CoTeaching A Collaborative Approach to Inclusion Presented by

Co-Teaching A Collaborative Approach to Inclusion Presented by Julie Derbyshire

What words do you think of when you hear of the concept Co-Teaching ? ? Let’s brainstorm !

Partnership Collaboration Communication Professional Development Mentoring Teamwork Meets the needs of the students

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.

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/modifications and cooperative learning; • When co-teaching is being used, inclusion is practically invisible (the way it is meant to be).

What do you think are the benefits?

So many benefits (and many more) !!! More teacher contact ! More time to observe students Shared knowledge ! Can identify struggling students more easily Shared resources ! Addresses different learning styles! Wider variety of assessment tools are used ! Each teacher is supported

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

What is collaboration ? • • • Shared responsibility Reciprocity of ideas and teaching Problem Solving Interactive Communication Conflict Resolution

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.

Options for Co-teaching (Cook and Friend, 2000) Whatever model is chosen, the special educator needs to be involved in the coteaching process with the regular classroom teacher. The needs of the exceptional student(s) are the focus these models but not exclusive to exceptional students!!.

Let’s talk about options! The 5 different co-teaching approaches!

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

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.

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.

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

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.

If you had to choose a model to implement…… • 1 st choice: ________ • 2 nd choice ________ WHY ? ?

What things have to be in place to realize the benefits ?

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.

In a nut shell…. (what do we need to do? )

FIND TIME TO PLAN Define roles and responsibilities Communicate !!! Share physical space START SMALL Set goals and follow-up Trust ! Plan in advance

Establishing a co-teaching relationship Setting Demands Develop a shared understanding of classroom expectations and goals. Negociation Entry Establish the co-teaching goals expectations and roles. Create the co-teaching Team.

Considering co-teaching? Discussion…. 1. Clarify roles and responsibilities of each teacher (special and regular). 2. Discuss topics such as inclusion (what is your philosophy) or types of modifications/accommodations. 3. 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 followup/take notes?

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.

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.

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!!

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?

Co-teaching planning template Deiker, L. A. (2002). Co-Teaching Lesson Plan Book. . Wisconsin: Knowledge by Design

A letter for parents Deiker, L. A. (2002). Co-Teaching Lesson Plan Book. . Wisconsin: Knowledge by Design

Teacher and Special Educator Worksheet Deiker, L. A. (2002). Co-Teaching Lesson Plan Book. . Wisconsin: Knowledge by Design

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 !!!

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/provocative/concept/find. html

Questions ? ? ?

Bibliography 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/Template. cfm? Section=Search&template=/CM/HTMLDisplay. cfm&Content. ID=7504 Gately, S. & Gately, F. J. (2001). Understanding Co-teaching Components. Retrieved February 26, 2008. http: //www. cec. sped. org/Content/Navigation. Menu/About. CEC/International/Stepby. Step/2635 VOL. 33 NO. 4 MARAPR 2001_ TEC_Article 6. pdf Hollingsworth, H. L. (2001). We Need to Talk: Communication Strategies for Effective Collaboration. Retrieved February 22, 2008. http: //www. cec. sped. org/Content/Navigation. Menu/About. CEC/International/Stepby. Step/2756 We%20 Need%20 to%20 Talk %20 -%20 VOL. 33 NO. 5 MAYJUNE 2001_TEC_hollingsworth. pdf Lawton, 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. shtml Walsh, J. & Jones, B. (2004). New Models of Cooperative Teaching. Retrieved February 27, 2008. http: //www. cec. sped. org/AM/Template. cfm? Section=Search&section=TEC&template=/CM/ Content. Display. cfm&Content. F ile. ID=419 Weiner, H. M. (2003). Effective Inclusion: Professional Development in the Context of the Classroom. Retrieved February 26, 2008. http: //www. cec. sped. org/Content/Navigation. Menu/About. CEC/International/Stepby. Step/Resource. Center/Inclusive. Educatio n. General/VOL. 35 NO. 6 July. August 2003_TEC_Article-2. pdf