#8 One Guide Tech and One Facilitate Discussion – The HOW of Co-teaching

In this implementation of the co-teaching models, one co-teacher presents instruction and leads discussion based on student real-time responses.

During the discussion, the other co-teacher monitors the computer, interacts with students, responds to student participation, uses questioning techniques to foster critical thinking, and provokes responses from even the most challenging students.

Listen to learn how.

Specialist content expertise required:
• The level of content understanding required directly correlates with the academic level of engagement with students via the technology.
• Strong content knowledge may be required to facilitate discussion.
• Co-teacher guiding technology must be comfortable with the technology and understand the apps and programs used.

Planning time required: Minimal to substantial, depending on the topic, understanding of the technology and software, and lesson objective. For instance, if using Kahootz or a game app, time is involved in creating the questions or finding ready-made games. If backchanneling, minimal prep time may be necessary. However, the time required depends on multiple factors.

Bring Susan to your campus!

The post Co-teaching Model – One Guide Tech and One Facilitate Discussion appeared first on Susan Fitzell.

Ella and Manny, a co-teaching team at a middle school in Albuquerque, New Mexico, found themselves in just this situation. I brainstormed with them and we came up with a variation on “Teach Half, Then Switch” called “One Review, One Run Lab.”

During the class period, Manny took half the students and reviewed a topic that was essential to the curriculum but that did not need lab time to understand. This could be a direct-teach type of review. Sometimes, Manny would play a PowerPoint version of Jeopardy to go over the forensic techniques they were learning.

At the same time, Ella took the other half of the students and ran the lab. To make sure enough stations and materials were available, she had the students group in triads rather than in pairs.

The next day, Manny’s group of students switched over to Ella and the hands-on lab portion of the lesson, while Ella’s group of students switched to Manny and the review session.

Teach Half then Switch: One Review, One Run Lab can be used not just in science classrooms but in any class where a hands-on practice is essential to understanding the lessons. Culinary arts, electronics, programming and web development are a few examples. Not only does it help manage larger class sizes and limited materials, it reduces the teacher-student ratio during an activity that requires more focus. Safety is increased as is the opportunity for deeper learning.

Tips:

• Plan ahead for this co-teaching variation: Will you need more than one classroom for this activity? How long will the split session run—one day or two, or more? Which co-teacher will handle the hands-on activity? Who will handle the review session? Make sure both activities align with the goals of the lesson and curriculum.
• Divide the class into mixed-ability halves so everyone learns equally, but do so strategically: in the lab portion, those with lower ability can be paired with those of higher ability. Or, if two students tend to play off each other, place one in each group.

For Ella and Manny, this variation of Teach Half, Then Switch helped them to make sure all of their students got hands-on lab time with the materials available. It also gave them the opportunity to work more closely with and support their students.

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

Bring Susan to your campus!

Featured seminar – Co-teaching and Collaboration

Would you like to reprint this article, or an article like it, in your newsletter or journal?
CLICK HERE to visit the articles page.

The post Co-teaching Models: Using Teach Half Then Switch in the Science Lab appeared first on Susan Fitzell.

One Teach and One Interpret – The HOW of Co-teaching

It is very possible that a specialist in the classroom, who knows little about the lesson content, may use his or her teaching skills to provide instruction that reaches more learners and is increasingly memorable. This co-teaching implementation supports the specialist in learning the curriculum. It is a win-win for everyone.

Specialist content expertise required: Minimal to moderate, depending on content.

Planning time required: Minimal. Can be implemented quickly and informally without preparation.

Bring Susan to your campus!

The post Hybrid Co-teaching Model – One Teach and One Interpret appeared first on Susan Fitzell.

One Lead and One Student Support – The HOW of Co-teaching

Many of us are familiar with the One Teach, One Assist co-teaching model. An implementation named One Lead and One Student Support may appear to be just another way of saying the same thing. It’s not. This co-teaching implementation shifts mindsets, expands thinking, and takes co-teaching up a level.

Specialist content expertise required: Minimal to moderate, depending on content.

Planning time required: Minimal. Can be implemented quickly and informally without preparation.

Bring Susan to your campus!

The post Hybrid Co-teaching Model – One Lead One Student Support appeared first on Susan Fitzell.

One Teach – One Collect Data – The HOW of Co-teaching

This co-teaching implementation makes data-driven decision-making seamless. Co-teachers decide in advance which types of information to collect, how to collect that information, and how they might use it to adjust the lesson. Then, they use this effective co-teaching strategy to make it happen!

Specialist content expertise required: Minimal to moderate, depending on content.

Planning time required: Minimal. Can be implemented quickly and informally without preparation.

Bring Susan to your campus!

The post Hybrid Co-teaching Model – One Teach—One Collect Data appeared first on Susan Fitzell.

Two Support Student Participation and Engagement – The HOW of Co-teaching

While this implementation of the co-teaching models is very similar to Both Facilitate Participation and Collect Data, there is one key difference: The focus is on engaging with students rather than collecting data during student pair shares. This co-teaching implementation provides a tremendous potential to ensure students stay on task.

Specialist content expertise required: Minimal to moderate, depending on content.

Planning time required: Minimal. Can be implemented quickly and informally without preparation.

Bring Susan to your campus!

The post The HOW of Co-teaching – Two Support Student Participation and Engagement appeared first on Susan Fitzell.

Two Teach and Debate – The HOW of Co-teaching

This co-teaching implementation is a powerful way to co-teach, and a surprisingly simple and flexible co-teaching model. It could take two minutes, or ten, or even half a class period, if you choose. This implementation is a live demonstration for students on how to have a thoughtful discussion and defend a viewpoint, while listening to and considering what another person has to say.

Specialist content expertise required: Minimal to moderate, depending on content.

Planning time required: Minimal. Can be implemented quickly and informally without preparation, provided both teachers are ready to defend a position

Bring Susan to your campus!

The post Co-teaching Implementation #1 – Two Teach and Debate appeared first on Susan Fitzell.

Both Facilitate Participation and Collect Data – The HOW of Co-teaching

Don’t make co-teaching harder than it needs to be. This co-teaching implementation takes interactive student activities up a level and offers ways to collect the student data you need to support effective instruction.

Specialist content expertise required: Minimal to moderate, depending on content.

Planning time required: Minimal. Can be implemented quickly and informally without preparation.

Bring Susan to your campus!

The post Hybrid Co-teaching Strategies – Both Facilitate Participation and Collect Data appeared first on Susan Fitzell.

One Teach, One Summarize – The HOW of Co-teaching

This co-teaching implementation maximizes the talent of both adults in the room, even if one does not know the curriculum verbatim. With this teaching strategy, you are modeling the skill of summarizing and increasing student recall and comprehension.

Specialist content expertise required: None to minimal.

Planning time required: Minimal. Can be implemented quickly and informally without preparation.

Bring Susan to your campus!

The post Co-teaching Strategies – One Teach, One Summarize appeared first on Susan Fitzell.

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!

Bring Susan to your campus!

Featured seminar – Co-teaching and Collaboration

Would you like to reprint this article, or an article like it, in your newsletter or journal?
CLICK HERE to visit the articles page.

The post Co-teaching Models – Skills and Rigor: Kicking Co-Teaching Up A Notch appeared first on Susan Fitzell.