1. Co-teaching: Teamwork to Support All Learners Kristall Day & Katelyn Fishley Diocese Academy June 20, 2018

2. Welcome
Who is here?
How many general education or content area teachers? Intervention specialists?
Elementary? Middle? High school?
How many of you co-teach? Who do you co-teach with?

3. Objectives Define co-teaching
Discuss strategies and tools for nurturing an effective co-teaching relationship
Identify examples of co-teaching arrangements
Discuss advantages and disadvantages for each arrangement

4. Rationale for Co-teaching
10 variables & impact student achievement:
clarity
enthusiasm
variety
task-oriented behaviors
content covered
student ideas during discussion
criticism (negative correlation)
structuring comments
variety questions
probing questions
(Rosenshine and Furst, 1971)

5. co-teaching is one way to address these!
Rationale Narrowed
Rosenshine (1979) narrowed this list to the 2 MOST impactful variables:
content covered
academically engaged minutes
Effective
co-teaching is one way to address these!

6. Current Literature on Co-teaching
Increase of standardized test scores for Sw/D (Hang & Rabren, 2009)
Accelerated rate of achievement and access to general education (Walsh, 2012)
No negative impact of inclusive practices for student groups (Dessemontet & Bless, 2013)
Decrease in achievement gap for students with EAL designation (Pardini, 2006)

7. Co-teaching Defined Critical Elements of the Definition:
Two or more professionals with different primary areas of expertise
Joint planning, delivery, and assessment of instruction
Emphasis on meeting the needs of diverse learners

8. But….. We know that asking people to work together isn’t always easy!
Different philosophies, training
Personality clashes
Lack of time
Territory battles
Miscommunication

9. How do we get here as quickly as possible?
Stages of Co-teaching
Beginning
Guarded, careful communication
Compromising
Give & take
Collaborating
Open communication, mutual respect
How do we get here as quickly as possible?
Gately & Gately 2001

10. Effective Co-teaching Includes..
Shared vision & expectations
Structure
Time
Supportive and Positive Communication!!!!

11. Tools for: Shared vision and expectations

12. Discussion: Review the assessments. How can these be helpful?
New to Co-teaching?
Tools to get to know yourself and your co-teaching partner:
S.H.A.R.E.
Questions to identify individual preferences
Preliminary Discussion Questions
Philosophies, routines, expectations
Teaching Style Inventory
Defining Critical Behaviors
Discussion: Review the assessments. How can these be helpful?

13. Already Co-teaching? Co-teaching Rating Scale
Self-assessment capturing components
Starting point for discussion
Target area(s) for improvement
Create a plan
Implement plan
Evaluate progress/ plan

14. Components of Co-teaching
Interpersonal communication
Physical arrangement
Familiarity with the curriculum
Curriculum goals and modifications
Instructional planning
Instructional presentation
Classroom management
Assessment
Gately & Gately 2001

15. Ratings scales include a version for supervisor, general education teacher, and special education teacher. How can these be used?
Gately & Gately 2001

16. Tools for: Structure

17. Co-planning and Assessment
Content
Big ideas/ standards? Common misconceptions? Minimum level of mastery?
Student needs
Adaptations? Accommodations? Modifications? Differentiation?
Lesson plans
Learning goal
Activities
Assessment
Co-teaching structure/ arrangement

18. Templates for Planning and Assessment
Curriculum snapshots
Individual Student Needs Summary
Weekly planner
Co-teaching structure planner
Daily lesson plan template

19. Discussion: Disadvantages?
Co-teaching Arrangements
One Teaching, One Observing (Assisting)
One teacher has the primary responsibility for planning and teaching
Other teacher helps students or records data
Some advantages of this approach are:
Individual help
Keeps students on task
Saves time when distributing materials
Can observe behavior
Supporting can observe good teaching practices
Discussion: Disadvantages?

20. Co-teaching Arrangements
One Teaching, One Observing (Assisting)
Some disadvantages of this approach are:
One teacher has more control than the other
One teacher is viewed as the teacher’s aide
May be distracting to some students
Students begin to expect immediate one-on-one assistance
Discussion:
Have you encountered any of these challenges? How can you overcome these challenges?

21. Co-teaching Arrangements
Parallel Teaching
Teachers plan jointly but split the classroom in half to teach the same information at the same time.
Some advantages of this approach are:
Preplanning provides better teaching
Smaller groups
Implementation of grouping strategies
Some disadvantages of this approach are:
Both teachers need to be competent in the content
Pacing must be the same
Must be enough space in the classroom
Can be noisy

22. Co-teaching Arrangements
Alternative Teaching
One teacher manages most of the class while the other teacher works with a small group inside or outside of the classroom.
Some advantages of this approach are:
Helps meet the personal needs of students
Both teachers can remain in the classroom
Some disadvantages of this approach are:
Stigma
Students may view one teacher as having more authority
Noise level must be controlled
There must be adequate space

23. Co-teaching Arrangements
Station Teaching
The classroom is divided into various teaching centers
Some advantages of this approach are: 
Teachers have clear responsibilities
Small groups
Cover more material in a shorter period of time
Fewer discipline problems
Grouping strategies
Maximizes the use of volunteers or extra adults in the room
Some disadvantages of this approach are:
Requires a lot of preplanning
All materials must be prepared and organized in advance
Noise at maximum level
Pacing
One or more groups must work independently

24. Co-teaching Arrangements
Team Teaching
Both teachers are responsible for planning, and they share the instruction of all students.
Some advantages of this approach are:
Each teacher has an active role
Students view both teachers as having equal status
Both teachers are involved in classroom organization and management
Teachers may try things in pairs that they wouldn’t try alone
“Two heads are better than one”
Some disadvantages of this approach are:
Preplanning takes a considerable amount of time
Teachers’ roles need to be clearly defined for shared responsibility

25. Example

26. Tools for: Time

27. Ongoing Communication
Common planning
Consistent meeting time
Use of technology
Dropbox, Google Drive, Slack, etc.
Consistent formats for documents
Advocate for time
Discussion:
Other ideas?

28. Maximize Time Take time to have discussions to get to know each other
Create a plan
Implement the plan & collect data
Evaluate the plan
Make changes as needed
Celebrate successes

29. Monitor Progress Tracking Our Progress through the 3 Stages
Co-planning, Co-teaching, Co-managing, Co-assessing Action Plan
Discussion:
Start small! Don’t tackle everything at once! What would be your priority?

30. Recommended Resources

31. Contact Kristall Day – dayk@ohiodominican.edu
Katelyn Fishley–