CO-TEACHING CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS OFFICE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION AND SUPPORTS

AGENDA Introduction Co-Teaching Why Co-Teach? Four (4) P’s to co-teaching Co-Teaching Approaches Collaboration Barriers to Collaboration Questions, Responses

CO-TEACHING CO-TEACHING IS A SERVICE DELIVERY SYSTEM WHERE TWO OR MORE TEACHERS (ONE A GENERAL EDUCATOR AND THE OTHER A SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER) WORK AS A TEAM TO:  Share instructional responsibility  Modify the setting, curriculum, materials and teaching strategies  Incorporate inclusive practices  Incorporate specific content (objectives)

WHY CO-TEACH?  Co-teaching affords students with disabilities or other special needs extra help.  All students receive improved instruction.  Students with special needs don’t have to leave the classroom to receive services.  Co-teaching can be a support network.  Co-teaching provides more expertise in a classroom.  Co-teaching provides a great support system for the professionals.

4 P’s TO CO-TEACHING PLANNING PRESENTING PROCESSING PROBLEM-SOLVING

PLANNING Discuss teacher’s roles Plan together Teachers must be flexible and willing to share and accept responsibilities

PRESENTING One Teach, One Observe One Teach, One Assist Station Teaching Parallel Teaching Alternative Teaching Team Teaching

One Teach, One Observe One teacher is available to observe and collect specific information during instruction. The teachers analyze the information together.

One Teach, One Assist One teacher primarily leads instruction while the other monitors learning processes and provides specific and constructive feedback

Station Teaching Teachers divide the responsibility for planning and content instruction. Students rotate between them at two or more stations. Instruction is repeated to each group, though delivery may be different based on student needs.

Parallel Teaching On occasion, students’ learning would be greatly facilitated if they had more supervision by the teacher or more opportunity to respond. In this approach, co- teachers are both teaching the same information, but they divide the class and conduct the lesson simultaneously.

Alternative Teaching One teacher completes the planned lesson with a large group of students while the other teacher works with a small group with an alternative lesson or the same lesson taught at a different level or for a different purpose.

Team Teaching/Teaming Teachers work together to deliver the same material to the entire class.

PROCESSING Ideally, process together Make a note in the plan book Incorporate processing into the student’s lesson

PROBLEM SOLVING Define the problem Collect data Brainstorm the solutions Choose the best one Implement Evaluate

COLLABORATION  Refers to how individuals interact.  Involves everyone responsible for a child’s education  Includes instruction, planning, student achievement, assessment and discipline  Helps students to succeed

BARRIERS TO COLLABORATION School Structure Time Resources Workload Lack of clear Role Definition Space Responsibility/Ownership of Students Fear of Change/Resistance Cooperation with others

A FINAL THOUGHT In the end, all learners need your energy, your heart and your mind. They have that in common because they are young humans. How they need you, however, differs. Unless we understand and respond to those differences, we will fail many learners. Carol Ann Tomlinson

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Deboer A., (1995). Working Together: The Art of Consulting; Longmont, Co. Sopris West Deboer, A. & Gister, S. (1995). Working Together: Tools for Collaborative Teaching, Longmont, Co. Sopris West Friend, Marilyn (1993) Waldo, Patti (1995) VISTA Associates