Co-Teaching from the Special Education Persepctive Part 4: Professionalism (& back to school!)

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       Captain Obvious called, he says, "It's August." Some teachers have already begun their year, others are counting down the days. I'm reflecting on a season where I should be busy with classroom plans and panicking impending paperwork for my caseload, but instead I'm casually sipping coffee and watching the Olympics. My husband and I are moving abroad in 3 weeks, and I'm enjoying a low-stress morning after a stressful previous week of selling, packing, and coordinating our things in preparation for the move. It is REALLY WEIRD that I'm not relating to back to school memes, especially the ones about dreading wearing real pants. I'm still stressing and trying to plan out an upcoming year where I couldn't even begin to predict the outcomes, but my year won't involve a classroom. I won't get to see my little babies that I taught the last 2 years become 8th graders. I won't be working with my wonderful coworkers. I'll repeat, it's really weird. Big sigh.

      Back to school reflections have brought about some inspiration for this last post in my Co-Teaching series. As much as the magnitude of the impending school year can overwhelm teachers, remember one thing: You got this! Pre-year jitters are normal, just like the Olympic athletes I'm watching have pre-race jitters. I mean really, the only difference between the two is that the Olympic athletes have more sculpted abs. Getting nervous for something upcoming just means you care about it, and you care about doing a good job. Give yourself a pat on the back and reassure yourself that no matter what curriculum changes, classroom changes, grade level changes, and staff changes arise, you will have a successful year no matter what.

       As the finale in my Co-Teaching series, here are some encouraging tidbits to remind you and your co-teacher about working together professionally. I hope you've enjoyed the series! (Shameless self-plug: opening week PD is a great time to share these blog posts with your coworkers!)


DIVIDE & CONQUER
There are twice as many teachers in your classroom! This is a GOOD thing! How to best use that to your advantage: Work with ALL students! Pull EC groups sometimes, and then let your co-teacher do the same. Working with the same group of students will wear both of you out, while trading off can give each of you fresh perspective when it’s needed. Likewise, split your grading, assessing, lesson prep, everything! Make co-teaching work for you so that you both feel like you're contributing and taking some of the load off the other teacher.

BE VISIBLE
Meetings come up, things happen, but make sure the students know you are invested in their success. Students should learn from your relationship about how to work together. The more the whole class sees BOTH teachers interacting positively, the more positive your class will be. Let your students see you both take the lead, and let them see you compromise as well. Let them know when you've disagreed (professionally) and how you've gotten through it. Let them know when you've celebrated something together (especially if you celebrated your students!). Mostly, let them see you both actively participating in their education.

BE ON TIME

This is just good professionalism anywhere. If you're the one running from room to room and anticipate being late, tell them. Treat every day like it's the first day and you want to make a good impression. Your students pick up when you get in the habit of being late, running behind, or being absent. They WILL call you out on it!

BE INTENTIONAL

You're developing a personal and professional relationship, in front of a most influential audience! So, remember to keep professional disagreements professional by not including them in conversations with students or peers. Don’t share your arguments with others and be respectful with your co-teacher when you disagree. As a teacher, be intentional about your practice. If you don’t know, ask! Always seek to grow in your skillset and seek advice professionally when needed

BE FLEXIBLE
With time, with planning, with your co-teacher, and with yourself. Compromise is healthy and can help keep the pressure off of one teammate feeling like they have to carry "more" of the load. Always seek to problems solve and come up with creative solutions. Be sure you are working together to resolve or mediate differences, not waiting for the other to fix it! 

BE REFLECTIVE
Just as in any relationship, take time to figure out what’s working and what’s not. If it’s not working, try something new! Be responsive to your co-teacher’s needs. Be sure to make time to talk about student strengths and struggles during your PLC. However, make sure you also celebrate the good and approach student needs with a growth mindset.

...And, most importantly, have a great school year! 

Co-Teaching from the Special Education Perspective Part 3: Types of Co-Teaching

      The meat and potatoes of co-teaching has to do with understanding the ways in which you can use co-teaching to your advantage in the classroom. In the words of professional development everywhere, co-teaching is a "tool for your toolbox" that can make the world of different if it's used correctly. View it as an opportunity and your perspective on co-teaching will shift toward the "how can I make this work for students?" instead of "how do I survive this year?" Today I define the six types of co-teaching with some pros, cons, and a brief description of lessons where I've used each type of co-teaching successfully.  Here's a handy document for you to ponder your own pros/cons/applications for each type. 
*Sidenote, it feels weird to type "I've used" in that sentence...because I did it a with a co-teacher, not on my own! I should be saying "we"!!

