1. Co-teaching: A New Framework for Learning How to Teach
Anne Davidson, Louise Hatala, Jon Howeiler, Jane Kinyoun, Nancy Place
Thank you all for being here. I especially want to thank the cooperating teachers, field instructors and UWB faculty. I know that technically you are still on vacation, and that vacation time is precious. So thanks for caring about your work with our teacher candidates and about UWB.
This presentation is based on work that was done at St. Cloud University.

2. Overview Background to Co-Teaching Examples of Co-Teaching Strategies
During this hour I’ll begin with some background on co-teaching – what it is, why we want to do it – with the bulk of the time spent demonstrating or providing examples of different co-teaching strategies. We envisioned today as just the beginning of our conversation about co-teaching, so there will also be lots more time in the future to discuss issues. I also want to add that the slides you’ll be seeing today are not in your packet, but for the most part the information we’ll be discussing is. If you want any of the slides from this presentation, just let me know and I’ll be happy to them to you.

3. Co-Teaching
Co-Teaching is defined as two teachers working together with groups of students and sharing the planning, organization, delivery and assessment of instruction, as well as the physical space
So, what is Co-Teaching? Read slide
Co-teaching was initially developed by special education and general education teachers as a way to work together to best support the learning of all students in their classrooms. It makes a lot of sense to transport this model to cooperating teachers working with teacher candidates.
Copyright 2009, St. Cloud State University, Teacher Quality Enhancement Center:
Research Funded by a US Department of Education, Teacher Quality Enhancement Grant

4. Some Important Aspects of Co-Teaching
Both teachers are engaged
A variety of strategies for co-teaching
A scaffolded approach to learning to teach
Gradual shift of responsibility
Reflects a changing definition of classroom teaching
Several aspects of co-teaching which I find particularly importatn
First, It makes a lot of sense. Both teachers are engaged – one is not active while the other is passive. Both are engaged in the act of teaching.
Second – there are a variety of strategies for co-teaching. It’s not just about team teaching, which was new information for me. We’ll be talking about these strategies more in a few minutes.
Third – this creates a naturally scaffolded approach to learning to teach. The cooperating teacher and teacher candidate work together to plan, instruct and assess. As a result, the cooperating teacher is more clearly modeling and coaching. This is not about sink or swim. It also means that joint planning involving the cooperating teacher and the teacher intern is critical.
Fourth, although some solo teaching is still a part of the process, the big idea for me is the shift in responsibility for planning and implementation that occurs in this process. As the year progresses, the lead shifts from the cooperating teacher to the teacher candidate.
Finally, I think that co-teaching is a reflection of our changing definition of classroom teaching. Increasingly, teachers are expected to work with a variety of people in their classrooms – paraprofessionals, special ed and ELL teachers, curriculum specialists and parents – and co-teaching helps teacher candidates learn to collaborate with a variety of people to the best advantage of children.

5. What are the benefits? Benefits to students
Benefits to teacher candidates
Benefits to cooperating teachers

6. K-6 Reading Proficiency
Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment
NCLB proficiency test for Minnesota
Statistically significant findings in all four years
MCA Reading Proficiency
Co-Taught
Not χ²
82.1% (N=318)
74.7% (N=1035)
.007
78.7% (N=484)
72.7% (N=1757)
.008
75.5% (N=371)
64.1% (N=1964)
< .001
80.8% (N=261)
61.4% (N=2246)
<.001
First, there seem to be great benefits to children. The researchers at St Cloud University did a variety of studies in math and reading and consistently found higher achievement for all children in a co-teaching model as opposed to a traditional student teaching model. This slide shows the results of the MCA, which is a standards based assessment like our WASL. Students in co-taught classrooms out-performed students in classrooms where traditional student teaching occurred. The results were similar for math.
Copyright 2009, St. Cloud State University, Teacher Quality Enhancement Center:
Research Funded by a US Department of Education, Teacher Quality Enhancement Grant
Copyright 2009, St. Cloud State University, Teacher Quality Enhancement Center 6

