1. Cooperating Teachers and Student Teachers PAIRS WORKSHOP MSU Denver School of Education Fall 2017
“Those having torches will pass them onto others” - Plato

2. Working Definition of Mentoring
Professional practice that occurs in the context of teaching whenever an experienced teacher supports, challenges, and guides [pre-service] or novice teachers in their teaching practice.
Odell and Huling (2000, p. xv). Quality Mentoring for Novice Teachers
What words or ideas come to mind when we you think about Mentoring?

3. Beginning teachers
Beginning teachers can only reasonably be expected to succeed if they receive intentional, comprehensive support catered to meet their unique needs.

4. Significance of Cooperating Teachers (CT)
Effective CTs are critical to clinical experiences.
Student teachers view student teaching as most important component in preparation and consider CT as essential to their success.
“Cooperating teachers are the most powerful influence on the quality of student teaching and shape what student teachers learn by the way they mentor” (Weiss & Weiss, 2001)

5. 11 Ways Cooperating Teachers Participate in Teacher PREPARATION
Providers of feedback
Conveners of relation
Gatekeepers of the profession
Agents of socialization
Advocates of the practical
Modelers of practice
Supporters of reflection
Abiders of change
Teachers of children
Gleaners of knowledge
Purveyors of context
Brodie, Cowling, Nissen, (2009), Understanding participation: A literature review

6. Qualities: High-Performance Mentor Teacher
Rowley, J. (2009) The High Performance Mentor

8. effective mentor Traits (Johnson, 2008)
Sensitive to the needs of beginning teachers.
Ability to listen (invite discussion).
Communicate openly (includes sharing struggles).
Understanding of diverse learning preferences & past experiences.
Restraint from judgment (use data to reflect).
Model continuous professional learning.
Shares understanding of state/national standards as well as district/school expectations and norms.

9. effective mentoring: 4 Domains of Support

10. INSTRUCTIONAL mentoring
High Leverage Teaching Practices
(Included in Workshop Handouts)

12. Collaborative Clinical Mentoring Model
Establish:
Co-planning time.
Observation routine.
Conferencing opportunities to provide feedback and engage in a process of continuous improvement.
To consider, for example:
When will we schedule? What times of day are available? How can we make it consistent?
Can we implement each step of the process? What will this look like?
Challenges?

13. Post-Observation Conferencing: effective feedback
Effective feedback is timely, addresses intended learning, and offers clear, specific details.
Describe observations rather judge. What did you see?
Occurs during the learning process, when one can act.
Effective feedback does not “do the thinking. Discuss alternatives and ask questions rather giving solutions.
Effective feedback limits the corrective information to an amount a receiver can practically process/implement.
Feedback should lead to action.

14. Co Teaching: TEACHER Benefits
Teachers involved in co-teaching report increased professional satisfaction, professional growth, and opportunities for collaboration.
Exposure to new teaching approaches.
More hands-on teaching and interaction with students.
Encourages sharing of expertise and providing feedback.
Those experiencing co-teaching report feeling more energized and creative and had more fun teaching.
More on-task student behavior.
From Collaborative Teaching in Secondary Schools (p. 26)

15. CO-Teaching Approaches (cook & Friend, 1995)
One Teach, One Observe
One Teach, One Support/Assist
Parallel Teaching
Station Teaching
Alternative Teaching
Team Teaching
Key Points to Consider:
Parity between educators – switch roles often
Heterogeneous groups – switch students often
Use a variety of approaches!

16. Approach #1: One Teach, Observe
In One Teach, One Observe,
Co-teachers can identify in advance what skills, method, behaviors, etc. are to be observed.
Pairs use district/school specific observation tool to document notes and to inform de-briefs.

17. Approach #2: One Teach, One Support/Assist
In One Teach, One Support/Assist,
Co-teachers can identify in advance what supports are necessary.
One person would keep primary responsibility for teaching while the other professional circulates through the room providing unobtrusive assistance to students as needed. 

