#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.

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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!

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I was co-teaching biology and working with a teacher who could say the meanest things with a smile on his face. One day, I was teaching the parts of the heart. When I finished explaining the difference between the inferior vena cava and the superior vena cava, he told the class, “Yes, it’s just like Mrs. Fitzell and I. She’s the inferior vena cava, and I’m the superior vena cava.” The class laughed.

He repeated the analogy again, months later, when reviewing the parts of the eye. The eye has an inferior oblique and superior oblique, so he said it again. He thought it was funny. I thought it was mean. These were two of the most humiliating experiences I had while co-teaching because he said these things in front of the entire class. I still feel a flush of humiliation as I recall those two events.

How to build positive relationships with your co-teachers

Co-teaching and collaboration is challenging because it requires educators to stretch out of their comfort zones and embrace an initiative that they may have had no say in. Many teachers are forced into co-teaching and find themselves paired with another adult in the classroom without any training in the people skills part of the process. They just don’t know what to do or what to say. Yet, what we *say* to each other can make or break our relationship before we even begin.

If I was asked the question, “What would you say, is one thing that you should never say to your co-teacher.” My reply would be, “Don’t announce to the class that you are superior and your co-teacher is inferior.” But, not everyone is like me. So, I asked my teaching colleagues what advice they’d give their peers working in co-taught classrooms.

Here’s what they said:
1. “You are the content specialist, I’m just here for special ed support.”
Your co-teacher hears: I’m really not interested in working harder than I have to.

2. “You can’t see the answer key.”
Your co-teacher hears: You’re going to help the students cheat. I don’t trust you.

3. “Are you sure you get this?”
Your co-teacher hears: I’m the one with the ______________ (fill in the blank) degree. You’re not smart enough to do this job.

4. “We don’t do it that way!”
Your co-teacher hears: Your expertise doesn’t matter.

5. “Your input isn’t ____________ (fill in the blank: needed, valuable, relevant.) You have nothing to offer.”
Your co-teacher hears: I don’t respect you or your teaching skills.

6. “That’s not right. You are wrong. My way is better.” in an accusatory tone.
Your co-teacher hears: I don’t respect you or your teaching skills.

7. “I can’t plan with you during our planning time. I have to write IEPs.”
The problem with this statement is that even if you do have IEPs to write, your co-teacher could probably give you as long a list of what they need to do during that time.
Your co-teacher hears: Planning with you to benefit our students is not a priority of mine. You and the students are not important.

8. “This is an AP class. We don’t make accommodations in this class!”
Your co-teacher hears: It doesn’t matter how smart your students are, I’m not willing to teach them if they don’t learn the way I teach.

9. “That student isn’t one of “mine” so I won’t work with him”
Your co-teacher hears: I’m not interested in being collaborative.

10. “I didn’t like your lesson, so I had “my” students do it “my” way.”
Your co-teacher hears: I don’t respect you or your teaching skills.

11. “I’ll do my thing, you do yours.”
Your co-teacher hears: I’m not interested in being collaborative.

12. “You take your students and I’ll take my students.” within student earshot.
Your co-teacher hears: I’m not interested in being collaborative.
Your students hear: That teacher doesn’t care about me.

13. “I can’t teach your special ed students unless you’re physically present in the classroom.”
Your co-teacher hears: Your special ed students aren’t my problem. I only teach kids that aren’t on an IEP.

14. “This is my classroom. Take care of your kids. I am the real teacher.”
Your co-teacher hears: I not only don’t respect you or your teaching skills, I have no interest in being collaborative.

15. “I don’t know why they are in this class. Those SpEd students can’t do this.”
Your co-teacher hears: I’ve made up my mind that the SpEd students can’t learn and that they don’t belong in this class.

16. “I am so lucky I don’t have your class this year!”
Your ex-co-teacher hears: I hated working with you.

17. “Thank you but I don’t need your help, I can handle this myself.”
Your co-teacher hears: I don’t respect you or your teaching skills.