7. K-6 Reading Proficiency
Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment
NCLB proficiency test for Minnesota
Statistically significant findings in all four years
MCA Reading
Proficiency
Co-Taught
Not p
OVERALL (4 Year Cumulative)
78.8% (N=1461)
67.0% (N=6975)
< .001
Free/Reduced Lunch Eligible
65.0% (N=477)
52.8% (N=2906)
Special Education Eligible
74.4% (N=433)
52.3% (N=2124)
English Language Learners
44.7% (N=76)
30.4% (N=546)
.012
Students who were on free and reduced price lunch, who had special needs, or who were English language learners also had higher achievement using a co-teaching model as opposed to a traditional student teaching model.
Copyright 2009, St. Cloud State University, Teacher Quality Enhancement Center:
Research Funded by a US Department of Education, Teacher Quality Enhancement Grant

8. Reading Proficiency Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment
Co-teaching Candidate & Traditional Student Teacher: [χ² (1df, N=419) = 12.52, p=.001]
Co-teaching Candidate &. Traditional Student Teacher: [χ² (1df, N=644) = 12.17, p=.001]
One Teacher &. Traditional Student Teacher: [χ² (1df, N=1757) = 5.32, p=.021]
This is the slide that I think is telling. Students had greater achievement scores with a co-teaching model than with a traditional student teachign model and better achievement scores than a single classroom teacher on her own. It makes sense – you have two adults working with kids in the classroom.
χ² (2 df, N=1353) = 12.79, p = .002
χ² (2 df, N=2241) = 12.54, p = 002
Copyright 2009, St. Cloud State University, Teacher Quality Enhancement Center
Copyright 2009, St. Cloud State University, Teacher Quality Enhancement Center:
Research Funded by a US Department of Education, Teacher Quality Enhancement Grant 8

9. 7-12 Student Data - Advantages to Co-Teaching Cumulative Data 2004-2008 (N=1,686)
I appreciate that the researchers at St. Cloud also asked the students what they think. This graph shows the results of a survey given to 1, 686 middle and high school students. I think it’s interesting that the top response was that students got more help with questions, followed by different styles of teaching and more individual attention. I think that these three items reflect differentiated instruction, which students obviously notice and appreciate.
Copyright 2009, St. Cloud State University, Teacher Quality Enhancement Center
Copyright 2009, St. Cloud State University, Teacher Quality Enhancement Center:
Research Funded by a US Department of Education, Teacher Quality Enhancement Grant 9

10. 7-12 Student Data – Disadvantages to Co-Teaching
Of course, nothing is perfect so the students also noted some disadvantages to Co Teaching, mostly having to do with conflicting messages between the cooperating teacher and the teacher candidate. But overall, the students overwhelmingly saw advantages to the Co-Teaching model.
Copyright 2009, St. Cloud State University, Teacher Quality Enhancement Center:
Research Funded by a US Department of Education, Teacher Quality Enhancement Grant
Copyright 2009, St. Cloud State University, Teacher Quality Enhancement Center 10

11. Benefits to Teacher Candidates End of Experience Survey (N=157)
Teacher Candidates indicated that Co-Teaching led to:
Improved classroom management skills (95.5%)
Increased collaboration skills (94.9%)
More teaching time (94.6%)
Increased confidence (89.9%)
Deeper understanding of the curriculum through co-planning (89.1%)
More opportunities to ask questions and reflect (88.6%)
What about benefits to teacher candidates? This is the result of a survey given to teacher candidates at the end of the co-teaching experience. These teacher candidates had experienced both traditional and Co-Teaching situations. These results contradict some of the initial expectations I had about Co-Teaching. For example, I thought that perhaps with Co-Teaching teacher candidates would not have as good a handle on classroom management. But these results suggest that the modeling and coaching that is a part of co-teaching really support the development of classroom management. I wondered initially if teacher candidates would have as much teaching time, but as I thought about it, it makes sense that if both people are teaching all the time, there would be more teaching time for teacher candidates. These results also suggest that the joint planning and teaching that occurs between the cooperating teacher and the teacher candidate leads to big dividends in terms of developing skills for collaboration and a deeper understanding of curriculum and teaching and learning.
Copyright 2009, St. Cloud State University, Teacher Quality Enhancement Center:
Research Funded by a US Department of Education, Teacher Quality Enhancement Grant
Copyright 2009, St. Cloud State University, Teacher Quality Enhancement Center

