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

Co-Teaching from the Special Education Perspective Part 2: Relationship and Communication

     When I got married in 2013, it seemed everyone had advice for me and my husband. "Don't go to bed angry," "Get out and adventure," "Be willing to admit when you're wrong," and "Happy wife, happy life!" were among the phrases we heard often, and they're phrases I've heard over and over at most bridal showers and weddings I've attended over the years. It's age old and time tested advice we've all heard. And by this early point in the post I'm sure you're all thinking "UH first rule of an introductory paragraph is to let your reader know what you'll be talking about, so what in the universe does this have to do with co-teaching?"

     Fair point, reader, fair point. Let me extend to you an invitation to approach co-teaching using those first two letters only: CO. When you're married or getting married, advice is usually related to those aspects of the marriage that have to do with doing things TOGETHER. CO-habitating, CO-parenting, CO-operating, and CO-mpromise (see what I did there?). Each of those areas of "togetherness" can apply to co-teachers as well. You share the same space, discipline the same students, while you both also manage teaching content and your individual professional requirements. Your job is to work with another human being in order to teach students, many of whom typically have diverse learning needs and have varying cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. If you read Part 1 of this series, you know that each teacher brings their own "baggage" to a co-teaching relationship. Part 2 explores 6 conversations you should have to build a team dynamic between you and your co-teacher. So if you're reading this, share it with your co-teacher as well!

          Typically, you're given limited time and minimal professional development about co-teaching prior to entering into a co-teaching situation. Maybe during the year someone will say "Oh, hey if you take a PD day during the year there's this workshop you can go to in order to learn about how to co-teach" and of course it will be in March, when you've already established all of your routines, habits, and a working (or not) relationship. So here are some suggestions for the start of the year, when you're all abuzz and ready for the new school year to begin, for how to build a little relationship with your co-teacher and get your priorities aligned before the students arrive.

Six conversations to have with your co-teacher in the days before the school year starts: 

1. Share your strengths and weaknesses with each other.

      Just like in any team relationship, you bring a particular set of strengths and weaknesses to the team. And let's call them weaknesses, not "areas to improve," not "deltas," or anything else, because it's important in a co-teaching relationship to acknowledge that there are parts of your job that you don't do as well, just like there are parts of your job that you do very well. That's totally normal. That's why workplaces have multiple people on projects, teams, and committees, because everyone is not a superhero with all-encompassing abilities. You should not expect that of yourself as a teacher, nor should you expect it of your co-teacher, especially since you don't expect that of your students! Your co-teaching relationship is a chance to show your students what a functional partnership looks like, an example of cooperation, compromise, and, hopefully, friendship. Prepare to show off that teamwork with a conversation about what you each do best, and what you each hope to improve.

Guiding questions: In what areas of instruction are you most confident? What areas do you struggle with the most? What parts of the school year are your favorite? What do you enjoy most about teaching? What parts of your job do you dislike most and why? (red flag, if they say "co-teaching" maybe go see your administrator...)


2. Share your "why's" and your "what's"

      We often hear that research shows the more you know about a person the more tolerant you are of them. You're also more willing to compromise and overall more accepting of diverse profiles in general. Take a few moments at the start of the year and get really serious about why you are in the teaching profession. It doesn't need to be TOO serious - bring some coffee and donuts or chocolate and keep it casual- but be honest in the conversation. You should both also share your "what" as a teacher. This is a term I've totally invented but relates to what it is that makes you feel successful at your job. For some it is appearance- the classroom, making things "look pretty," talking with parents, relationships with kids, etc. For others it is the meaning behind the scenes- creating assessments, analyzing data, checking off lists, PLC conversations. Often, though, it's a mix of both of these and every teacher has a different combination of what makes them feel successful. Know what makes you feel successful, but also know how to support your co-teacher in feeling successful.

Guiding questions: What is most fun for you about teaching? What parts of your job make you smile the most or help you get through the tougher times? When you prioritize your tasks, what's most important to get done first?

3. Talk about your classroom management styles. A LOT. 

      Class routines, structure, and discipline needs to be consistent between you and your co-teacher. For example, if your co-teacher hates having a messy room at the end of class, then you need to support that by enforcing student routines which leave the room tidy. Likewise, if you can’t stand students calling out, make sure your co-teacher knows to enforce student routines that have students speak out in an organized manner. If your school does not have a PBIS system, then what will be your classroom behavior management system? I will advise that good cop/bad cop is not a particularly sustainable option (it can be helpful in some situations, but not all, and leads to different levels of respect for each co-teacher). Make sure you have a system that works for both of you, because you both have to maintain it.

Guiding questions: What system of management do you use? What are you most comfortable with? Are there behaviors that you struggle to manage? What behaviors frustrate you the most? What is the most successful way you've managed that behavior in the past? What resources do you need to put in place to help enforce your system (Are you both buying candy? Do you need weekly prizes/reward ideas? Do you need to review rules for a token economy system?)

