CO-TEACHING

WHEN ONE TEACHES TWO LEARN.

WHAT IS CO-TEACHING when two or more professionals jointly deliver substantive instruction to a diverse, or blended group of students in a single physical space (Cook and Friend, 1995).

THE CO-TEACHING DYNAMIC

http://www.specialconnections.ku.edu/cgi-

The Types of Co-teachingCurriculum KnowledgePlanningTime AllocationLevel of TrustPhilosophical Agreement

Friend, M., Reising, M., & Cook, L. (1993). Co-teaching: An overview of the past, a glimpse at the present, and considerations for the future. Preventing School Failure, 37(4), 6-10.

STYLES OF CO-TEACHING Bauwens and Hourcade (1991)One teach, one support --One person assumes primary instructional responsibility while the other adult assists students with work, monitors behavior, and corrects assignments. (This approach is most successful when it is used on an occasional basis in conjunction with the other approaches.)

2. Station teaching --Curricular content is divided into two parts. One person teaches the first part to half the students and the other professional presents the second part to the other half. The two student groups then switch.

3. Parallel teaching --Students are divided into heterogeneous groups in which each student has more opportunity to participate in discussions. Different types of presentations are structured to accommodate the various student learning styles.

4. Alternative teaching --Students are divided into two groups, and one person instructs one group while the other person pre-teaches the other group for the lesson to follow or re-teaches material using alternative methods.

5. Team teaching-- Both professionals share leadership and are equally engaged in instructional activities. They might role play, stage debates, or model note-taking strategies. (Friend & Bursuck, 1999, pp. 82-85)

The Components of Co-teachingGately, S., Gately, F., Understanding Co-teaching Components, Journal of Teaching Exceptional Children, 2 (3) 41-47

The Stages of the Co-teaching ProcessGive and take communication / more active role of special educator / increased level of trust and social relationshipCareful Communication / Boundaries developing / Feelings of Intrusion / Very defined roles*Teachers may get stuck at this level. Open communication / changing roles / use of humour / mutual respect / flexible equalityGately, S., Gately, F., Understanding Co-teaching Components, Journal of Teaching Exceptional Children, 2 (3) 41-47

COMPLEMENTING EACH OTHERS STRENGTHS

I have a good friend (co-teacher) and we share all the time. She rocks at assessment I rock at presentation. We meld our lessons and constantly trade information and lesson plans. What comes out in the end is great lessons and great assessment.

The Benefits of Co-teachingbetter student to teacher ratio and more individual attention (especially helpful to lower level students.). a wider use of instructional techniques, to better student learningmore and better critical, planning and reflective practices by teacherssocial skills improvement / better classroom management.a more community oriented classroomincreased score results.

TEACHER BENEFITS

Teacher training in-house. The Korean English Teacher betters their own language skills while teaching.

Both teachers develop new instructional techniques while teaching and sharing.

New teachers can be given guidance and mentoring.

Effective modeling for students.

NESTs > less cultural adaptation.

3 Main Misperceptions 1. The foreign expert. Foreign teachers are viewed as all knowing. This creates an imbalance in the classroom and eventually resentment. There must be a shared power in the classroom. There is no expert or rather, a Native expert and a Foreign expert. Each have their particular skills and experience and relevance. Sturman, P., (1992), Team Teaching: A case study from Japan, Collaborative Language Learning and Teaching, Cambridge University Press, Nunan, D., 149-150

2. The walking tape recorder. In this case, the Korean teacher feels that the foreign teacher lacks instructional skills and uses the NEST as a kind of puppet, only good for pronunciation and laughter, cultural communication.

3. The token foreigner. Here, the NEST is only there to give the school pride as being progressive. They arent used as teachers. They are just a symbol of being international and progressive.

RECOMMENDATIONSSUGGESTIONS

Promote and educate teachers and schools about the value and benefits of co-teaching. Teachers must know WHY they are co-teaching.

Hold mandatory workshops for co-teachers. Especially prior to the school year. Also social outings to foster their relationship.

Have all co-teachers complete a questionnaire and discuss fully prior to teaching together. Also, give adequate scheduling and planning time for weekly co-teaching meetings.

Educate teachers about the co-teaching options they have. There are many different kinds of co-teaching.

Korean co-teachers MUST be in the classrooms with NESTs during lessons.

Allow for no more than 3 co-teachers / NEST. Preferably schools should provide an English only classroom and teachers shouldnt have to travel to other classrooms.

Create a process to chose the appropriate people/teachers to be co-teachers.

Set up a dispute resolving mechanism so that when a co-teacher has a complaint, they have somewhere to go.

Schedule so that co-teachers will be with each other for the full contracted year. Make it mandatory that co-teachers hold weekly planning meetings.

