Co-Teaching

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Co-Teaching
A Collaborative Approach to Inclusion
Presented by Julie Derbyshire
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What words do you think of when you hear of the
concept Co-Teaching ??

• Lets brainstorm !

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Collaboration
Partnership
Communication
Professional Development
Mentoring
Teamwork
Meets the needs of the students
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Why Co-Teaching?

• Teaming promotes cooperative planning and
  effective teaching. A special education teacher
  is assigned to a grade level team, and general
  and special education teachers work together.
• Collaboration encourages shared responsibility
  between the regular education and special
  education teachers. Students receive
  age-appropriate academics, support services, and
  necessary modified instruction.

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Inclusion Why does co-teaching work?

• Students receive instructional supports in the
  general education classroom
• Teachers use a variety of strategies, including
  curriculum and instructional accomodations/modific
  ations and cooperative learning
• When co-teaching is being used, inclusion is
  practically invisible (the way it is meant to
  be).

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What do you think are the benefits?
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So many benefits (and many more) !!!
More teacher contact !
More time to observe students
Can identify struggling students more easily
Shared knowledge !
Shared resources !
Addresses different learning styles!
Wider variety of assessment tools are used !
Each teacher is supported
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• Regular education and special education teachers
  must work together to create environments that
  promote optimum integration conditions. The
  degree to which the cooperative relationship
  exists may be the key to the success of
  inclusion programs. Mainstreaming and
  inclusion were designed with the understanding
  they would be TEAM processes.

Page 35 , Teaching Kids with Learning
Difficulties in the Regular Classroom
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What is collaboration ?

• Shared responsibility
• Reciprocity of ideas and teaching
• Problem Solving
• Interactive Communication
• Conflict Resolution

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How and why the team approach?For special
educators

• Special education teachers can be used to prevent
  learning or behaviour problems from becoming
  unmanageable in the regular classroom.
• Assist the teachers with specific intervention
  strategies (following observation).
• Locate and bring into the school staff
  development programs which will help regular
  classroom teachers (professional development).
• Help monitor the success of changes made to
  instruction.
• Have them locate additional services support
  services which might be available.
• Help classroom teachers develop the individual
  education plan and help monitor progress.

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Options for Co-teaching (Cook and Friend, 2000)

• Whatever model is chosen, the special educator
  needs to be involved in the co-teaching process
  with the regular classroom teacher.
• The needs of the exceptional student(s)
• are the focus these models but not exclusive to
  exceptional students!!.

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Lets talk about options!The 5 different
co-teaching approaches!
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Lead and Support

• One teacher leads and another offers assistance
  and support to individual or small groups.

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Station Teaching

• Students are divided into two groups. Each
  teacher provides instruction to half the class.
  In the middle of the period, the next day or even
  the next week, the students switch to the other
  teacher (station). Each teacher is to present a
  parallel task.

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Parallel Teaching

• Teachers plan the lesson together, but the
  content is delivered to half the class
  (heterogeneous groups). This is a model that is
  suggested for dividing up students with
  behavioural issues.

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Alternative Teaching

• One teachers works with a small group of students
  with a specific need (pre-teach, re-teach,
  supplement, enrich) while the other works with
  the rest of the class.

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Team Teaching

• Both teachers share the planning and instruction
  of students in a coordinated fashion. Teachers
  require planning time together, similar teaching
  philosophies and equal knowledge of the
  curriculum.

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If you had to choose a model to implement

• 1st choice _______________
• 2nd choice _______________

WHY ????
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What things have to be in place to realize the
benefits ?
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Logistics !

1. All staff especially the administration have to
   be committed to the plan.
2. Timetables and scheduling are tailored to
   accommodate co-teaching (even for
   planning/duties).
3. The Special Educator is not assuming the role of
   an Educational Assistant. Co-teachers share
   equally in the planning, delivery and assessment
   of the lessons.
4. The Special Educator is not just an observer but
   an active participant in the class.
5. Co-Teachers do not deliver a separate or
   different curriculum.

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In a nut shell.(what do we need to do?)
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FIND TIME TO PLAN
Define roles and responsibilities
Communicate !!!
Share physical space
START SMALL
Set goals and follow-up
Plan in advance
Trust !
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Establishing a co-teaching relationship
Setting Demands
Develop a shared understanding of classroom
expectations and goals.
Negociation
Establish the co-teaching goals expectations and
roles.
Entry
Create the co-teaching Team.
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• Considering co-teaching?
• Discussion.
• Clarify roles and responsibilities of each
  teacher (special and regular).
• Discuss topics such as inclusion (what is your
  philosophy) or types of modifications/accommodatio
  ns.
• Decide on who is the lead teacher for that one
  subject (who will monitor IEP progress who will
  plan for modifications/accommodations etc.)
• 4. When will you plan for daily lessons? When
  will you follow-up/take notes?

