the benefits and challenges of this model.

2) Describe strategies for investing and maintaining relationships with co-teachers.

3) Plan a specific approach to a co-teaching challenge using strategies from the session.

7

Related Rubric Actions

P-4: Differentiate plans for individual students based on their unique learning profiles (including ongoing

performance data) so that all students are engaged and challenged.

8

Output

Reflective:

CMs will articulate how they will or will not concretely apply the new learnings from this session in their work as teachers.

9

Key Idea

Collaboration and co-teaching are beneficial to all students.

HOW?

•Students with special needs benefit from access to the general education curriculum, from social interactions with other students, and from not being stigmatized by being pulled out.

•Co-teaching improves the student-teacher ratio so that teachers are able to work with smaller groups and more effectively differentiate their instruction.

•Increased collaboration about specific students leads to better strategies and solutions for all students.

•Students may be more engaged by being exposed to different perspectives and teaching styles.

10

Models of Collaboration and Co-Teaching – Definition of Terms

Collaboration and Co-Teaching are components of an inclusion model where special and general educators

collaborate on varying levels to include students with special needs in the general education setting.

Consultation Model

Special educator provides advice and helps general educator problem-solve to differentiate effectively for student with special needs.

Co-Teaching Model

Special educator and general educator deliver differentiated instruction collaboratively in a single classroom setting, with joint responsibility and shared ownership for student instruction and learning.

Least Direct Most DirectPg.655Pg.655

11

Models of Collaboration & Co-Teaching: Focused Support

Definition of Model General Education Teacher (G.E.T.)

(Teacher A)

Special Education Teacher (S.E.T.)

(Teacher B)

•S.E.T. directs majority of in-class support to a select group of students with special needs.

•Support can be academic, social, or behavioral.

Leads by:

•preparing and presenting content

•determining pacing

Observes and supports by:

•assessing individual needs of small groups

•preparing adapted materials

•providing 1-on-1 or small group support

•monitoring or directing attention of select students

12

Models of Collaboration & Co-Teaching: ComplementaryInstruction



•S.E.T. complements instruction of G.E.T. by adding to it.

Leads by:

•preparing and presenting content

•determining pacing

Supports instruction during planning and execution by:

•interjecting questions to promote engagement and processing

•providing supplemental visuals to clarify

•adding activities and ideas to support the acquisition and storage of information

13

Models of Collaboration & Co-Teaching: Shared Instruction – Skill Group Teaching



•Both the G.E.T. and the S.E.T. lead teach a small group of students.

•Student groups are determined based on instructional needs.

•Lead teaches small group.

•Reassesses groups to reconfigure students.

•Rotates groups periodically to gain better sense of all students.

•Lead teaches small group.

•Reassesses groups to reconfigure students.

•Rotates groups periodically to gain better sense of all students.

14

Models of Collaboration & Co-Teaching: Shared Instruction – Station Teaching



•Instruction occurs at two or more stations, with each station teaching different content.

•When there are more stations than adults in the room, some stations may be independent.

•Teaches one set of content at one station

•Teaches a separate set of content at a different station.

15

Models of Collaboration & Co-Teaching: Shared Instruction – Parallel Teaching



•Same content taught simultaneously to two different groups of students using different methods.

•Teaches content to one heterogeneous group with one set of instructional strategies.

•Teaches the same content to another heterogeneous group with a different set of instructional strategies.

16

Models of Collaboration & Co-Teaching: Shared Instruction – Alternative Teaching



•Different sets of content taught simultaneously to different groups of students.

•Teaches the primary lesson to the larger group of students.

•Teaches an alternative lesson – with different content and perhaps different instructional strategies as well – to a smaller group of students.

•Lesson usually focuses on re-teaching, pre-teaching, or enriching content.

17

Models of Collaboration & Co-Teaching: Float & Support



•Used primarily during practice.

•“Floats” to work with small groups, pairs, or individuals as students practice.

•“Floats” to work with small groups, pairs, or individuals as students practice.

18

Key Idea (this session!)

When teachers decide upon a co-teaching model, they should consider student needs, each teacher’s

expertise and style, and the instructional routine.

Potential Challenges of Co-Teaching – 4 min.

• Looking at your table tent, take four minutes to consider one of the challenges of co-teaching, and two things you might want to consider as you look at this particular challenge.

19

Implementing collaborative co-teaching effectively is no easy feat, and, like anything in teaching, it takes purposeful planning. Consider: who will teach what and when, who will grade, who will discipline whom and when, etc.