18. “Mrs/Ms./Mr. will be assisting me today.” said in front of the class
Your co-teacher hears: I don’t respect you or your teaching skills.
Your students hear: The SpEd teacher isn’t my/a real teacher.

19. “Anything you need from me today?”
Your co-teacher hears: Being in class with you to benefit our students is not a priority of mine. You and the students are not important.

20. Never start any statement with the phrase, “I know…,” and never use the conjunction, “but”. Example: I know you worked hard on that lesson, but some kids seemed confused.”

The How of Co-teaching® the Six Co-teaching Models

Two teachers in the classroom can, and has been proven to be, good for ALL the students in the classroom – when both co-teachers respect and work well with each other. Most of us teach because we want to make a difference for kids. Consider how much more impact you can make with another teacher’s skill set available for you to partner with and capitalize upon.

One co-teacher sums it up with, “If you have a trusting relationship, you can say almost anything because your co-teacher trusts you.” Yet, we know that the words we choose can make or break that trusting relationship. Now that we know what not to say to our co-teacher, what CAN we say that would still express what we need to say, yet, in a way that builds trust?

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There are some very common scenarios that make changing a classroom setup difficult:

• Class scheduling, such as a different teacher coming in to use the room immediately after the period ends, can make it tough to shift desks out of position with time left to actually teach.
• Actual size of the classroom is too small or too strangely shaped to regroup the desks.
• Technology in the classroom – especially if it has been installed a little at a time, over several years – can get in the way of shifting the desks around effectively.
• Science lab tables are often fixed firmly to the floor and can’t be moved.
• Classrooms are absolutely crowded with desks to accommodate large numbers of students, making it difficult to move anything around.

So, what can co-teachers do in these situations to change the classroom setup so that they can try a new co-teaching implementation?

First, don’t let a classroom’s odd geography get you down. Collaborate with your co-teacher to plan out ways to work with the space as best as you can. Can you stack extra chairs and tables safely out of the way? Can you leave the desks in place and instead shift the students around the room? Is there an unused classroom nearby where you can take half the class for the co-teaching implementation? Can you incorporate standing stations so that more students can collaborate around a table Bed risers can raise any four-legged table. To ensure safety, be sure that the table is steady.

1. Draw out a desk grouping on graph paper*, taking into account the dimensions of the classroom and the number of desks in it.
2. Come up with 2 to 3 versions of possible desk arrangements. Compare them with your co-teacher’s ideas until you both agree on 2 to 3 designs for alternate seating charts.
3. Put each seating chart/arrangement on a separate piece of paper and color-code each diagram.

Now, you can quickly decide on which seating arrangement to use on a particular day and share that with your co-teacher, who has the same color-coded arrangement to refer to. Depending on the class, you can even hang a copy of the day’s desk arrangement next to the door and then you can ask students to help rearrange the desks according to the visual reference chart. Something like, “Hey, look at the charts by the door. We’re going to be using the blue chart setup today. Would you help us out by arranging the desks in that pattern?”

This doesn’t work for all classes, of course. It may be best for grades 5 thru 12, and that also can vary depending on the abilities of the students in your class. Still, having a few “set” classroom configurations and asking students to help with setup not only saves co-teachers time and effort but also can increase the enthusiasm and engagement of students, too. Kinesthetic learners may show up early for class just so they have the chance to help move desks around.

Try out a few different desk configurations. If a setup doesn’t work or is too complicated and time-consuming, throw it out and try another one. Keep experimenting until you find an implementation and class setup that works best for you. Good luck!

* Can’t draw, or having trouble getting the classroom dimensions right? IKEA has a free online Room Planner tool that allows you to put in a room’s length, width and height, door and window locations, and custom “objects” that can be scaled to the size of the classroom desks. Jordan’s, another furniture store, offers a similar tool. While these were developed to sell furniture to people, they can be really useful in translating the real dimensions of a classroom to an 8.5×11-inch sheet of paper.

