A few years ago, I worked with a co-teaching pair who were absolutely opposite personality types. One was logical, lecture-based and needed full control of the classroom. The other was creative, flexible and motherly. They were in crisis mode. Both were dissatisfied, frustrated with each other, and bitter.

They assigned student seating in the classroom so that all the students with special needs were in the back and side rows. This way, the special education co-teacher could easily access the students who needed help using the “one teach, one assist” co-teaching model.

Unfortunately, though well-intentioned, it created an environment that completely segregated the students with an IEP from the students without one. It was like having two separate classrooms within one room. The tension between the teachers was intense. Their co-teaching relationship was conflictual, and the students weren’t gaining much benefit from having co-teachers.

During coaching, I offered them a suggestion that I hoped might work. We invited them to have the special education co-teacher begin every class with a warmup or a review activity that related to the current standards being taught. The activity would be directly related to the lesson. She would be the one responsible for designing, preparing and delivering that activity during the first five minutes of class.

Now, the logic behind this suggested co-teaching implementation of “one teach, one assist” was fourfold.

• It supported parity: The students would see the special education teacher as more than a helper because she would be leading the students in an activity for the first five minutes of class.
• Because the activity could be a review activity from the prior day’s lesson, it would accelerate the special education teacher’s understanding of the content being taught, especially if it was new to her.
• The general education teacher had five minutes to observe the class and collect data  that would provide an opportunity for her to see the students differently than one typically sees when they are the one teaching.
• Students would be exposed to a warm-up or a review of the previous day’s learning by using an instructional approach that was different from the verbal linguistic lecture.

Using this strategy, both teachers’ talents were honored using that strategy and both adults were utilized to benefit student learning and growth.

The co-teachers agreed to try this suggestion. Six weeks later, I was back in the classroom observing the team. The special education teacher told me that she had been planning and delivering the first five minutes of class for the past month. She was so happy because both teachers felt that the lesson was going well. She felt that, based on the previous day’s lesson, she could prepare a creative, fun, engaging activity to reinforce yesterday’s objective. It allowed her to channel her motherly, caretaker personality to benefit the students she was co-teaching.

The teachers went one step further. They integrated the students who had an IEP into a more inclusive seating plan, so they were no longer segregated on the side and back rows.

This mind-shift was really exciting to witness because both co-teachers had begun to see each other’s value, despite their teaching approaches being so different. Another important consequence of this was that their relationship improved.

It’s amazing how one little change – having the special education teacher deliver that first five minutes of class – led two teachers to create a totally different and positive dynamic in their classroom. And students now see both of them equally as teachers in the class.

So, think about the struggles you face as a co-teacher. Ask yourself, “Could my specialist (or could I) actually introduce the first five minutes of class? What other things can we do to maximize both our talents in a way that really supports not only our relationship as co-teachers but student learning in the classroom?”

Explore even more tips, tools, and resources for collaboration at TheHowofCo-teaching.com!

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Jerry, a special education teacher newly assigned to a co-taught classroom at a middle school, approached me because he felt he was doing a disservice to his co-teacher and his students.

He had been an award-winning literacy specialist at the elementary level. His passion was teaching literature through literacy circles. Because he continually wanted to better himself, he went back to school to get a second master’s degree focusing on special education. After he turned in his credentials to say that he was licensed in special education, the district moved him from the elementary school that he loved into this middle school math classroom.

“I’m a literacy specialist! I don’t know math! And they put me in this math class. I feel like I’m doing a disservice to my co-teacher,” Jerry told me. “This just isn’t right and I’m so upset.”

Adam, the math teacher that Jerry was co-teaching with, overheard the conversation and was astounded that Jerry did not realize the positive impact he had on the success of their students with the math curriculum.

“In all my years of teaching, I never could teach students how to get through word problems like you have—and by the way, their math vocabulary is amazing!” Adam explained. “They are doing so much better in word problems than I ever imagined possible!”

Adam realized that he had not communicated to Jerry how much the students were benefiting from the co-teaching arrangement. When he split the class in half and had Jerry go over the word problems with the students, it wasn’t just busywork, but rather an intentional effort to support the students in their ability to read the math.

Now that Jerry understood the benefit he brought to this middle school math classroom, he was reenergized. Both he and Adam realized they can usually use “teach half, then switch” to support students’ ability to read in the math content area as well as teach them math calculation and problem-solving.