Co-teaching survey: Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education

Native Speaking English Teachers

CHECK THE CORRECT ANSWER

1. I can easily read the nonverbal cues of my co-teaching partner. RARELY SOMETIMES USUALLY ALWAYS

2. I feel comfortable moving freely about the space in the co-taught classroom. RARELY SOMETIMES USUALLY ALWAYS

3. I understand the curriculum standards withrespect to the content area in the classroom.

RARELY SOMETIMES USUALLY ALWAYS

4. Both teachers in the classroom agree on the goals of the classroom RARELY SOMETIMES USUALLY ALWAYS

5. Planning can be spontaneous, with changes occurring during the instructional lesson

RARELY SOMETIMES USUALLY ALWAYS

6.I often present lessons in the co-taught Class RARELY SOMETIMES USUALLY ALWAYS

7.Classroom rules and routines have been jointly developed. RARELY SOMETIMES USUALLY ALWAYS

8. Many measures are used for gradingstudents. RARELY SOMETIMES USUALLY ALWAYS

9.Humor is often used in the classroom. RARELY SOMETIMES USUALLY ALWAYS

10. All materials are shared in the classroom. RARELY SOMETIMES USUALLY ALWAYS

11. I am familiar with the methods and materials needed to teach the curriculum.

RARELY SOMETIMES USUALLY ALWAYS

12. Modifications of goals for different level students are incorporated into this class.

RARELY SOMETIMES USUALLY ALWAYS

13. Planning for classes is the shared responsibility of both teachers. RARELY SOMETIMES USUALLY ALWAYS

14. The "chalk" passes freely between the two teachers.

RARELY SOMETIMES USUALLY ALWAYS

15. A variety of classroom management techniquesis used to enhance the learning of all students.

RARELY SOMETIMES USUALLY ALWAYS

16.Communication is open and honest. RARELY SOMETIMES USUALLY ALWAYS

17. There is fluid (changing) positioning of teachers in the classroom RARELY SOMETIMES USUALLY ALWAYS

18. I feel confident in my knowledge of the curriculum content RARELY SOMETIMES USUALLY ALWAYS

19. The administration encourages and supports both teachers and co-teaching.

RARELY SOMETIMES USUALLY ALWAYS

20. Both teachers share curriculum resources; audio-video, books, tests, blackline masters

RARELY SOMETIMES USUALLY ALWAYS

21. Students accept both teachers as equal partners in the learning process RARELY SOMETIMES USUALLY ALWAYS

22. Time is allotted (or found) for common planning. RARELY SOMETIMES USUALLY ALWAYS

23. Behavior management is the shared responsibility of both teachers. RARELY SOMETIMES USUALLY ALWAYS

24 I feel happy about my relationship with my co-teacher. RARELY SOMETIMES USUALLY ALWAYS

25. We hold meetings and give honest feedback about lessons

RARELY SOMETIMES USUALLY ALWAYS

GET YOUR SCORE!

RARELY = 1 SOMETIMES = 2

USUALLY = 3

ALWAYS= 4

TOTAL = ?

HOW GOOD IS YOUR CO-TEACHING RELATIONSHIP?

< 50 = a poor co-teaching relationship

50 75 = a satisfactory (but in need of improvement) co-teaching relationship

76 100 = a very healthy co-teaching relationship

Discuss afterwards with your co-teaching partner. What differences did you see?

How can you improve those parts of your relationship?

Sharing Hopes, Attitudes, Responsibilities, and Expectations { SHARE }

Directions: Take a few minutes to individually complete this worksheet. Be honest in your responses. After completing it individually, share the responses with your co-teaching partner by taking turns reading the responses. Do not use this time to comment on your partner's responsesmerely read. After reading through the responses, take a moment or two to jot down any thoughts you have regarding what your partner has said. Then, come back together and begin to share reactions to the responses.

Your goal is to (a) Agree, (b) Compromise, or (c) Agree toDisagree.

1. Right now, the main hope I have regarding this co-teaching situation is: _______________.

2. My attitude/philosophy of teaching students with disabilities in a general education classroom is: _______________________.

3. I would like to have the following responsibilities in a co-taught classroom: ________________________. 4. I would like my co-teacher to have the following responsibilities: ________________________.

5. The biggest problem I expect to have in co-teaching is: ___________________.

5a. I think we can overcome this obstacle by: ______________________.

6. I have the following expectations regarding _______in the classroom:(a) discipline __________________________________________________(b) class work __________________________________________________

Materials ____________________.

homework ______________________________________________________. planning _______________________________________________________.

(f) modifications for individual students__________________________________.(g) grading ________________________________________________.(h) noise level _________________________________________________.

(i) cooperative learning _______________________(j) giving/receiving feedback _____________________________________________.(k) parental contact ________________________________________________.

(l) classroom appearance/seating __________________________________________.(m) other important expectations I have ____________________________________.

Note:

Modified from Co-Teaching in the Inclusive Classroom: Working Together to Help All Your Students Find Success (Grades 6-12; p.36-37, by W. W. Murawski, 2003, Medina, WA: Institute for Educational Development.

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one teaches, two learn.