The Six Types of Co-Teaching

One Teach, One Assist
One teacher delivers instruction while the other supports both students and the co-teacher.
Pros: 

• Support individual students’ needs
• Can switch roles

Cons:

• One teacher less active
• One teacher looks more “in charge”

My experience:
This is most beneficial when one of you is feeling ill/not having a great day. Let the stronger teacher deliver main content and the ill teacher can support! It can also be useful if you have whole class content as you can give your co-teacher a break from being "on stage" if you know they have a lot going on. One teach one assist is also beneficial when there is a student in the room who consistently needs individual supports during class; one teacher can deliver a whole class lesson and the other teacher can pop in between supporting the class and supporting an individual student. Be careful, however, because routine use of one teach one assist shows the students that one teacher is in charge, and the other is just there to help out "that one kid."
One Teach, One Observe
One teacher is delivering instruction while the other is observing the class (uninvolved with the lesson).
Pros:

• Data collection
• Feedback on lessons, management, etc.

Cons:

• One teacher is “inactive”

My Experience: I only felt comfortable using one teach one observe as a data collection tool. Some co-teachers like to assess each other, assess a lesson, and use the co-teacher for objective feedback. I've used it before when working as a new teacher starting in the middle of the year, and with new co-teachers who wanted to watch how I delivered content or interacted with students. This is not a model intended for daily use!

Station Teaching
Students can be divided into stations, some may be independent, but at least one is teacher leading a group while the other teacher may lead a second group or may monitor the class as a whole.
Pros:

• Differentiation
• Allow for interventions
• Small group teaching

Cons:

• More structure needed for groups
• More planning for station activities

My Experience: This is a great model for differentiating in the classroom! We used it in almost all of my co-teaching experiences. It's a great way to break up a routine, deliver different instruction based on skill or need, and provide students with the opportunity to work in cooperative groups. It does require a bit of planning ahead of time, to prepare roles and stations, and in teaching students group work expectations. It's absolutely worth it, though! 

Parallel Teaching
Teachers are simultaneously teaching the same content to the class, which has been split in two (not necessarily equal) groups.
Pros:

• Small group teaching

Cons:

• May have different teaching styles

My Experience: This has been most useful in a situation where a large inclusion class needs a big break from one another; or on those days where you know a lesson will be tough for the class and you want a way to teach in small groups; or on days that you'd like to spend a little more time on content and have students take a deeper role in an activity or lesson. The only drawback is that if it's an explicit lesson and you teach it two different ways, that can be confusing once you rejoin classes. Confusion can, however, be avoided with good planning!
Alternative Teaching
Teachers are simultaneously teaching different content to the class, which has been split in two (not necessarily equal) groups.
Pros:

• Differentiation
• Small group teaching
• Allow for interventions

Cons:

• Students may miss content

My Experience: This is great for "pull out" type content, such as specific interventions students need to record time with, individual services as determined by an IEP, or pulling a small group of students for remediation, extra practice, etc. Students definitely notice, though, that they are "different" or that they are the small group being pulled out. Work work groups, math facts practice, and other in-class small groups count as well, becaucse both teachers are actively delivering separate content.


Teaming
Both teachers split delivery of content and class routines. This is the most complex form of co-teaching.
Pros:

• Students more engaged
• Truly collaborative

Cons:

• Difficult to execute without a relationship

My Experience: This is my favorite! It takes a lot to work up to and of course you really have to develop a relationship, but it works out really well. You can adjust to whatever it is you want to do in your classroom. It's almost as if you are switching between all of the other types of co-teaching as needed, depending on your lesson format and your class structure. Students benefit from teaming because they get to witness a working relationship and use that example in the classroom, in their friendships, and beyond. They know that not only do they have one teacher looking out for them, but they have two teachers, working with them, working for them. It truly personifies the saying, "Two heads are better than one." 


      The best way to co-teach is...to use all of these styles! In each co-teaching partnership, particular lessons lend themselves better one style or another, and in your co-planning (which you hopefully have told your administrators is a requirement for co-teaching) you discuss what style fits your lesson best. Assign roles for both teachers, so that both are being utilized. If one of the teachers in a co-teaching relationship feels underutilized not only is it bad for the relationship, but it's bad for the students too. Go back and talk about it with your co-teacher. Communication is key! Especially the message you are communicating to your students. 

Co-Teaching from the Special Education Perspective Part 4: Professionalism