Co-Teaching in the 21st Century Rob Brown Greg Costello Jeff Hurt July 31, 2012

Data from Suburban High School Test Grade Subject Disabled Flag N Y Metrics Proficient Pct 10th Grade Reading 98.0% 67.4% Writing 96.3% 65.1% Mathematics 99.0% 58.1% Social Studies 96.9% 62.8% Science 93.5% 11th Grade 99.7% 81.6% 86.5% 73.7% 99.1% 67.6% 97.7% 62.2% 12th Grade 99.3% 92.9% 89.3% 85.7% 75.0% 98.6%

Co-Teaching Issues for Discussion & Planning

Co-Teaching Lesson Gone Wrong

Problem of Practice The implementation of Co-Teaching at Suburban High School was initiated without proper training. The planning time provided to the teachers using this model is poorly structured due to competing ideas on delivering the curriculum to the students. There is little constructive dialogue between the cooperating teachers, which in turn allows for unstructured lessons and misuse of human capital.

What Do We Want? Clear Outcome Measures Narrowing the Achievement Gap between subgroups Improved dialogue between co-teachers Improved lessons in the co-teaching classroom (i.e. using both teachers equally, and eliminating the assistant or glorified “pointer” role) Achieve sustainability in our plan

Professional Development on the Front End Department Chairs sent to Co-Teaching Conference along with Assistant Principal Report from conference attendees to the Principal on best practices for Co-Teaching Seek interest in Co-Teaching volunteers among regular ed. staff “Required Opportunity” for all special ed. staff to co-teach Co-Teaching Team sent to local high school where co-teaching model is working; observe best practices

How Do We Solve This Problem How Do We Solve This Problem? Co-Teaching Issues for Discussion & Planning 1. Time for Planning   How much time will we need? Where will we find the time that we need? How will we use our time together? What records can we keep to facilitate our planning?

How Do We Solve This Problem How Do We Solve This Problem? Co-Teaching Issues for Discussion & Planning 2. Instruction   What content will we include and who will plan for what content? How will we share teaching responsibilities? Who will adapt the curriculum, instructional, and assessment procedures for select students? What are our strengths in the areas of curriculum, instruction, and assessment? How will the content be presented – what style(s) will we use? How will we assess the effectiveness or our instruction?

How Do We Solve This Problem How Do We Solve This Problem? Co-Teaching Issues for Discussion & Planning 3. Student Behavior Who will decide on the classroom rules and disciplinary procedures? Who will carry out the disciplinary procedures and deliver the consequences? How will we be consistent in dealing with behavior? How will we proactively address behavior?

How Do We Solve This Problem How Do We Solve This Problem? Co-Teaching Issues for Discussion & Planning 4. Communication What ground rules do we want to establish to govern our communication during planning and while teaching? What types & frequency of communication do we each like to have with parents? How will we explain this collaborative teaching arraignment to the parents? Who will communicate with parents and administrators? How will we ensure regular communication with one another?

How Do We Solve This Problem How Do We Solve This Problem? Co-Teaching Issues for Discussion & Planning 5. Evaluation How will we monitor student progress? How will we assess and grade student performance? Who will evaluate which group of students – do team members collaborate in evaluating all students’ performances, or is each member primarily responsible for evaluating a subset of students?

How Do We Solve This Problem How Do We Solve This Problem? Co-Teaching Issues for Discussion & Planning 6. Logistics How will we explain our co-teaching arrangement to the students and convey that we are equals in the classroom? How will the teaching space be shared and how will the room be arranged? How will a balance of decision-making power be maintained among co-teachers?

Professional Development: Sustaining the Model Create common planning time for the cooperating teachers Structure the common planning time with research based practices (see next slide) Excuse all co-teachers from one regularly occurring staff meeting per month to discuss best practices and issues in their classrooms (Assistant Principal will attend this meeting)