18. Approach #2: One Teach, One Support/Assist
looks like…
Whole Class
Teacher
Teacher

19. Approach #2: One Teach, One Support/Assist
What it does not looks like…
One Teach,
One grade papers
One Teach,
One catch up on IEPs
One Teach,
One catch up on lesson planning

20. Approach #2: One Teach, One Support/Assist
One Teach, One Support STRATEGIES
What can these look like?

21. Approach #3: Parallel Teaching
In Parallel Teaching,
Teachers are both teaching the same information, but they do so to a divided class group.
Parallel also may be used to vary learning experiences, for example, by providing manipulatives to one group but not the other, or by having the groups read about the same topic but at different levels of difficulty.

22. Approach #3: Parallel Teaching
Parallel Teaching looks like…
Half of Class
Half of Class
Teacher
Teacher

23. Approach #3: Parallel Teaching
What is Does NOT look like…
I will plan and teach on my island
You plan and teach on your island

24. Approach #3: Parallel Teaching
Strategies for Parallel Teaching
What can these look like?
Break groups by learning preferences, strengths, etc.
Ensure heterogeneity by using variety of grouping strategies.
Include “brain breaks” or times for teachers to connect and debrief.
Identify physical space needs/locations so this approach can be effectively utilized.

25. Approach #4: station Teaching
In Station Teaching,
In this co-teaching approach, teachers divide content and students. 
Each teacher then teaches the content to one group and subsequently repeats the instruction for the other group. 
Third and Fourth "stations" will give students an opportunity to work independently. As co-teachers become comfortable with their partnership, they may add more groups or otherwise create variations of this model.

26. Approach #4: station Teaching
Station teaching looks like…
Small
Group
Small
Group
Small
Group
Teacher
Small
Group
Teacher

27. Approach #4: station Teaching
What is Does NOT Always look like…
Gifted
Average
SPED

28. Approach #4: station Teaching
What cAN YOU TEACH USING THIS APPROACH?

29. Approach #5: Alternative Teaching
In Alternative Teaching,
In most class groups, occasions arise in which several students need specialized attention. In alternative teaching, one teacher takes responsibility for the large group while the other works with a smaller group. 
These smaller groups could be used for remediation, pre-teaching, to help students who have been absent catch up on key instruction, assessment, etc.

30. Approach #5: Alternative Teaching
Alternative Teaching looks like…
Small
Group
Large
Group
Teacher
Teacher

31. Approach #5: Alternative Teaching
Strategies for ALTERNATIVE Teaching
What CAN YOU USE THIS MODEL FOR?

32. Approach #6: Team Teaching
In “Teaming,”
In teaming, both teachers share delivery of the same instruction to a whole student group. 
Some teachers refer to this as having “one brain in two bodies.” Others call it “tag-team teaching.” 
Most co-teachers consider this approach the most complex, but satisfying way to co-teach. It is the approach most dependent on teachers’ styles.

33. Approach #6: Team Teaching
Strategies for Team Teaching
What CAN YOU DO?
Develop nonverbal and verbal signals.
Use questions of each other as a teaching strategy.
Facilitate multi-use learning games or activities .
Provide strategic instruction for whole class: mnemonics, graphic organizers, visual notes

34. Working Definition of Mentoring
Professional practice that occurs in the context of teaching whenever an experienced teacher supports, challenges, and guides [pre-service] or novice teachers in their teaching practice.
Odell and Huling (2000, p. xv). Quality Mentoring for Novice Teachers

35. References
Brodie, E., Cowling, E., & Nissen, N. (2009). Understanding participation: A literature review. London, England: NCVO, IVR & Involve.
Johnson, K. (2008). Being an effective mentor: How to help beginning teachers succeed. Thousand Oak, CA: Corwin.
Odell and Huling (2000).Quality Mentoring for Novice Teachers. Joint publication: Washington, D.C.: Association of Teacher Educators and Indianapolis, Indiana: Kappa Delta Pi.
Rowley, J. (2009) The High Performance Mentor. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
Weiss, E. M., & Weiss, S. (2001). Doing reflective supervision with student teachers in a professional development school culture. Reflective Practice, 2, 125–154.