Collaborative Practices of General & Special Education Teachers: Making a Difference in Students’ Mathematics Learning DeAnn Huinker, UW-Milwaukee Judy Winn, UW – Milwaukee Mary Spidell, Milwaukee Public Schools Chris Guthrie, Elmbrook Schools WMC Green Lake Conference May 7, 2010

Presentation Objective & WALT Develop a stronger alliance between special education teachers and general education teachers. Investigate strategies that are showing promise in reaching the needs of students struggling to learn math. WALT (We Are Learning To)… Collaborate with special education and general education teachers to plan and implement effective mathematics instruction. Chris What will you walk away with? Methods for collaborating during instruction Methods for collaborating during planning for that instruction Resources to guide you on this journey 2

Alliance for Teaching Mathematics to Special Education Learners Vision Improve mathematics performance for students in grades 4-8, particularly for students with special needs and for students who struggle, and Support a school culture for collaboration of general and special education teachers on improving math for all students Judy

Alliance for Teaching Mathematics to Special Education Learners Goals To strengthen the mathematics content knowledge of general and special education teachers; To enhance mathematics instructional and assessment practices, focusing on appropriate accommodations and modifications for special education students; To increase collaboration on math instruction between general and special education teachers. Judy

Alliance for Teaching Mathematics to Special Education Learners DeAnn

Alliance for Teaching Mathematics to Special Education Learners 3-year project funded by WI DPI, Mathematics and Science Partnership Program, ESEA Title II Part B  17 credits over the 3 years 35 participants 17 special education teachers 12 teachers of math 2 special education diagnostic teachers 4 math teacher leaders 6 instructors Meet on Tuesday evenings during the school year and summers DeAnn

Vocabulary Activity Everyone will have a vocabulary card taped to his/her back. Move around the room asking each person a yes or no question to try to figure out the vocabulary word or phrase on your back. You may not ask the same person two questions in a row.  You have 10 minutes to try to figure out your word or phrase. When you think you know your word, find others who have the same word and form a group.

Vocabulary Activity Inclusion Resource Support Parallel Accessibility Barriers Plans Station

Three arrangements for math instruction for students with disabilities Inclusion without special education support Resource/pull-out without regular education support Co-teaching There is not one best way to collaborate; what is important is that there is collaboration. Chris

6 Models of Co-teaching One teach, One support One teach, One observe Station Teaching Parallel Teaching Alternative Teaching Team Teaching Source: Friend, M. Chris Six models of co-teaching with examples on slides (Then Chris and Mary talk about how it is done in their schools and the different ways it is used. Draw from participants about any co-teaching they do

One teach, One support One teacher leads the lesson while one teacher moves around the room providing support to students as needed. Chris Six models of co-teaching with examples on slides (Then Chris and Mary talk about how it is done in their schools and the different ways it is used. Also there are slides that follow taken from Alliance participants on their initial surveys Draw from participants about any co-teaching they do

One teach, One observe One teacher leads the lesson while the other teacher observes the lesson. Strengths Weaknesses Chris Six models of co-teaching with examples on slides (Then Chris and Mary talk about how it is done in their schools and the different ways it is used. Also there are slides that follow taken from Alliance participants on their initial surveys Draw from participants about any co-teaching they do

Station Teaching Teachers work with students at different stations that students rotate through. Strengths Weaknesses Chris Six models of co-teaching with examples on slides (Then Chris and Mary talk about how it is done in their schools and the different ways it is used. Also there are slides that follow taken from Alliance participants on their initial surveys Draw from participants about any co-teaching they do

Parallel Teaching Both teachers give the same lesson at the same time to different heterogeneous groups. Strengths Weaknesses Chris Six models of co-teaching with examples on slides (Then Chris and Mary talk about how it is done in their schools and the different ways it is used. Also there are slides that follow taken from Alliance participants on their initial surveys Draw from participants about any co-teaching they do

Alternative Teaching One teacher provides instruction to the large group while the other teacher works with a smaller group of students. Strengths Weaknesses Chris Six models of co-teaching with examples on slides (Then Chris and Mary talk about how it is done in their schools and the different ways it is used. Also there are slides that follow taken from Alliance participants on their initial surveys Draw from participants about any co-teaching they do

Team Teaching Both teachers share the instructional activities equally Strengths Weaknesses Chris Six models of co-teaching with examples on slides (Then Chris and Mary talk about how it is done in their schools and the different ways it is used. Also there are slides that follow taken from Alliance participants on their initial surveys Draw from participants about any co-teaching they do

Alliance Participants We collaborate daily on what we need to work on the next day by discussing our thoughts on student achievement for that days activities Our conversations are mostly around management and the attainment of IEP goals at about the time the IEP is due. Occasionally we talk about content. We talk on a daily basis about concepts being taught in classroom. We work on assessments together Mary

