Collaborating to Differentiate Instruction

1. Collaborating to Differentiate Instruction Week Two Collaborative Teaching Models

2. Collaborative Teaching

3. Collaborative Teaching Collaborative teaching is a professional partnership between two or more educators that erases traditional boundaries and allows them to make informed decisions when designing, communicating, and monitoring effective instruction through reflective teaching. – Whitten & Hoekstra, 2002

4. Collaborative Teaching What is Collaborative teaching? • An alternate instructional approach to pulling special educations students Inclusion • Students are grouped heterogeneously • General Educator collaborating with the Special Educator

5. Why use a collaborative teaching approach? Co-Teaching: • Increases instructional options • Increases grouping flexibility in order to provide student with individualized instruction and diverse learning experiences • Reduces stigma for children • Increases professional support • Meets the mandates of IDEA: Least Restrictive Environment

6. Role of the Special Educator • Learning strategist for all students • Motivational techniques • Curriculum adaptations • Knowledge IEP’s and student disabilities

7. Role of the General Educator • Content knowledge • District and State curriculum • Indicators and objectives • Pacing • Content development

8. Models for Collaborative Teaching

9. One Teaching, One Assisting • Both educators are present with one taking a clear lead in the classroom while other observes and assists students

10. Strengths Limited teacher planning Provides basic support to students with diverse needs Challenges The “assist” teacher may feel like a glorified teacher’s assistant Students may question the “assist” teacher’s authority One Teaching, One Assisting Consider having the general educator and special educator alternate roles between support teacher and lead teacher.

11. Station Teaching • Teachers divide instructional content into several segments and present the content in separate stations around the classroom • With two stations, the General Educator and Special Educator each teach their half of the content and then switch groups. Alternatively, both teacher may move between groups in order to provide support. • If students are able to work independently with content, a third station may be established

12. Strengths General Educator and Special Educator maintain equal status Co planning allows for both the General Educator and the Special Educator to provide input in their area of expertise Challenges This approach requires significant pre-planning in order to divide up the content The content in Station Teaching lessons can not be dependent on the order in which content is being presented due to the student rotation Station Teaching

13. Parallel Teaching • General Educator and Special Educator plan instruction jointly, but each delivers instruction to a heterogeneous group consisting of approximately half the class

14. Strengths Lowers student to teacher ratio Allows for increased student interaction and/or student to student interaction Allows the teacher to monitor individual student progress and understanding more closely Challenges General Educator and Special Educator need to coordinate teaching so that student receive essentially the same instruction within the same amount of time Noise levels may be high Parallel Teaching

15. Alternative Teaching • One teacher works with a small group while the other teacher interacts with the larger group • Small groups can be pulled for pre-teaching, re-teaching, enrichment, interest groups, special projects, make-up work or assessment groups

16. Strengths All students, including students with disabilities benefit from small group instruction. If the General Educator and Special Educator alternate roles, equal status is maintained. Challenges Be careful to pull small learning groups that span various purposes. The small learning groups should not always be your Students with Special Needs. Alternative Teaching Consider having the general educator and special educator alternate roles between support teacher and lead teacher.

17. Team Teaching • Both the General Educator and the Special Educator share the instruction of students. • One teacher may lead discussion while the other models or demonstrates • Team teaching affords the ability to model quality team and interpersonal interactions

18. Strengths Allows both teachers to blend their teachings styles and expertise Challenges Require more planning Requires high levels of trust and commitment Team Teaching

19. What makes Co-Teaching Successful? • Interpersonal Communication • Physical Arrangement • Familiarity with Curriculum • Curriculum Goals and Modifications • Instructional Planning • Instructional Presentation • Classroom Management • Assessment – “Understanding Co -Teaching Components”, CEC, 2001

20. “Much like the effective doubles team in tennis, when one teacher moves to the left of the room, the other moves more to the middle of the room so that the classroom is always effectively covered.” – “Understanding Co -Teaching Components”, CEC, 2001

21. Additional Resources on Co-Teaching • Common Co-Teaching Issues. Retrieved fromhttp://www.ttac.odu.edu/articles/comcotch.html • Co-Teaching. Retrieved athttp://coe.jmu.edu/esc/Consortium_Co-Teaching.shtml • Gately, Susan and Frank Gately. (March/April2001) Understanding Coteaching Components. The Council for Excpetional Children. Retrieved fromhttp://journals.cec.sped.org/EC/Archive_Articles/VOL.33NO.4MARAPR2001_TEC_Article6.pdf