1. Concord School

2. Concord School
Concord School is a prep to year 12 government school that caters for students with additional learning needs
Concord school has over 400 students over two campuses
Each student at Concord has an intellectual disability, though many students have additional disabilities and disorders (behavioural, psychological, auditory processing, learning disorders, etc)
Many attending students come from lower socio economic backgrounds, meaning that abuse, neglect, trauma are not uncommon issues that need to be dealt with
Students are taught the Victorian Curriculum in classes that average 12 students

3. @ Concord School Electronics - Caroline Music - Justin Media - Jane
Photography - Kris
Special Effects – Gwenda + Nikki
3D Printing & Design - Thom
Robotics - Jess

4. Why Team Teach? Half the Secondary 9/10 team was new
STEAM was a new program – staff unfamiliar with it
We wanted to make the most of each others knowledge and skills
Culture of Team Planning and Teaching in Maths and English but not in other subject areas
9/10 age is presents difficulties and behavioural problems – needed to work out how best to teach STEAM: Would Team Teaching help?

5. STEAM Action Research Cycles
Teachers get 4 sessions of APT
- 2 of these sessions are devoted to Team Planning for English and Maths
- Team Management Meetings, PLTs, Teaching and Learning PD sessions; all focus on English and Maths
- Very hard to find spare time to ‘team plan’ for STEAM
STEAM is a mainstream program that requires students to maintain a certain amount of knowledge so they can contribute to and lead the Group Action Research Project time

6. Concord’s Cycle of Action Research
CONCORD’S RESEARCH QUESTION:
‘What is the best model for Team Teaching?’
- At Concord
- In Secondary 9/10
- For STEAM
- With each students individual needs

7. Concord’s Cycle of Action Research
Actions / Modifications:
STEAM is taught across Secondary 9/10 (7 classes of 12 students)
STEAM is taught for 4 sessions each Friday
Each of the 6 models of Collaborative Team Teaching were taught over the year in STEAM
Having modified each approach to tailor individual needs of students, the most successful Team Teaching Models were:
One Teach, One Observe
One Teach, One Assist
Station Teaching (Rotational Teaching)
Tag Team (Traditional Co-Teaching)

8. Sample of a SWOT discussion post Team Teaching Lesson

9. Evidence / Data
Outcomes / Evidence (based on SWOTs and Formal/Informal Discussions:
Engagement
Changing person up front helped build student engagement
Teaching style changed with each teacher
Focus on student interest and skill base (whole/part/whole)
Lack of time to prepare STEAM Team Teaching lessons
Real collaboration was problematic
Set up time & physical room space was problematic (double the tables and chairs in a room)
Team Teaching with 3 classes was too much (too many students in a confined space)
Better coordination / planning before the lesson is required

10. Findings for 9/10 Where is/was the team placed?
Staff changes throughout year made things problematic
Change in leadership made things problematic
However – as seen in the staff survey:
All Secondary 9/10 teachers attitudes towards Team Teaching have improved
Confidence across the board re Team Teaching has Risen
Willingness and level of optimism to try new things and approach new Team Teaching Pedagogy has increased
Working Towards:
Need to strengthen knowledge of what each teacher is doing in their own STEAM program
Need to find more planning time for STEAM
Work with new 9/10 teachers in 2017 to upskill them in the 6 Team Teaching Models

11. Findings

12. Precinct Ball Game Video

13. Findings for Concord School
Renewed emphasis on creating a Collaborative Culture
Leadership changing policies and processes to encourage better collaboration and Team Teaching and Planning across all areas of the curriculum
New initiatives around:
Assessment
Evaluating Data / Modifying Teaching Approach
Planning
Implementation
Examples of targeted processes:
Team Planning
Peer Observation
Common Assessment Tasks
Team Teaching
Instructional Leaders

15. Advice / Thoughts / Useful Strategies Ensure management is on board
Provide adequate time for planning
Be prepared to try different models
Be prepared to fail and modify
Try to create a positive culture (attitude) around Team Teaching
Consider how success will be measured (student engagement, surveys, results, SWOTs, etc)
Best advice: ‘Just do it’, ‘have a go’, ‘don’t over think it’

16. Thank you