Successful Integrated Co-Teaching

Improving Access to the Curriculum for

Students With Disabilities Through

Integrated Co-TeachingPresented byRhonda Sorger-Special Education Achievement SpecialistPhoebe Robinson Sorger-Special Education Achievement

Specialist

CFN 211-Jean McKeon-Network LeaderCFN 210-JoAnne Brucella-Network Leader

October 2012

Session Agenda

• Welcome and Overview/ Opening Activity

• Introduction to Integrated Co-teaching• Integrated Co-teaching

Approaches/Video viewing and activities• Collaborative Lesson Planning • Wrap-up • Reflection

Two on a Crayon Activity #1:

Instructions:1.This is a completely NONVERBAL activity!!!! 2.Select one crayon and one piece of paper, per team3.When the music begins, START creating a picture together4.When the music stops, STOP and put the crayon down5.Connections

Background:

Educators are more receptive to change when they have background knowledge and a common purpose to improve teaching and learning.

Steele, Bell, & George, 2005

Outcomes of Our Work:• Clarify what Co-Teaching is / is not

• Identify the benefits of using the six models/approaches of co-teaching

• Utilize strategies for effective collaborative planning

Defining Co-Teaching

Co-teaching occurs when two or more professionals jointly deliver substantive instruction to a diverse, or blended, group of students in a single physical space.

Cook & Friend, 1995, p. 1

Co-Teaching What is it?-What it

is not?

Six Co-teaching Approaches

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

One Teach, One Observe

• One educator teachers the lesson, the other educator observes student (s), teaching strategy, lesson delivery, or an aspect of classroom management

• The teacher who is observing should be using a clipboard or some other device to take notes

• The observer will be looking for specific things, that are predetermined prior to the lesson

Station Teaching

• Teachers divide the responsibility of planning and instruction

• Students rotate on a predetermined schedule through stations

• Teachers repeat instruction to each group that comes through; delivery may vary according to student needs

• Approach can be used even if teachers have very different pedagogical approaches

• Each teacher instructs every student• One station may be for students working

independentlyFriend & Cook, 2003

Parallel Teaching

• Teachers share responsibility for planning and instruction

• Class is split into heterogeneous groups, and each teacher instructs half on the same material

• Content covered is the same, but methods of delivery may differ

• Both teachers need to be proficient in the content being taught

• Teachers switch groups at another time

Friend & Cook, 2003

Alternative Teaching

• Teachers divide responsibilities for planning and instruction.

• The majority of students remain in a large group setting, but some students work in a small group specifically for preteaching, enrichment, reteaching, or other individualized instruction.

• Approach allows for highly individualized instruction to be offered.

• Teachers should be careful that the same students are not always pulled aside.

Friend & Cook, 2003

Team Teaching

• Teachers share responsibilities for planning and instruction

• Teachers work as a team to introduce new content, work on developing skills, clarify information, and facilitate learning and classroom management

• This requires the most mutual trust and respect between teachers and requires that they be able to mesh their teaching styles

One Teaching, One Assist

• One teacher plans and instructs, and one teacher provides adaptations and other support as needed

• Requires very little joint planning• Should be used sparingly

– Can result in one teacher, most often the general educator teacher, taking the lead role the majority of the time

– Can also be distracting to students, especially those who may become dependent on the assisting teacher

Friend & Cook, 2003

Video Viewing Activity #2

• Refer to handout packet #H4 -

Use the ICT Model Processing Sheets as you watch the video. Take notes on the strengths and weaknesses of each of the different approaches. Write down how you might implement this in your classroom.

Team Teaching possibilities in the

classroom:• Refer to handout #H13 – Co-Teaching in the Classroom

Benefits of Collaboration

• Shared responsibility for educating all students

• Shared understanding and use of common assessment data

• Supporting ownership for programming and interventions

• Creating common understandingFriend & Cook, 2003

Effective Co-Planning

Effective Pre-planning

• Important to spend time talking and getting better acquainted with eachother’s skills, interests, and educational philosophies

• Having a semistructured preliminary discussion can facilitate this process.

• Discuss current classroom routinesand rules

Walther-Thomas, Bryant, & Land, 1996

Effective Classroom-Level Planning

• Effective planners design learning environments for their students and for themselves that demand active involvement.

• Effective co-planners create learning and teaching environments in which each person’s contributions are valued.

• Effective planners develop effective routines to facilitate their planning.

