Thinking About and Rethinking CoTeaching Challenges and Opportunities

Thinking About and Rethinking Co-Teaching: Challenges and Opportunities James P. Honan Senior Lecturer on Education Harvard Graduate School of Education Noah Heller Lecturer on Education Harvard Graduate School of Education

Learning Goals for Our Session 1. To identify challenges and opportunities in coteaching arrangements 2. To surface practices, strategies, and dispositions for productive co-teaching teams

Getting Started Considering Co-Teaching Consider: Whether based on past experiences or anticipating co-teaching arrangements in the future, what is most challenging about co-teaching? Do you and your partner have similar ideas about the greatest challenges of co-teaching? Share-Out: In the chat, please share something you discussed or a question you have.

Learning Goals for Our Session 1. To identify challenges and opportunities in coteaching arrangements 2. To surface practices, strategies, and dispositions for productive co-teaching teams

Guiding Questions • How do teacher pairs best collaborate to optimize impact? • What techniques and practices can support and facilitate this process? • How are roles and responsibilities best distributed in a productive co-teaching pair?

A Video Example: Co-Planning to Co-Teach THIS session Look for Evidence to Answer: 1. 2. 3. What materials did the team create for the planning process? What is the team’s strategy for highlighting and sharing their expertise? Are the team members on an equal playing field? Why or why not?

Video Interlude

Observations, Questions, and Discussion What did you notice? What did you wonder about?

Keys to Our Process • Knowing each other’s teaching practice through two-way visits • • • and debriefs Informal advice and coaching -- talking together about teaching and giving each other feedback and counsel Positioning each other as equal partners on the teaching team Distributing roles and responsibilities to capitalize on expertise Co-planning the session and developing a precise Run-of. Show/teaching plan from common goals Adapting to the constraints and affordances of remote instruction

Drivers for Effective Co-Teaching • Identifying complementary pedagogical and professional knowledge and skills • Anticipating and Planning for Points of Challenge • Scripting Key Questions • Deciding on Norms for Improvisation • Observation, Feedback, and Reflection • Co-Planning the session and developing a Run-of-Show/Teaching Plan

Run-of-Show/Teaching Plan • 8: 25 -8: 30 Sign on with IT Jim, Noah, IT Double check audio/video Ensure all settings are correct • • 8: 30 -8: 35 Introduction/welcome Jim Overview of session • 8: 35 – 8: 45 Co-teaching challenges Noah Prompt on slide – share screen – on chat • 8: 45 -8: 55 Goals/questions Jim Screen share slides • 8: 55 -9: 05 Video of Jim/Noah Screen share video • 9: 05 -9: 15 Debrief video Jim Stop screen share – use hands and chat • 9: 15 -9: 25 Co-teaching process Noah Screen share slides • 9: 25 -9: 30 Closing and Thank You Jim/Noah Screen share slide with prompt, then Zoom waterfall

Lessons/Insights/Takeaways How might the lessons and insights from this session apply to your own co-teaching? What are your main takeaways from this session? Enter your responses in the chat.