To increase students’ focus during the “teach half, then switch” component of the class, Jerry and Adam occasionally implemented the method I discussed in last week’s post: arranging desks into two separate sections. For 10 minutes, Adam would work with half of the students on math calculation and problem-solving, while Jerry would work with half of the students on reading in the math content area. Then, they would switch, so that each of them could focus on a smaller group of students during that 20-minute period of time.

Try “teach half, then switch” with your co-teacher. It will take a little bit of advance planning to make sure that you are both working toward the same objective when the class is split in half. But not only is it effective in helping students comprehend the material, it can reveal or enhance the teaching strengths and skills of both co-teachers.

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I walked into an eighth-grade language arts classroom in Kinston, North Carolina, to find two co-teachers and 28 students absolutely focused on the lesson.

The desks and chairs had been arranged into two sections: seven desks and chairs faced seven more desks and chairs, creating a makeshift conference table. On the other side of the room, the same arrangement was repeated.

For this co-teaching model, each teacher was seated at one “conference table,” working with 14 students apiece.

At one table, a teacher was reviewing the skill of drawing inferences from text, using several poems scattered around the desks. At the other table, the teacher was reviewing grammar and test-taking skills, getting the students ready for the upcoming state test.

After 10 minutes, a timer went off, and the groups switched places. Now, the students who had been learning to draw inferences from poetry were learning grammar, and vice versa.

Afterward, I asked the teachers about their experience implementing “Teach Half Then Switch” to covers skills and rigor.

“I love teaching poetry,” the general education teacher exclaimed, “but this is eighth grade and we have 28 students in the class, mostly boys. Try to get eighth-grade boys interested in poetry. It ain’t easy!” she laughed. “But with this small group, I can do it.”

Likewise, the special education co-teacher liked teaching the grammar section. “I’m not comfortable teaching poetry or drawing inferences. However, I’ve spent my entire career as a special educator correcting grammar and teaching students how to take a test. That I feel confident with.”

Now, these two teachers could have stuck with the tried-and-true “One Teach One Support” method, with the general education teacher reviewing drawing inferences from poetry and the special education teacher supporting students in the background. They could have “chunked” the lessons, spending 10 minutes on drawing inferences and then switching to reviewing grammar and test-taking skills. This method is fine, but they would have been teaching all 28 students at once and trying to keep them focused on the lesson.

By instead implementing the “Teach Half Then Switch—Skills and Rigor” (a topic I cover in my latest book) co-teaching model, they were able to engage a much smaller group of 14 students in targeted instruction. Students who might present behavior problems were divided between them, making potential behavior issues easier to address.

Here are some tips to implement this in your classroom:

• Arrange student desks so that there are two sections of desks and chairs.
• Strategically divide the class into two mixed-ability halves, with each teacher taking one half. Sit on opposite ends of your makeshift “conference tables” so you can see the entire room and signal each other.
• One teacher teaches their half of the class that day’s objective with appropriate rigor for the class or grade level.
• The other teacher teaches their half of the class focusing on a skill necessary for the subject. For example, students might be reviewing and relearning the skill of grammar or creating charts and graphs, or how to read a map (topographical, weather, or geographic), etc.
• After 10 minutes, switch. Either the students or the teachers can move.

Explore even more tips, tools, and resources for collaboration at TheHowofCo-teaching.com!

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We’re familiar with the “one teach, one observe” method used in many co-teaching situations. And recently I suggested that co-teachers build on this with “one teach, one take notes,” as a good way to internalize the material being taught and to present a good face to external observers, like administrators, who may not immediately perceive the reason why one teacher appears to be simply observing.

One teach, one interpret takes co-teaching to another level. Let’s say one teacher is a content area expert who excels at delivering information through direct teaching. Meantime, the other teacher’s strong suit is in converting textual information, whether orally or by writing it into a visual format.

How would the above example work in the classroom? Visualize this: The content specialist is delivering the information verbally, augmenting it with notes via PowerPoint. At the same time, the other teacher may be drawing a picture on the board—a “snapshot device” that incorporates the first teacher’s concepts into a drawing that looks like a snapshot from a camera.

Another example is while the subject matter expert is direct teaching the content, the other teacher is dramatizing the information. Imagine how using actions to exemplify the content, or even adding costumes and props to this dramatization, can engage students!