• Planning skills improve over time.Walther-Thomas, Bryant, & Land, 1996

Provide Weekly Scheduling Co-Planning

Time• Co-teaching teams should have a minimum of one scheduling/planning period (45 minutes) per week

• Experienced teams may need less time

Dieker, 2001; Walther-Thomas, Bryant, & Land, 1996

Weekly Co-Planning

• Is based on regularly scheduled meetings,rather than “fitting it in”

• Review of content in advance of meeting

• Maintaining focusWalther-Thomas, Bryant, & Land, 1996

Weekly Co-Planning (cont.)

• Guide the session with the following fundamental issues:– What are the content goals?– Who are the learners?– How can we teach most effectively?

Walther-Thomas, Bryant, & Land, 1996

Weekly Co-Planning (cont.)• Shape instructional plans

• Establish timelines and priorities• Assign preparation tasks

Walther-Thomas, Bryant, & Land, 1996

Lesson Planning Tools and Templates:

• Refer to handouts

Lesson Planning Tools & Templates

Things that can be done to maximize

success:Review the different approaches to co-

teaching and think about how each might look in a classroom

Discuss each other’s learning style preferences to see how these can be incorporated into the lesson to assist students with varying styles

Murawski & Dieker, 2004

Instructional Tips:• Develop unobtrusive signals to communicate with

each other• Create signals for students that are consistent and

can be used by either teacher • Vary instructional practices• Clearly display an agenda for the class, which

includes the standard(s) to be covered and any additional goals

• Avoid disagreeing with or undermining each other in front of the students

• Strive to demonstrate parity in instruction whenever possible by switching roles often

• Avoid stigmatization of any one group of students

Murawski & Dieker, 2004

Wrap-up

• Summary-Prepare to Collaboratively Impact the Academic Outcomes for ALL students.

• Complete the Reflection Sheet

TOGETHER is a beautiful

word• Coming together is the beginning• Keeping together is progress• Thinking together is unity• Working together is success!

References• Austin, V. L. (2001). Teachers’ beliefs about co-teaching. Remedial and Special

Education, 22, 245–255.• Cook, L. H., & Friend, M. (1995). Co-teaching guidelines for creating effective

practices. Focus on Exceptional Children, 28(2), 1–12.• Cook, L. H., & Friend, M. (2003). Interactions: Collaboration skills for school

professionals (4th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.• Dieker, L. (2001). What are the characteristics of “effective” middle and high

school co-taught teams? Preventing School Failure, 46, 14–25.• Dieker, L. (2002). Co-planner (semester). Whitefish Bay, WI: Knowledge by Design.• Fennick, E. (2001). Co-teaching: An inclusive curriculum for transition. Teaching

Exceptional Children, 33(6), 60–66.• Friend, M., & Cook, L. H. (2003). Interactions: Collaboration skills for school

professionals (4th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.• Gately, S. E. (2005). Two are better than one. Principal Leadership, 5(9), 36–41.• Gately, S. E., & Gately, F. J. (2001). Understanding co-teaching components.

Teaching Exceptional Children, 33(4), 40–47.• Geen, A. G. (1985). Team teaching in the secondary schools of England and

Wales. Educational Review, 37, 29–38. • Hourcade, J. J., & Bauwens, J. (2001). Cooperative teaching: The renewal of

teachers. Clearinghouse, 74, 242–247.

References (cont.)• Mastropieri, M. A., Scruggs, T. E., Graetz, J. E., Nordland, J., Gardizi, W., &

McDuffie, K. (2005). Case studies in co-teaching in the content areas: Successes, failures, and challenges. Intervention in School and Clinic, 40, 260–270.

• Murawski, W. W. (2005). Addressing diverse needs through co-teaching: Take baby steps! Kappa Delta Pi Record, 41(2), 77–82.

• Murawski, W. W., & Dieker, L. A. (2004). Tips and strategies for co-teaching at the secondary level. Teaching Exceptional Children, 36(5), 52–58.

• Salend, S., Gordon, I., & Lopez-Vona, K. (2002). Evaluating cooperative teams. Intervention in School and Clinic, 37(4), 195–200.

• Steele, N., Bell, D., & George, N. (2005, April). Risky business: The art and science of true collaboration. Paper presented at the Council for Exceptional Children’s Annual Conference, Baltimore, MD.

• Trump, J. L. (1966). Secondary education tomorrow: Four imperatives for improvement. NASSP Bulletin, 50(309), 87–95.

• Walsh, J. M., & Jones, B. (2004). New models of cooperative teaching. Teaching Exceptional Children, 36(5), 14–20.

• Walther-Thomas, C., Bryant, M., & Land, S. (1996). Planning for effective co-teaching: The key to successful inclusion. Remedial and Special Education, 17, 255–265.