Implementing collaborative co-teaching effectively is no easy feat, and, like anything in teaching, it takes purposeful planning. Consider: who will teach what and when, who will grade, who will discipline whom and when, etc.

20

Steps for Effective Collaboration and Co-Teaching

Know…

yourself, your co-teacher, and your students

Invest…

your co-teacher

Maintain…

your relationship

21

Step #1 – The Three “Knows”

YOURSELF

YOUR CO-TEACHER

YOUR SHARED STUDENTS• Working styles

• Strengths

• Weaknesses

• Interests

Strong relationships between all constituents lead to high

investment, which leads to high achievement.

22

A Deeper Look – The Three “Knows” – take 4 min.

Look at the “Know Your Constituents” handout from pg. 656

1. Can you answer all questions for yourself? Where do you still have to do some thinking/planning?

2. How many questions can you answer for one or more of your collaborative partners this summer? Would it have been helpful to know any of this information from the outset? Why?

3. What have you gotten to know about your students on an individual level this summer? What strategies have you used to do this? What else would be helpful to know? What strategies could you use to attain this information?

23

Step #2 – Invest Your Co-Teacher

E x V = M

Expectancy x Value = Motivation

It is part of my job to plan how to invest and collaborate with my colleagues.

Consider….

• While each teacher has unique strengths, weaknesses, and styles, they can work together to co-teach effectively.

• It is important to know each other and define your roles BEFORE you begin working together.

• Your co-teacher is one of your students’ influencers.

• Just like planning investment with our students involves both building students’ expectancy (“I Can”) and value (“I want”), so it does with adults and co-teachers too.

24

25

Investing Your Co-Teacher – Defining Your Roles

Scan the “Defining Your Roles” checklist from pg. 657-658…

• In pairs, assign one person to be the G.E.T. and one to be the S.E.T.

• Complete the 1st column of the handout on your own.- 3-4 min.

• Discuss with your partner to come to a resolution for the 2nd column.- 4 min.

Debrief: Was your conversation centered around the teachers or around the students? Did you talk about BIG GOALS for

the class? Did you talk about IEP goals or over-arching goals or individual lesson objectives? How did this process feel? What was easy? What was challenging? Can you identify any strategies that might have made it easier?

26

Investing Your Co-Teacher – Strategies-Checklist – pg. 659

General Strategies

• Introduce yourself at a staff meeting – formally.

• Articulate your goals and how excited you are to work together (either in person or in writing).

• Host a morning or afternoon “coffee” to meet one another and begin to talk about your students.

• Come to all interactions with ideas, thoughts, questions, and a plan.

Specific Handouts (in CMIM)

• Binder letter to set up relationship/communication procedure- pg. 660

• Binder table of contents- pg. 661

• Student information template- pg. 662

• Student needs tracker- pg. 663

Maintaining Relationships- Stop and Jot

• Silently, write down the first three words that come to mind when working with your FA.

• How well do you know your FA?

• Looking back, what could have helped you develop and maintain your relationship in a productive way. If it was productive, why do you think that was?

• Once you have begun working together, you will have to maintain your relationship explicitly.

27

28

Step #3 – Maintain Your Relationship

Maintaining a relationship means checking in periodically on how your work together is going AND fostering effective communication.

The way we communicate is important; We must be thoughtful and deliberate about how we communicate and approach interactions with respect and humility.

Strategies / Resources

• Co-Teaching Rating Scales- (on your tables)

• Communication Strategies- pg. 664

29

Scenario Practice- pg. 665- 5 min.

Using your “Co-Teaching Scenarios” handout:

• Select a relevant scenario.

• Assign roles.

• Act it out (don’t just discuss it!) using some of the “Basic Communication Strategies.”

• Debrief the process.- 5 min.– Did you come to a satisfactory resolution?– Which strategies were effective? Why?

• Repeat (if time)

30

Closing – Sum It Up!

Answer the following in relation to today’s session on sentence strips – each response must be 10 words or less:

WHAT?

WHO?

WHEN?

HOW?

WHY?

Take a minute to fill out the

PLAN 10 section of the I-

Can chart.

Take a minute to fill out the

PLAN 10 section of the I-

Can chart.

Closing- Mad Minute

• In your table groups- take 60 seconds to brainstorm a list of as many people as possible that you may need to “bridge” with at your placement school, and not just co-teaching partners. Consider the obvious choices, and the not so obvious ones.

31

32

Next Steps

• Planning for highly effective collaborative relationships in your regional placement.

33

Bottom Line

Plan carefully before you begin collaboration and

co-teaching.