Both teachers can think up any number of implementations: If one teacher knows sign language, he or she could sign specific keywords and phrases and have the students repeat those phrases, and the correlating signs, at certain periods during the lesson. Or, the teachers could convey the objectives being taught using analogies, real-world experiences, stories or any other variation to reinforce the content by reframing it from a slightly different perspective.

Interpreting in a visual way the material being taught provides a new dimension to co-teaching and fully engages both teachers. It can also appeal to the visual-kinesthetic learner.

“One teach, one interpret” does not require extensive content area expertise, nor does it require substantial planning time. It’s very possible that a specialist in the classroom knows little about the content, yet can listen and interpret the content differently for the students, thereby providing instruction that reaches more learners and is increasingly memorable. It also supports the specialist in learning the curriculum. That’s a win-win for everybody.

Explore even more tips, tools, and resources for collaboration at TheHowofCo-teaching.com!

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Teaching Strategies that Work

How to Implement Co-teaching Models with Flexible Grouping

Flexible grouping can be a great strategy to incorporate into your lessons, especially if you are co-teaching.  With flexible grouping, students’ level of learning, no matter what the curriculum, is assessed when leaving class, usually with exit cards or some other form of assessment.  Then, students are grouped according to their level of understanding.  With this strategy, students are not put in a group and then forced to stay at that level- they can advance or get more instruction at their own pace.

Implementing Co-teaching Models: Examples of Flexible Grouping Include:

1) Flexible grouping is the most commonly referenced form of station teaching when researching co-teaching models. Exit cards work beautifully for flexible grouping. For instance, if I’m doing flexible grouping, I might have one enrichment group, one on-track group, and one review group. I could have each teacher facilitate one of the two groups and one group working on its own.

2) You might also have three mixed-ability groups differentiated by process. For example, one group of students engages in a hands-on activity to learn the planets. Another group of students uses a computer-based activity to determine how far apart planets are from one another. The third group creates a dramatic skit to teach the rest of the class about the solar system and the planets. This type of flexible grouping is ‘differentiating by process.’

3) Another model for flexible grouping has each mixed-ability group working on the same concept and output requirements. However, each group may vary on how they collaborate to accomplish that assignment. In this model, teachers circulate among the groups, supporting students as needed. Another option: one teacher supervises and supports while the other teacher collects data.

Implementing Co-teaching Models: Flexible Grouping Basics

For teachers who are most comfortable with direct teaching via whole-class teaching, moving toward small groups and flexible grouping can be very intimidating. This is especially true in situations where group dynamics in the classroom are extra-lively and teachers are concerned about managing behavior and keeping kids on task. This section provides strategies and techniques for effectively implementing small groups and flexible groups.

What Constitutes Effective Small-Group Construction?

Effective small-group instruction:

• Uses assessment data to create lesson plans and determine the groups.
• Keeps groups small, preferably three to four students to a group. Sometimes it might even be appropriate to have pairs.
• Groups are flexible. This means that groups change as students grow, test out of a curriculum section, choose activities based on the type of activity required, etc.
• Learning profile instructional materials are geared toward student ability levels when activities are not based on differentiating by process or student.
• Small-group activities are tailored to address student needs.

Ineffective small-group instruction:

• Has kids in groups, but all activity is directed by the teacher.
• Keeps kids in the same groups continually, usually in same-ability groups. This is actually tracking within a class.
• Uses the same materials with all students in all groups.
• Uses the same independent-state work assignments for the entire class.
• Uses small groups to complete worksheets, and more worksheets, and more worksheets.

When Implementing Co-teaching Models, Remember:

• An ability group is a group where all the students are at the same level.
• A mixed-ability group includes students of all different levels together, strategically placed.
• A flexible group is one which will have different members at different times. That, by the way, is the main goal. Students don’t get pigeonholed or typecast this way.

Excerpted from Special Needs in the General Classroom, 500+ Teaching Strategies to Differentiate Instruction

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In order for collaboration to be effective, you need time to plan together. If you don’t have the time to discuss plans, review upcoming tests, consider recommended modifications and implementation of I.E.P. goals, it will be difficult if not impossible to have a successful inclusive classroom.

If your school provides you with planning time, stay focused on the task. Try to avoid social conversation because it will only leave you feeling as if you accomplished nothing afterward. If possible, share agenda and task information beforehand through school mail so that the time you have can be used to the maximum benefit.

Speak up if you are being asked to give up planning time for other duties. You need that time and it is legitimate to require it.

