Co-Teaching for

Resource Teachers
Professional
development

Vanessa Vitiello
Turnkey on March 30, 2016
Original by Kelly McNeal, Ph.D. February 12, 2016

What is co-teaching?

For the purpose of this PD

Co-teaching is:
the arrangement in which a general
education
teacher and a special education teacher or
other specialist work together to educate
students with special needs.

Co-Teaching: Generation
2.0
In contemporary co- teaching, educators focus on

integrating into daily lessons the special education

strategies and techniques that will enable students to
achieve the goals of their individualized education
program (IEP).

Instead of just providing on-the-spot prompting and

coaching simply to get students with disabilities through

the academic content at hand, the most effective coteachers now also provide the same kind of explicitly
designed and care- fully documented instruction that
has always characterized special education.

Co-Teaching 2.0
1. Break into groups of 3-4 (maximum)
2. Read the article Co-Teaching 2.0 aloud and with each other in
your groups

3. Select ONE concept (per group) which you think is the most
important concept ( idea or notion) in the article. If your group
cannot agree, decide (as a group) on a way to come to
consensus.

4. Be prepared to present this concept to this class as well as the

supporting reasons why your group thinks this concept is so
important.

5. You will have 20 minutes

Co-Teaching 2.0
Group Share Outs:

1. Present your ONE concept (per group) which you think is

the most important concept ( idea or notion) in the article.

2. Discuss why your group thinks this concept is so

important.

The six Approaches to CoTeaching

Station Teaching
Parallel Teaching
Alternative Teaching
Teaming
One Teach, One Assist
One Teach, One Observe
https://youtu.be/6llQCG8QhBE

Station Teaching
Students are divided into three (or more) groups.
Each teacher delivers part of the lesson at a station;
*independent work occurs in the third station.

Students rotate through all stations,

*so both teachers work with every student in the class.

https://youtu.be/rj9bMITadec
Teachers divide instructional content, concepts and/or
skills into several segments and students rotate through.

Station Teaching
Pros:

Low teacher-pupil ration.

Both teachers work with all students.

Each teacher has clear responsibility.

Cons:

Increased noise level.

All students must move at the same time.

Dependent on effective planning.

Parallel Teaching

ParallelTeaching
Studentsaredividedintotwogroups,andeachteacherworks
withagroup.Sometimestheteachersdoidenticalwork
(suchastestreview),andsometimestheypresentinstruction
intwodifferentways(forexample,usingcontentatdifferent
readinglevelsorofferingdifferentwaystolearn
multiplication).

Most appropriate for drill & practice, reviews,

and project work.

Parallel Teaching
Pros:
Small teacher pupil ration

Cons:
Cannot be utilized unless both teacher are
proficient in content area.

Noise level and activity level can be distracting.

Alternative Teaching
Most students remain with one teacher
while the other teacher instructs a small
group for rete aching, enrichment,
assessment, preaching, or another
purpose.

Alternative Teaching

Pros:

All students have access to curriculum.

Essential information is front-loaded or retaught to whomever needs it.
Can also be used to provide enrichment.

Cons:
Students who are repeatedly grouped for reteaching may be stigmatized.

Teaming
Students remain in a single group and
the teachers co instruct, integrating their
contributions throughout the lesson.

Pros:

Team Teaching

Capitalizes on everyones strengths.

Large amounts of complex curriculum can
be covered.
Students have advantages of both teachers
style.
Students with disabilities are often
indistinguishable.

Cons:
Takes time to build trusting relationships.
Both teachers must be proficient in content.

One Teach, One Assist

Students remain in a single group; one
teacher leads instruction as the other
briefly interacts with students
individually, answering their questions,
re- explaining concepts, focusing
attention, and so on.

One Teach, One Assist

Pros:

Can be used in large & small groups.

Embeds IEP goals (strategies and social
skills) into content instruction.
Requires little planning and is easy to
implement.

Cons:
Not co-teaching unless BOTH teachers take
active and passive roles.
Co-Teaching 1.0

One Teach, One Observe

One teacher leads instruction while
the other gathers observational data
on one student, a group of students,
or the entire class.

One Teach, One Observe

Pros:
One teacher leads while the other does the
assessment.

Cons:
If the same teacher is always the observer than
not co-teaching.

Recommendations for
time usage
Station Teaching
Parallel Teaching
Alternative Teaching
Teaming
______________________
These four approaches should equal a total of 65% - 70%
of Co-teaching practices

One Teach, One Assist - no more than 20%

One Teach, One Observe no more than 10% 15%

Discussion?

How do we achieve 2.0 Co-Teaching in

vibrant, fluctuating teaching
environments?

KISS
Keep
It
Simple &
Strategy Based
Consciously utilize simple strategies when
working with other professionals

Professionals
What does it mean to focus on
interpersonal communications?
Why should you do this?

Ten Tips for Tackling Tough Conversations About Co-Teaching

(Based on Novick, B. (April, 2015) 10 tips for tackling

tough conversations. Educational Leadership)

As we talk about each one, please imagine hypothetical

examples which need to be resolved and we can role
play with them.

1. Begin with your goal in mind know what you are

hoping for. You are likely to become frustrated and

have more conflict if there is not a specific purpose to
the conversation and this purpose is not clear to all
parties.

2. Consider seating arrangements The

person sitting at the head of the table is

frequently presumed to be the leader or
to have control. It also sends a message
if there is not enough seating for
everyone. It is easier to have a difficult
conversation with someone when you are
sitting next to them and you are
presenting yourself as their ally, rather
than across from them where you may
seem adversarial.

 3. Let the other person speak first. When you

speak first you give the other person the ability
to become defensive about what you have said.
The other person speaking first allows you the
ability to find points of agreement, however
small they may be, before you speak. As they
speak it may be helpful to write down the points
you agree with so you remember to mention
them.

4. Sit silently while the other person

speaks, do not interrupt. It is common to
fill silence with words. Do not feel
compelled to do this. If what you have to
say is not meaningful to the conversation,
do not say it. Sit silently. If you are
uncomfortable with the silence, write
down what was said so you feel that you
are doing something but do not feel the
need to speak idle words.

 5. Actively listen. Do not fiddle with a phone,

computer, paperwork or anything else. If you
need something to do, write down what is being
said as you listen. Do not feel the need to
interrupt and try to problem solve. Not all
problems can be solved, some are chronic.
Empathizing is often helpful for conflict
resolution without fixing the actual problem.

6. Look beyond the anger. What other

emotions do you see or hear? Do your
best to empathize with these emotions.

7. Decide what issues are worth

fighting about. What is the issue and

is this particular issue worth
damaging a professional relationship?
If so, focus on the other nine tips
presented here while you try to
resolve the issue. If not, preserve
your energy for an issue down the
road that is worth fighting for.

8. Avoid absolutes. This means try your

best to delete words from your

professional repertoire such as always,
never, cant and wont. Try to speak
specifically to particular situations. Speak
about facts, not judgments. Speaking in
absolutes may trigger other professionals
to believe that you are not open to
problem solving. The phrase help me to
understand better shows interest in
getting an issue resolved.

9. Dont try to rationalize with

someone who is using emotional

language. Wait until they begin to
speak from a less emotional
standpoint. Be empathetic instead
of continuing to try to explain to
someone speaking emotionally
that they may not be making
sense to you.

10. Think in terms of liability. Always

think and act according to protocol,
school policies, educational law and
ethics.

Five Ws and then a H (A Strategic

Framework for Reflective CoTeaching)

Who
When
Where
What
How
And dont forget the WHY?