A Successful Observation- Station Teaching

In our district the pressure is on for inclusion teachers to use varying techniques of co-teaching. We have been utilizing these techniques for years now. For an upcoming observation by our principal, we decided to set up stations in our 7th grade language arts class.  We have 22 students in our class, half of which have IEPS. The majority of the remainder of the students are identified as basic skills or have 504s. We decided to focus on the skill of citing evidence from text. The class was divided into 5 groups. The day before the stations we went over wit the class the procedures. The day of the stations we reviewed the procedures (just to make sure). The desks in the classroom were arranged so that the groups were facing each other. Each group was given a basket with all the materials they needed for each activity along with answer keys. For my station,  I had created a drag and drop activity on the Smart Board. Students were asked to determine which evidence from our novel, Walk Two Moons, supported two different themes.  Even 7th graders love using the Smart Board. My co-teacher had students at the round table scrutinizing an answer to an open ended question. The students used different colored pens to underline the important elements. The other 3 stations were independent practice. It is important to give students specific directions in order to allow for independence.  Needless to say, our principal was very impressed. He told us later it was one of the best observations he had seen all year.

Unanswered Questions about the New Teacher Evaluation System

In at least 20 states across the country there is legislation to adopt a new teacher evaluation system. The focus of these evaluation instruments are on teacher effectiveness. These changes have implications of which may impact a teacher’s tenure, salary or future employment. How will these new evaluation systems affect teachers in a co teaching situation? Can an ineffective co-teacher have further implications for his/her partner?  Can you accurately assess a teacher’s effectiveness without taking into consideration his/her co-teaching partner? I read a recent article by Jenny Anderson in the New York Times,   States Try to Fix Quirks in Teacher Evaluations which addresses some of the many “quirks” with the new teacher evaluation tools being implemented across this country. Has anyone looked closely at the problem I pose here? In researching this blog post, I could not find any information on the implications of teacher evaluations within a co-teaching setting. As I am part of the committee in my own district to begin looking into a new evaluation system, it is an issue I will present to my committee. I suggest that those who are in a current co-teaching situation do the same.

Making it known you’re a team.

So you and your co-teacher have committed to being a true teaching team.  However, for some reason the students and your peers still see the gen ed teacher as the person “in charge”.  How do you fix this?  For starters you have to look at not what you are saying in class but how you are acting towards each other.  It is one thing to say,  “Mrs. Smith and I are both in charge of this class” in front of the students.  However, if Mrs. Smith is being sent off to make copies every day and being told in front of the students to do other odd jobs, the class will see that Mrs. Smith really isn’t an equal.   Both teachers need to make sure they have some instructional time with the whole class on a regular basis.  The special education teacher is not in the class to make copies or grade tests during class time, they are in the class so that everyone can benefit from the various strategies they have to offer on learning a topic. 

CEC | Is Co-Teaching Effective?

According to the article published in the Council for Exceptional Children, (CEC | Is Co-Teaching Effective?) there are certain factors which lead to the effectiveness of a co-teaching situation. Those factors include the following:

• Ages or grade levels of the students.
• Content being taught.
• Instructional strategies teachers use.
• Teachers’ knowledge and skills as professional educators.
• Teachers’ commitment to co-teaching and “chemistry” as a partnership.
• Amount of shared teaching time each day.
• Length of time the partnership has existed.
• How students are scheduled into classes.
• Extent of administrative support.
  The author's (Marilyn Friend and DeAnna Hurley-Chamberlain) stress that it is important to collect your own data in order to support the effectiveness of your co-teaching situation. This data collection can include tracking students' behaviors and academic progress across time and grade levels. In light of recent changes across the country with teacher evaluation procedures, this is a good practice no matter what your teaching assignment. 

Co-Teaching- A Win Win For All!

The co-teaching model provides benefits for the educators and the students as well. According to the NICHCY web site under effective practices, NICHCY.org

“Research shows that collaboration between general and special educators benefits the quality of instruction and supports for students with disabilities. Students without disabilities benefit, too. These are among the findings of a metasynthesis of co-teaching research conducted by Scruggs, Mastropieri, & McDuffie (2007) and summarized in NICHCY’s Structured Abstract 81.”

Teaching can be an isolating profession.  Educators who co-teach have the benefit of collaborating with a colleague and the ability to share classroom responsibilities. Educators are able to spend more instructional time with students who have specific educational needs and as a result student behaviors are better managed. Partnering with a colleague can also lead to professional growth.

Students in the co-teaching environment benefit as well. These benefits include:; exposure to diverse learning techniques and teaching techniques, more contact time with teachers for school and personal issues, and unique learning needs met to the greatest extent possible.

All in all the co-teaching experience is a win-win for all!

Co-Teaching Contract

Sometimes we are lucky enough to be placed in a co-teaching situation where we know the other teacher well.  However, when we are not it can be difficult to have the necessary conversation with our co-teacher on how to divide the work.  A good starting point is to complete the attached contract.  Contracts are a good way to plan how things are going to run on a day to day basis in the classroom, they still have to be flexible.  Maybe one week one of you has outside issues that prevent you from completing your “half” of the work, you have to know the other person will pick up the slack.  No one wants to work with a person who won’t pitch in when necessary because the contract doesn’t state it is one of their duties.  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1I2s8y1lZv_S0sGWKMprnR3k-DWpa-u6e9axXrB1Zwwg/edit

Communication is Key

Open communication is paramount in order to have a successful co teaching environment.  We have been lucky enough to be friends before being placed in a co teaching situation. This however may not always be the case in your situation. Regardless of the circumstances, it is best to set boundaries right from the beginning in order to avoid problems in the future.  Sitting down before school starts or at the earliest convenience is the best way to set some ground rules. Some things to consider are as follows: How will you communicate with each other when you are not at school? (or will you?) Through text, email, phone call? Are there good or bad times to call (night time limits or weekends?) Will you have common planning time? What will be accomplished during those planning times? What about before and after school? We all have a “life” outside of school (even though our students don’t think so). It is important to be open and honest with each other as to what are time constraints may exist. For example, one of you may have the ability or desire to get to school early to set up the classroom or make last minute copies. Others may want or have the ability to stay late after school to perform certain tasks.