If your school does not provide planning time, it will probably make your life easier in the long run, if you can employ some of the following options:

1. Use the time before school, after school, or during common preps/specials to meet and plan. Remember: The goal is to make YOUR job easier and more successful in the long run. It is a waste of your energy to begrudge the time if you choose this option.

2. Arrange for coverage with a substitute one day a week or month to free time to collaborate.

3. Contact your local PTA and see if there are parent volunteers who may be willing to help cover classes so you can plan. High Schools seriously underutilize volunteers.

4. Oftentimes substitutes have free blocks of time when the teacher they are substituting for has prep periods. See if a substitute can cover your class during a free block of time.

5. For information that must be communicated before the next school day, you might arrange to call each other after hours.

6. At the least, communicate through the mailbox by sharing what is working, what isn’t working and what is needed.

7. Communicating through e-mail is another viable option.

8. If the regular classroom teacher can provide the special education staff person with copies of lesson plans, tests, projects ahead of time by simply photocopying and placing these items in the support teacher’s mailbox or e-mailing the plans to the collaborative teacher, it allows enough time for the specialist to assist with accommodations and make helpful recommendations. It also enables that person to go into the class prepared to help.

9. Grade reports placed in the special education teacher’s mailbox enables both the regular classroom teacher and the special education teacher to catch failures before they become quarter grades.

10. Use the time you do have face to face effectively. Avoid going off on tangents. If you are stuck, put the difficulty aside and come back to it later.

Explore even more tips, tools, and resources for collaboration at TheHowofCo-teaching.com!

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Some teachers and school administrators believe that co-teaching should be voluntary.  We have learned that, when a new co-teaching initiative begins in a district, it is best to start small and with teachers who are willing to experiment, if possible. By using this approach, a school can work out any major issues before implementing the co-teaching initiative school or district-wide.

This strategy works well because the anxiety teachers may have before implementation of a co-teaching program will only be exacerbated if the program is started too quickly, by doing too much, and without proper preparation or training with unwilling or reluctant teachers. Any problems that occur become fuel for the argument that co-teaching doesn’t work.

Ideally, school districts should start their co-teaching initiative with teachers who are willing to take on the challenge and immerse themselves in professional development geared toward making co-teaching a success.

How to Match Co-teachers for Success

Sometimes, however, schools have no choice but to assign teachers to a co-teaching role, even when unwilling, because of the need to meet IEP requirements or state standards. In this situation, try to carefully match up personalities for the best possible success. Co-teaching is like an arranged marriage, and the personalities sharing a classroom can make or break the co-teaching relationship. All the conflict resolution or professionalism in the world cannot compensate for two seriously mismatched personalities.

When beginning a co-teaching initiative, district administrators may find themselves struggling to find appropriate co-teaching matches. When setting up teams for an idea this big, it’s important to think out-of-the-box; teachers may need to be moved to different grade levels or courses, schedules may need to changed or adjusted, etc. so that teachers who are willing to co-teach can work together.

A School Principal’s Role in a Successful Co-teaching Initiative

Just like the classroom teacher, administrators may be nervous about their role in the co-teaching initiative and how to best support their staff. It is imperative that administrators understand what co-teaching is, what it is not, and that they coach and mentor their staff in a positive, productive way to achieve the best possible results.

Co-teaching Initiatives: The Bottom Line

My experience has shown me that the best way to implement a successful co-teaching program on any campus or in any district, is to start small with a few teams of dedicated, professional educators who are willing to collaborate together, with training and coaching. When the data collected from these “model” teams show gains in student performance, other teachers will be motivated to participate and motivated teachers will always be more successful than coerced teachers.

In this age of testing, fear, and reprisal, teachers need to be motivated and taught how to best utilize their time and efforts to help students succeed. Co-teaching, done well, is one of the surest ways to make a difference for students.

Excerpted from Co-teaching and Collaboration in the Classroom

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When co-teaching, we sometimes have to make decisions that are in the best interest of our students, even if they are out of our “comfort zone.”

The Special Education Teacher Should Work with the Low Kids, Right?

Over the years, traditional practice has reinforced the myth that the special education teacher should be with the students that need the basic skills while the general education teacher teaches the whole class. That, however, is not necessarily the best thing for the students. Let the situation dictate the response.

The Co-teacher with the Best Skills for the Lesson Teaches the Struggling Students

For example, I met a math teacher who was becoming very frustrated that her students with special needs weren’t making the necessary gains, even though the special education teacher had been working with them. It was already March.