12. Benefits to Cooperating Teachers End of Experience Survey (N=279)
Cooperating Teachers indicate that co-teaching led to:
Ability to reach more students, particularly those with high needs (93.5%)
Better relationship with their teacher candidate (91%)
Experienced professional growth (89.2%)
Enhanced energy for teaching (87.8%)
Hosting a candidate without giving up my classroom (87.1%)
Teacher candidate had a better experience than they would have through with a traditional model (81.7%)
And there are also benefits to cooperating teachers. At this end of experience survey of 279 cooperating teachers the top advantage cited was the ability to meet the needs of more students, especially those with high needs. This jibes with the student assessment results we saw earlier. I also thought the idea that cooperating teachers also experienced professional growth and enhanced energy for teaching was really interesting. And finally, I think it is a great benefit that teachers can host a teacher candidate without giving up their classroom.
Copyright 2009, St. Cloud State University, Teacher Quality Enhancement Center:
Research Funded by a US Department of Education, Teacher Quality Enhancement Grant
Copyright 2009, St. Cloud State University, Teacher Quality Enhancement Center

13. Co-Teaching
Co-teaching is not simply dividing the tasks and responsibilities between two people. Co-teaching is an attitude – an attitude of sharing the classroom and students. Co-teachers must always be thinking – WE’RE BOTH TEACHING!
Read slide
So, it appears to me that Co-Teaching as model for student teaching is an idea whose time as come. It appears to be a win-win situation for everyone involved. We are looking forward to working in this model with you all this year.
Copyright 2009, St. Cloud State University, Teacher Quality Enhancement Center:
Research Funded by a US Department of Education, Teacher Quality Enhancement Grant

14. Co-Teaching Options One Teach, One Observe One Teach, One Assist
Station Teaching
Parallel Teaching
Supplemental Teaching
Alternative (Differentiated) Teaching
Team Teaching
As I mentioned earlier, one of my new understandings about Co-Teaching is that there are a variety of strategies to use depending on your learning outcomes and your teaching context. These are the strategies that are listed in the packet. We’re going to be working with these strategies for the rest of the hour.
Copyright 2009, St. Cloud State University, Teacher Quality Enhancement Center:
Research Funded by a US Department of Education, Teacher Quality Enhancement Grant

15. One Teach, One Observe
One teacher has primary instructional responsibility while the other gathers specific observational information on students or the (instructing) teacher.
The first strategy we’ll be working with is “One Teach One Observe. Read slide. For me, a key aspect of this strategy is “gathers specific information” on the students or teacher. I see this as a reciprocal process between the presenting teacher and the observing teacher. There should be some specific question or information that is gathered from this process.
So today we thought that I could model this strategy by using my power point presentation as a teaching act to be observed. I asked Ann if she would watch my presentation and focus her observations on my question, “What can I do to improve my power point presentation?” This is a real question for me, because as some of you know, lecturing with power points is one of my least comfortable teaching modes. So as a part of our modeling, Anne and I are going to have a learning centered conversation now about this question.
Copyright 2009, St. Cloud State University, Teacher Quality Enhancement Center:
Research Funded by a US Department of Education, Teacher Quality Enhancement Grant

16. With Your Teaching Partners…
When might you use “One teach one observe?” Please list and discuss some possible situations.