Frameworks for Collaboration

CR4YR August 27th, 2013 Vancouver Hilton Hotel

Faye Brownlie and Randy Cranston

Learning Intentions

  I have a better understanding of collaboration and co-teaching.

  I have a plan of how to increase the effectiveness of my collaboration and my co-teaching.

  I can create a class review and use it to plan for instruction.

Why Collaboration/Co-teaching?

  Based on the belief that collaborative planning, teaching and assessing better addresses the diverse needs of students by creating ongoing effective programming in the classroom

  It allows more students to be reached

Learning in Safe Schools, page 102 Chapter 9

  Based on the belief that collaborative planning, teaching and assessing better addresses the diverse needs of students by creating ongoing effective programming in the classroom

  It allows more students to be reached

  It focuses on the ongoing context for learning for the students, not just the specific remediation of skills removed from the learning context of the classroom

  It builds a repertoire of strategies for teachers to support the range of students in classes

Learning in Safe Schools, page 102 Chapter 9

Why Collaboration/Co-teaching?   Based on the belief that collaborative planning, teaching

and assessing better addresses the diverse needs of students by creating ongoing effective programming in the classroom

  It allows more students to be reached

  It focuses on the ongoing context for learning for the students, not just the specific remediation of skills removed from the learning context of the classroom

  It builds a repertoire of strategies for teachers to support the range of students in classes

  Imperative students with the highest needs have the most consistent program

Learning in Safe Schools, page 102 Chapter 9

Rationale:

 By sharing our collective knowledge about the whole class and developing a plan of action based on this, we can better meet the needs of all students.

Goal:

 to support students to be successful learners in the classroom environment

A Key Belief

  When intervention is focused on classroom support it improves each student’s ability and opportunity to learn effectively/successfully in the classroom.

The Vision

A  Remedial  Model  

(Deficit  Model)  ‘Fixing’  the  student  

Outside  the  classroom/  curriculum  

A  Shi:  from…..        to  

An  Inclusive  Model  (Strengths  Based)  ‘Fixing’  the  curriculum  

Within  the  classroom/  curriculum  

to  

Transforma)ons  within  the    Inclusive  Model  

Pull-­‐out  Support  /  Physical  Inclusion  •  sDll  a  remedial  model  –  to  make  kids  fit  •  In  the  class,  but  o:en  on  a  different  plan  

Inclusion  •  Classroom  Teacher  as  central  support  •  Resource  Teacher  –  working  together  in  a  

 co-­‐teaching  model  

No plan, No point

Questions to Guide Co-Teaching

  Are all students actively engaged in meaningful work?

  Are all students participating by answering and asking questions?

  Are all students receiving individual feedback during the learning sequence?

  How is evidence of learning from each day’s co-teaching fueling the plan for the next day?

A Co-teaching Question: Is this the best approach to maximize student learning:

• at this time

• for this task

• for this student?

 What is your co-teaching dream?

Co-Teaching Models (Teaching in Tandem – Effective Co-Teaching in the Inclusive

Classroom – Wilson & Blednick, 2011, ASCD)

  1 teach, 1 support

  Parallel groups

  Station teaching

  1 large group; 1 small group

  Teaming

1 Teach, 1 Support   most frequently done, least planning

  Advantage: focus, 1:1 feedback, if alternate roles, no one has the advantage or looks like the ‘real’ teacher, can capitalize one 1’s strengths and build professional capacity

  Possible pitfall: easiest to go off the rails and have one teacher feel as an ‘extra pair of hands’, no specific task (buzzing radiator)

1 Teach, 1 Support: Examples   demonstrating a new strategy so BOTH teachers

can use it the next day – e.g., think aloud, questioning from pictures, listen-sketch-draft

  Students independently working on a task, one teacher working with a small group on this task, other teacher supporting children working independently

Parallel Groups   both teachers take about half the class and teach

the same thing.

  Advantage: half class size - more personal contact, more individual attention

  Possible pitfalls: more time to co-plan, requires trust in each other, each must know the content and the strategies.

Parallel Groups: Examples   word work. At Woodward Elem, the primary worked together

3 X/week, with each teacher, the principal and the RT each taking a group for word work. Some schools have used this with math activities.

  Focus teaching from class assessment. Westwood Elementary: Came about as a result of an action research question: How do we better meet the needs of our students?:   primary team used Standard Reading Assessment, highlight

on short form of Performance Standards, Resource, ESL, principal involved, cross-graded groups 2X a week, for 6 to 8 weeks driven by information from the performance standards (Text features, Oral Comprehension, Risk taking, Critical thinking with words, Getting the big picture,… , repeat process

  NOT paper and pencil practice groups…teaching/thinking groups

Station Teaching   mostly small groups

  can be heterogeneous stations or more homogeneous reading groups

  each teacher has 2 groups, 1 working independently at a station or writing, 1 working directly with the teacher.

  Advantage: more individual attention and personal feedback, increased focus on self regulation

  Possible pitfall: self regulation (needs to be taught), time to plan for meaningful engagement.

Station Teaching: Examples   Guided reading: 4 groups; RT has two and CT has

two

  math groups – Michelle’s patterning (1 direct teaching, 2 guided practice, 1 guided practice with observation)

  science stations: CT and RT each created two stations; co-planning what they would look like to ensure differentiation, teachers moved back and forth between groups supporting self-monitoring, independence on task

1 large group, 1 small group

  Advantage: either teacher can work with either group, can provide tutorial, intensive, individual

  Possible pitfall: don’t want same kids always in the ‘get help’ group

1 large group, 1 small group: Examples

  Writing: 1 teacher works with whole class prewriting and drafting, small groups of 3-4 students meet with 1 teacher to conference

  Reading: everyone’s reading. large group: teacher moving from student to student listening to short oral reads. Small group: 2 to 3 students being supported to use specific reading strategies or   small group is working on a Reader’s Theatre

  Math: large group using manipulatives to represent shapes, small groups, rotating with other teacher, using iPads to take pictures of shapes in the environment

Teaming   most seamless.

  co-planned

  teachers take alternate roles and lead-taking as the lesson proceeds

  Most often in whole class instruction and could be followed up with any of the other four co-teaching models

  Advantages: capitalizes on both teachers’ strengths, models collaboration teaching/learning to students, can adjust instruction readily based on student need, flexible

  Possible pitfalls: trust and skill

Teaming: Examples   Brainstorm-categorize lesson – 1 teacher begins, other

teacher notices aspects the first teacher has missed or sees confusion in children, adds in and assumes lead role.

  Modeling reading strategies: two teachers model and talk about the strategies they use to read, noting things they do differently.

  Graphic organizer: Teachers model how to use a semantic map as a post reading vocabulary building activity, teacher most knowledgeable about semantic mapping creates it as other teacher debriefs with students; both flow back and forth