The math teacher found that the special education teacher knew the math well enough to teach it to the larger group. However, the students who needed alternate strategies and ways of explaining the math actually got them better from the math teacher. Why?

Simple – the math teacher understood the math at a deeper level. In this case, she was able to present the math concept in ways that the special education teacher didn’t know because that was her area of expertise. She came up with four or five different approaches to teach the concept while the special educator was able to teach the larger group in the way that the teacher’s manual presented it.  While that was fine for the main body of students who were at grade level, it didn’t work for the ones who were struggling.

Who Has the Bigger Bag of Teaching Tricks?

Because the general education teacher had a bigger bag of tricks for teaching the math concepts, and a better understanding of the material, she was the better choice to work with the struggling students.

She found that as soon as she began implementing intense re-teaching and intervention strategies, her students started advancing in skill level and in understanding. She had the special education teacher teach the main lesson so that she could work with the students with special needs and they soon saw better results.

In this situation, both teachers had to put aside what they wanted to do, or what they were used to doing, check their egos at the door, and make the right decision for their students.  This is co-teaching at its best.

From Co-Teaching and Collaboration in the Classroom: Practical Strategies for Success

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I’m often asked how it is possible for two teachers to co-teach in the same room at the same time without distracting students. In all honesty, in all my years of coaching co-teachers, I’ve never seen students get distracted by parallel teaching. Rather, it’s the teachers who get distracted. This is especially true if one of the co-teachers is a control freak who is too concerned about what the other teacher is saying to focus on her half of the class. I make that statement with compassion and understanding. It’s so difficult to let go, especially when you care about your students and their success.

Parallel Teaching

Let’s look at parallel teaching. What is it? How do we do it? This approach allows teachers to split the class in half, with each teacher co-teaching one half.  The class can be split up according to learning profile, for behavior management (with students who feed off each other separated), or randomly.

With this approach, group size is smaller, allowing greater supervision by the co-teacher. While co-teachers are teaching the same information with this approach, working with a smaller group allows them to identify students who may be having difficulty understanding. In a larger class setting, identifying these students is much more difficult.

Parallel Teaching: Benefits

• Co-planning – Two heads are better than one.
• Allows teachers to work with smaller groups.
• Each co-teacher has the comfort level of working separately to teach the same lesson.
• Can separate students who feed off each other.
• Two teachers means two different teaching styles which, in turn, can reach a larger range of learning styles

Parallel Teaching: Challenges

• Requires co-planning time.
• Both co-teachers need to be competent in the content.
• The pace of the lesson must be the same.
• There must be enough flexible space in the classroom.
• The noise level must be controlled.

So, how might you and your co-teacher use parallel teaching to your advantage?

Listen to Susan explain one implementation of this co-teaching model:

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Choose your co-teaching approach

Co-teaching Approaches:

One Teacher, One Support Teacher

In this approach, the subject expert is often the lead teacher, while a specialist is often the support teacher.  This approach requires plenty of planning and collaboration time outside of the classroom to fully benefit students and co-teachers.

Parallel Teaching

The classroom is divided in half and each teacher teaches the same material to each half.  While this approach can greatly benefit students, who receive closer attention with the smaller group size, it is important that each group contains a variety of students who can work well together and that teachers collaborate to insure that the material being taught is consistent between each group.

Alternative Teaching, AKA Teach-Half-Then-Switch or Big Group-Small Group

The classroom is divided into one large group and one or more smaller groups.  The smaller groups can focus on different learning material, or be used to help struggling students by differentiating or slowing down instruction.  This approach can also help to eliminate some of the stigma of students with learning disabilities always being singled out.

Teachers might also divide the class in half, yet, unlike parallel teaching, each teacher teaches something different, thereby maximizing on their professional expertise as well as making the best use of time. Co-teachers teach half the class then after 15-30 minutes they switch with the other half of the class: teach-half-then-switch teaching.

Team Teaching

When team teaching, both teachers work together to teach the entire class.  Many see this situation as the ideal; however, it requires two teachers who are compatible in personality style, commitment, and teaching philosophy, and who are also given the time and support to plan together.

Station Teaching

This approach is one of the most effective formats for addressing a wide range of abilities in the general education classroom, as students are divided into small, flexible groups that can be used to differentiate instruction and teach separate learning material.

Station teaching can include Fitzell Acceleration Centers, flexible grouping, rotating stations, or four corners.

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