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Work together to.

• Read and discuss IEPs for students with
  exceptionalities in the class
• Create a class profile or student profiles to
  help develop student goals
• Discuss modifications/accommodations needed for
  the identified students in the class (student
  profile)
• Discuss possible problems and solutions before
  they arise.

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Co-teaching Tip 1

• With the help of class and student profiles,
  both teachers should get to know and understand
  all students in the class, not only those
  identified as exceptional or following an
  individual education plan.

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Co-teaching Tip 2

• The Special Educator does not always take the
  role of re-teaching or remedial support.
  Teachers are to share responsibilities and ALTER
  roles from one lesson to another. That is the
  power of co-teaching teachers then teach to a
  full range of abilities represented in the
  classroom.
• Just as important they learn from each other!!

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In the best of situations, the special education
staff and the regular classroom teacher work as
team-mates. The specialists are available to
help ALL students who need help, not just those
who have been identified as exceptional.
HOW AND WHY?
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Co-teaching planning template
Deiker, L.A.(2002). Co-Teaching Lesson Plan
Book.. Wisconsin Knowledge by Design
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A letter for parents
Deiker, L.A.(2002). Co-Teaching Lesson Plan
Book.. Wisconsin Knowledge by Design
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Teacher and Special Educator Worksheet
Deiker, L.A.(2002). Co-Teaching Lesson Plan
Book.. Wisconsin Knowledge by Design
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Are you ready?

• Is change easy?
• No!
• Will changes happen overnight?
• No!
• Will we struggle and perhaps fail?
• Yes
• Should we make an effort to co-teach to the
  benefit of the students?
• YES, YES, YES !!!

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The Art of Mobilizing Small Changes to
Produce Large Effects "Finding Your 15" is an
approach to change. It's an approach that offers
a way of unleashing the creative potential of
teachers, administrators, elected officials and
members of the community in a search for "high
leverage" initiatives that can make a genuine
difference. The potential results quantum gains
in the quality of education offered through
schools and other educational organizations -
without any extra commitment of resources.
Gareth Morgan http//www.imaginiz.com/provocati
ve/concept/find.html
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Questions ???
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Deiker, L.A.(2002). Co-Teaching Lesson Plan
Book.. Wisconsin Knowledge by Design. Friend,
M., and Cook, L. (2000). Collaboration skills for
school professionals. New York Addison-Wesley
Longman, Inc.Friend, M. Hurley-Chamberlain,
D.(2006). Is Co-Teaching Effective? Retrieved
February 26, 2008.http//www.cec.sped.org/AM/Temp
late.cfm?SectionSearchtemplate/CM/HTMLDisplay.c
fmContentID7504Gately, S. Gately, F. J.
(2001). Understanding Co-teaching Components.
Retrieved February 26, 2008.http//www.cec.sped.
org/Content/NavigationMenu/AboutCEC/International/
StepbyStep/2635VOL.33NO.4MARAPR2001_TEC_Article6.p
dfHollingsworth, H.L. (2001). We Need to Talk
Communication Strategies for Effective
Collaboration.Retrieved February 22,
2008.http//www.cec.sped.org/Content/NavigationMe
nu/AboutCEC/International/StepbyStep/2756We20Need
20to20Talk20-20VOL.33NO.5MAYJUNE2001_TEC_holli
ngsworth.pdfLawton, M. (1999). Co-teaching
Are Two Heads Better Than One in an inclusion
Classroom? Retrieved February 26,
2008.http//www.edletter.org/past/issues/1999-ma/
coteaching.shtmlWalsh, J. Jones, B. (2004).
New Models of Cooperative Teaching. Retrieved
February 27, 2008.http//www.cec.sped.org/AM/Temp
late.cfm?SectionSearchsectionTECtemplate/CM/C
ontentDisplay.cfmContentFileID419Weiner, H.M.
(2003). Effective Inclusion Professional
Development in the Context of the Classroom.
Retrieved February 26, 2008.http//www.cec.sped.
org/Content/NavigationMenu/AboutCEC/International/
StepbyStep/ResourceCenter/InclusiveEducationGenera
l/VOL.35NO.6JulyAugust2003_TEC_Article-2.pdf
Bibliography