Alliance Participants Talk about strategies we use what has worked, what hasn’t, what they seem to understand. We meet at least once per month to discuss pacing and strategies We are collaborating to teach a small group of learners-primarily with cognitive disabilities. We just started collaborating but we expect 50/50 share in teaching Mary

Essentials for Co-teaching Voluntary participation Time to plan together Mutual respect Administrative support Flexibility & creativity Personal and professional compatibility Shared instructional philosophy Chris

Planning Strategies Addressing Accessibility in Mathematics Focus on mathematics Focus on students Identify potential barriers Brainstorm accessibility strategies Share the strategies Plan follow-up actions Judy

Planning Strategies Addressing Accessibility in Mathematics 1. Focus on the mathematics What are the mathematics goals? What are the tasks? What is most important for all students to learn? 2. Focus on students What are your student’s strengths and weaknesses? 3. Identify potential barriers What is the match or mismatch between the lesson’s mathematics content and the student’s strengths and weaknesses? Judy

Planning Strategies Addressing Accessibility in Mathematics 4. Brainstorm accessibility strategies What strategies would you use to meet students’ needs and enable them to reach the mathematics goals? Judy

Planning Strategies Addressing Accessibility in Mathematics 5. Share the Strategies What strategies would you choose for your student? What strategies would you use if you had all these students? Judy

The Problem Chris leads the group through the activity Each group has one student NOTE: I like the end question on the table about what you would do if you had all of these students in the class. Share out Mathematics goals, tasks, important for all students to learn Then share strengths, weaknesses and potential barriers by student Then strategies they have picked Show them what we listed for each (KID – we need to decide who is doing that)

The Activity Solve the problem Identify the Big Math Ideas for the problem Based on your table’s student vignette, and using the provided planning sheet, identify: The student’s strengths Potential barriers for the students How to make this problem accessible for the student Be prepared to share Chris Chris, Mary and Judy with strategies we came up with Chris leads the group through the activity Each group has one student NOTE: I like the end question on the table about what you would do if you had all of these students in the class. Share out Mathematics goals, tasks, important for all students to learn Then share strengths, weaknesses and potential barriers by student Then strategies they have picked Show them what we listed for each (KID – we need to decide who is doing that)

Accessibility Strategies - Kevin Read descriptions to him or seat him with strong reader Have him paraphrase descriptions once he hears them Have him highlight important information in the story and then match to graph Provide hints (Adapted from Brodesky et. al, 2004) Mary

Accessibility Strategies Isabelle -Allow Isabelle “movement breaks” during the problem. -Ask Isabelle to repeat or rephrase instructions given by the teacher -Have a secret code or signal between teacher and Isabelle to help “tune her back in”. -When working in a small group, ask Isabelle to be the record keeper to help keep her on task. Have Isabelle review her work and initial each step after she reviews it. Mary

Accessibility Strategies Danny Use a planning sheet Consider using only three graphs Consider a template for his response - Preview activity with Danny and review turn taking and listening skills (Adapted from Brodesky et. al, 2004) Mary

Accessibility Strategies Sarah Have Sarah paraphrase what she is to do Have her tell identify places on graphs showing slow growth of the plant Model linking one graph to the story and numbers for her -Have her use graph paper to graph one set of numbers - Give her written hints (Adapted from Brodesky et. al, 2004) Mary

Co-Teaching: What is the literature telling us? Requires mutual respect, trust, commitment to planning and common philosophy Requires administrative support Requires TIME for planning Difficult if teachers did not select models Voluntary participants more favorable than those who are assigned Gets better over time (Reviewed in Friend, 2007; Mastroprieri et. Al, 2005; Stivers, 20) Judy

Teachers speak out The special educator I work with says she doesn’t really know the curriculum and is uncomfortable participating in instruction. I’m not sure what she is supposed to do. The classroom teacher told me that I should not talk during instruction. He told me that after he finished, I could walk around and help “my” students. I feel like a teaching assistant. We never have a chance to plan, so it is not a real partnership. (M. Friend, 2007) Judy

Teachers speak out I knew this wasn’t going to work – after all, I don’t have special education training. But I have to admit, it’s the best thing we have ever done for our kids. I could never go back to the old system. I never realized how much potential these students have. They’re making more progress than I ever thought possible when I had them in the special education classroom. Why didn’t we do this years ago? (M. Friend, 2007) Judy

Card Activity Wrap-up How could you differentiate this activity? Content: Process: Product: Mary If time, to wrap up, Mary returns to card activity and leads what you could do to make it accessible to the KIDs

Helpful website with many links to other helpful websites Addressing Accessibility in Mathematics www.edc.org/accessmath This website has excellent planning tools and strategies as well as links to many other helpful websites.