After you try these ideas, I’d LOVE IT if you’d post photos of your classroom configurations in the comments section or email them to me so I can add them to this post!

Here’s Susan with more insights about dealing with Over-crowded classrooms:

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

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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.

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

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Dear Susan: I’m a special education teacher in Illinois, and I’m reaching out to you to ask a few questions. I have been co-teaching kindergarten for four years. Our co-teaching model has been to blend the special education students with a developmental kindergarten—a smaller class of regular education students that were just “slow learners.” We always had no more than 20 students in our room.

Now, the school is restructuring our setup. The classroom will still be blended, but now my co-teacher is not going to teach the “developmental” students anymore; instead, it will be a general education classroom. The other teachers were excited to hear this because it means lower student numbers for them. But I am panicking at the thought of having a class of 30 kindergarteners—10 of them with cognitive impairments or behavioral issues.

Is this a ratio that is “best practice” in a co-taught kindergarten classroom?—Carrie White

Dear Carrie: A ratio of 30 to 1 is definitely not the best practice. However, through reading several articles, I can tell you that it happens a lot (depending on a school’s budget and teacher availability).

Some states, such as Florida, have passed “small class” laws where a class size of no more than 18 students is allowed, but many states still struggle with large class sizes.

A 2007 study titled “The Wisdom of Class Size Reduction” by Elizabeth Graue, Kelly Hatch, Kalpana Rao and Denise Oen looked at different implementations of class sizes at several high schools. “Requiring changes in space allocation, class-size reduction was accomplished through attention to pupil:teacher ratio, with classes ranging from 15:1 to 30:2 team taught.”

A ratio of 30:2 is a better scenario than a ratio of 30:1, with co-teachers working together. Indeed, the study noted that “Most partner classes used tag-team teaching, with one teacher leading and the other doing clerical work.”

That type of co-teaching, of course, falls under the “One teach, one observe” co-teaching model that co-teachers often rely upon.

For the immediate future, talk with your co-teacher about how best to work together so that all the students get the support they need. “One teach, one support,” where one co-teacher—often the special education teacher—takes a more proactive role than observing, such as taking notes, can work. “Teach half, then switch” is also a way to effectively teach the kindergarten class, and it can be a great way to make sure all of the students participate regardless of their ability.

Longer term, the large class size for kindergarten may still need to be addressed at a higher level. “Class-size reduction is both a programmatic and instructional reform,” according to the study, “and as such, it requires specific professional development to promote change.”

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

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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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This is fine, but why not change it up sometimes?

To make this work, try a slightly different model I call “one lead, one student support.” Unlike one teach, one support, this allows any of the adults in the room to lead the instruction for a chunk of the class — whether the general education teacher, the content specialist, the paraprofessional or the specialist.

I’ve even worked with teachers who made a good case for the lead to be another student! By switching the verbiage from “one teach” to “one lead” we expand our thinking into other options for leading instruction in the classroom, and we don’t get locked into the “one teach, one support” model with the same teachers always taking on the same roles.

When we vary the person who is leading instruction, we can also vary which students need support. It’s possible that support is being provided to students who are working on enrichment projects. Possibly, the students who need support are students who do not understand the instructional language and need an interpreter. Of course, it could also be the students who are struggling, yet that group might include students who are not on an individual education plan, but simply having difficulty with that day’s learning objective.

Co-teachers will want to plan this method ahead of time, especially if it’s the first time you’re trying it. Who will lead, and who will support? During which chunk of class time will you implement it? Determine afterward how effective this new teaching method is, and what changes you can make the next time you do it.

The goal for the “one lead and one student support” co-teaching implementation is to break out of rigid mindsets that cause us to believe that the lead is always the content area specialist or the general classroom teacher and the one providing student support is always the specialist.
Expanding our language to be more inclusive of a variety of roles increases our ability to view co-teaching as an opportunity to reach all learners in a manner that is highly effective for a variety of goals and learning styles present in the classroom.

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

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