Name: Thomas Boczar SPED 405 Co-Teaching Interview Assignment Interview Summary:

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The special education teacher that I interviewed (initials JB) has been teaching for two years and teaches all grade levels in the high school. He deals with a variety of students that have various types of disabilities and disorders, including Autism and Aspergers. His coteaching experiences have been interesting based on his interview. Only being a second-year teacher, he hasnt had a whole lot of experience co-teaching, but rather a lot of group experience with several different types of students. Many times he would be present in the classroom but help the students with special needs or services. There are occasions though, where he does teach several lessons to not only the students with IEPs but the mainstream students, as well. He started co-teaching since he got the job last Fall, and initially it was a way to get him some teaching experience working with a variety of different students in varying class/audience sizes. He is certified to teach special education in any content area, but he feels most comfortable with math and science. One of the greatest challenges in co-teaching has been trying to keep the teaching methods consistent between the two teachers. He has different philosophies than some of his colleagues which makes keeping administrative aspects of a class consistent. One of the benefits that comes with co-teaching is giving the students two different perspectives on a topic. Some students will learn better when it is explained or showed one way, and others will learn better a different way. JB says that he likes to co-teach because although it almost requires more work than teaching your own classroom, it seems to benefit the students pretty well. For example, about a quarter of the students in one of his classes have IEPs so if

they have a test read to them, it gives the other students an opportunity to have the test read to them as well, even if they dont need it. It seems to do a good job at mainstreaming the special education students and making them feel part of the general education classroom without singling them out. He plans to continue to co-teach years down the road. The general education teacher that I interviewed (initials JM) has been teaching physics for seventeen years. Currently, she teaches regular and AP Physics at Centennial High School. Although she doesnt currently co-teach, she has in the past and said their were positives but there were also negatives. When she first started teaching, she co-taught to give her some experience, similar to JB. She really liked having a special ed teacher in her classroom because it helped individualize different learning styles and having a second person in the classroom really helped her in assisting all the students, including the students without IEPs or learning disabilities. She also really likes station teaching where each teacher has their own responsibilities, and that lowers the student to teacher ratio. One of the challenges of co-teaching that JM mentioned was keeping the students motivated because often times, students would pick a teacher that they preferred and lose motivation when the other was teaching. She said this was fairly common with the mainstream students when the special education teacher would teach. She believes that co-teaching definitely helps with classroom management because there are two sets of eyes, and if one teacher is strict and the other teacher is more laid back, it can be very beneficial because it keeps the students in line but motivated to learn. Overall though, it will vary from class to class so it is hard to pinpoint specific benefits or challenges. JM likes the idea of co-teaching but she feels most comfortable and effective when she teaches alone and

is in full control because it can be difficult to split the times sometimes, among several other challenges. It also keeps her more accountable. Reflection: Before doing this interview, my opinion on co-teaching was more negative than positive. From my placements thus far, teaching with a peer can definitely have its benefits, but I personally think it can be sort of annoying. My biggest concern has been the compatibility of two different teaching styles, and how it will affect student learning. After doing this assignment, my eyes opened up a bit to the real benefits of co-teaching. There are certain situations where I would be willing to co-teach. For example, if a decent number of students in my class have IEPs or behavioral disorders, I actually would like a co-teacher to help me. It will allow a better student-to-teacher ratio, and it will benefit the students. However, if there are only a couple students with IEPs, Id rather have a paraprofessional in the classroom because that way I dont have to alter my teaching styles, I will only need to differentiate my instruction, which I should be doing anyways. If I am to be assigned with a special ed teacher to co-teach with, I would want someone who has a relaxed management style with a lot of stress on interaction between diverse groups amongst the classroom. Students learn best from each other and teachers are here to guide them. Although information needs to be presented by the teacher, the students need to be held accountable for their learning. Having a co-teacher will simply allow more assistance to a large group of students that may be very difficult to do when teaching alone. One thing I would like to know more about co-teaching is how is it decided who teaches what, and how often? Will it change from day-to-day, unit-to-unit? Overall, I learned a lot from these interviews and it made me more willing to co-teach in the future.