Co-Teaching in an Inclusive Setting By: Shanna Boucher

WE BELIEVE ……. Each individual can learn Each individual is valued Each individual is accepted for his/her unique abilities Inclusive schools promote respect for diversity

Why is Southbridge moving toward a co-teaching model? Inclusion is not going away. It is the future of education. Southbridge has a moderately high special ed population. The expansion of Section 504 documents adds to the number of students that need to be taught in a different way. Good co-teaching addresses these needs and allows ALL students access to Tier 1 instruction from a teacher certified in the content area, while also benefitting from the individual attention of a special educator. It is the most inexpensive and inclusive way to meet IDEA’s mandate that we educate all students in their least restrictive environment. For most of our students, the LRE is the general education inclusive classroom.

Co-teaching According to Dr. Marilyn Friend, co-teaching is a service delivery option of two or more educators that contract to share instructional responsibility for a single group of students. The co-teachers share mutual ownership, pooled resources and joint accountability for the group of students.

What Makes It Co-teaching? Co-teaching starts with co-planning Co-teaching means that ALL the students are the equal responsibility of both teachers Co-teaching means both teachers deliver instruction, perhaps in different ways Co-teaching means co-assessing and shared grading

Not all teachers enjoy “sharing the spotlight”. As the special educators, we need to put on a brave face and keep trying. Ease into collaboration by offering to plan and deliver a warm-up, or a vocabulary lesson that introduces new important content-specific terminology to the class. If planned in advance, these types of lessons should go smoothly. They also introduce the idea that both educators are the teachers of the class. One isn’t the teacher and the other the “helper”. Co- teaching removes the stigma of the special educator as an outsider.

NO! Co-teaching is a large initial time investment. It can be difficult to readjust your idea of how best to present material to take the other teacher’s ideas into account. But once you push past the initial awkwardness of sharing responsibility, co-teaching gets easier. THE HONESTY SLIDE Is it completely effective at first? Does it work if one or the other isn’t invested? Is it easy to work together immediately? Is it meant to punish general education teachers? Is it a burden?

6 Co-teaching Models  One teach/one observe  One teach/one drift, assist  Parallel teaching  Station teaching  Alternative teaching  Team teaching

One teach/One observe Recommended use: Occasional!!! One teacher delivers instruction One teacher observes and collects data to adjust instruction and/or intervention The purpose of this model is to collect data that will drive instruction and/or address behavioral issues

One teach/one observe Should really only be done if a student is being observed for a behavior plan or to gather data in a RTI model This is useful if the gen ed teacher is worried that a student is having significant learning difficulties that are not behavioral.

One teach/One drift Recommended use: Seldom!!! One teacher delivers content One teacher provides classroom support The purpose of this model is while one teacher is delivering content, the other teacher can provide support to students who are having a difficult time taking notes, grasping concepts, controlling their behavior or remaining focused.

One teach/One drift This is the lowest level of co-teaching, but unfortunately it is very common throughout the district This can quickly turn into the special ed teacher acting as a para/tutor, who have important roles in the classroom that do not include teaching This should be utilized when the SET has little content knowledge in an area This can also be useful when a complicated process is being presented, allowing the SET to introduce and explain how to use a template/visual/organizational tool that students can apply to the lesson(s)

Parallel Teaching Recommended use: Frequent!!! Teachers divide students into two heterogeneous groups, and each teaches the same material to their group. The purpose of this model is: to provide students with a smaller student- teacher ratio increased opportunity for practice, participation and monitoring of student progress

Parallel Teaching In order for parallel teaching to work, both teachers need to have the same level of comfort with the content material Parallel teaching cements the role of SET as a true teacher in the classroom Students have more of a chance of getting a clarifying question answered when they are part of a smaller group Parallel teaching requires a large time investment in planning- both teachers need to ensure that they finish up the lesson in a similar amount of time, and that they keep their noise levels down so as to not disturb the other group’s learning Works especially well for reviews before assessment

Station Teaching Recommended use: Frequent!!! Grouping is done by several different criteria: ability level, content, interest…. The purpose of this model is: to provide students with various methods and perspectives around a common theme to incorporate multiple intelligence teaching to provide small group instruction opportunities to provide kinesthetic breaks for students

Station Teaching Stations/Centers are a great way to begin peer mentoring relationships Stations make it easy to provide enrichment/application activities for advanced learners Stations also allow for a hands-on activity that can appeal to kinesthetic learners Each teacher can run one station, allowing new content or applications to be taught Teachers can also float station to station, asking probing questions and assisting students in need of help, which allows for more student-driven learning Stations offer the most diversity and flexibility in a co-taught classroom Remember (especially middle/high school teachers): General ed content teachers aren’t the only ones who can work with advanced learners- gifted & talented programs are considered special education. Stations offer a great opportunity to work with these students.

Alternative Teaching Recommended use: Occasional!!! One teacher manages the large group while the other breaks off a small group to teach a particular skill or enrichment activity The purpose is to provide a small group of students with specialized attention (eg: remediation, pre-teaching, enrichment, oral testing). This type of teaching works well for both remediation of struggling learners/special education students/ELLs and for enrichment of advanced learners.

Alternative Teaching The most important thing to remember with alternative teaching is to keep it in the classroom- co-teaching is a way to avoid pull-out! Shouldn’t always be led by the SET. If a small group of students is struggling conceptually, the GET is probably a better choice to do the alternative teach, since they are the content experts Use during warm-up exercises to pre-teach vocabulary (great for ELLs) Review concepts taught the day before (students with memory issues/ADHD) Remind students with LD about prerequisite/foundational math skills required for current topic

Team Teaching Recommended use: Occasional requires both teachers to actively teach students at the same time. often one lecturing or leading a discussion, while the other models the skills that the students should be using during this time to stay organized. key element of teaming is that both teachers are fully participating in delivering the main content of the lesson. The purpose of this model is: To model teaming to students Make immediate curriculum adjustments Use a variety of presentation styles

Team Teaching SET doesn’t necessarily need to know the content perfectly, but needs to actively teach at the same time as the GET Some examples: *GET lectures about topic, SET models note-taking on overhead *GET and SET “tag team” teach- go back and forth from different areas of the room This keeps kids on their toes and interested, as they watch the personalities of the teachers interact This is a great opportunity to use the Mobi and other technology Team teaching usually requires an established relationship in which both teachers feel comfortable with each other and their teaching styles

Why Co-teaching works! Co-teaching makes you a better teacher. You can learn new approaches and styles from your co- teacher. It lessens the planning and grading load. It helps you to develop professional relationships and leads to better morale and climate in the workplace. Develop relationships Structure Shared planning and evaluation Learn from each other Less boring Shared accountability 2 heads are better than one It’s fun Climate is improved Students become accepting Fresh ideas Less chance a kid falls through the cracks More modeling Peer tutoring Distribution of work load Presentation variety More creativity

References Friend, M. (2008) Co-Teach! A handbook for creating and sustaining effective classroom partnerships in inclusive schools. Greensboro, NC: Marylin Friend, Inc. Heineman Kunkel, S. (2004) Practical Inclusion Strategies Grades 6-12, Bureau of Education and Research

Questions?