4. Talk about space- for both you and the students. 

      Most often, co-teaching takes place in one teacher's room. And, as all teachers know, you don't want to mess with a teacher's space. That's their sanctuary! BUT, as co-teachers, you have to share the space. So talk about what that will look like! If you are more laid back this might not be as big of a concern, but for teachers that are particular about their room habits, this can be a really big deal in the grand scheme of the school year. Have a conversation about the kind of space you each require, and then talk about how that will relate to your students.

Guiding questions: What will the teacher desk space look like (do both teachers need a desk? If so, shared space or separate for each desk?)? What functions do you need your classroom to have? Do you have small group space? Does each teacher have their own room? If so, how will you plan to utilize both rooms, or will you only plan to use one?

5.  Talk about your respective specialty areas.

     As a special education teacher, I always informed my co-teachers about my special education tasks and job requirements. Honestly, most of my co-teachers knew it was a lot of work but didn't know why it was important or how much work went into each component. Sharing the legal concerns, the background information, and even venting about the amount of work was helpful because my co-teachers saw my job as both essential to their classrooms and a valued need in the school system. It also made me brush up on some of the areas where I needed to continue learning (looking up state special education laws to explain their specifics to my co-teachers, for example, helped me stay abreast of legal information in a new state). Similarly, my co-teachers always kept me informed about content training they had completed, new initiatives in curriculum, and changes to pacing guides or district content standards. We learned from each other, and respected each other as professionals in our respective areas because of it. At the start of the year, talk about what expectations you have to manage in a school year.

Guiding questions: What expectations do you have for yourself this year, in regards to your professional role? What tasks do you complete when? What is your approach to completing your job requirements on your own, and how do you fit each other into those approaches? What knowledge will you want your co-teacher to share about their role, and what do you anticipate sharing with them in return?

6. Talk about where you both stand with regard to the content you will teach. 

      This last conversation is the one I hear is most often omitted. When preparation time runs short, this conversation gets lost in the assumption that "you're a teacher, you should know how to teach the content." And when there's time for the conversation, I've heard many special educators say that they don't want to admit they don't know content, or they say they admit they don't feel comfortable with certain content and then their co-teacher immediately dismisses them as a valuable colleague. To avoid this, have a conversation about the content- yearly plans, unit plans, lesson plans. How will you plan? What daily content routines will you feature (warm ups? daily informal assessment? daily prompts? weekly themes, like Minute Math Monday?)? Then, as you're talking about what's important to the instruction, fill each other in on the parts of instruction  you each enjoy, dislike, don't feel comfortable with, want to learn more about, etc. It's important, again, to be honest as your plan ahead. It's also important to acknowledge that even if you aren't comfortable covering certain content, there are still plenty of ways for you to be an active part of instruction. I'll talk about that in Part 3, but for now, know you need to talk with your co-teacher about the content. 

Guiding questions: What content area are you working on, and what grade level(s)? What do each of you feel most comfortable teaching? What parts of the content could you improve instructionally? What experiences do you bring to the team in this content area? How will you plan for differentiation of materials and what responsibilities will you each have in terms of planning content and assessment? 

      No cooperative relationship can happen without honest, open, and continual dialogue about the relationship and where it is headed! As previously stated, your working relationship is one that has to interact with each and every one of your students, so it is important to cultivate that team relationship to provide a functional example for your students to observe. The more students can observe healthy, positive, and successful adult relationships, the more prepared they are to deal with cooperative tasks in the future (and in your classroom!).

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

Co-Teaching from the Special Education Perspective Part 1: Get Organized

(preface: this post is low on images but ample in pdf/Google Doc resources!)

      Pretend you are going on a date this Friday. Drinks, dinner, the whole deal! Woo hoo! It's an exciting time for you, my friend. You know that you'll probably spend some time this week thinking about what you're going to wear, looking at the menu for the restaurant ahead of time, making any arrangements you need to for someone to watch your pets, your kids, your laptop, who knows. There's mental preparation that goes into the whole week, because you might be nervous, excited, unsure, or maybe you're even ambivalent but you at least want to make a good impression. Then, the day of, you might take an hour to do your hair, pick out three outfits before you find the fourth option you didn't realize would be your favorite. You've got to iron your shirt, wash the car (if you are old fashioned), make sure you have everything just right; for some people this means even your tan is updated, while for others it simply means feeling like yourself before you go present yourself to someone else.

      The point is, you spend time before the date getting ready, and not just the time it takes to do your hair or iron your nicest dress shirt. Not for the first time, comparing co-teaching to dating/marriage/personal relationships is a great way metaphor for many reasons, but mostly because co-teaching involves establishing an actual relationship. That's why it's the most challenging form of teaching for many people. I'll get into the relationship piece in Part 2, but first think back to all those items you might check off your "to-do" list before a date. You have to get yourself ready!

      Coming to a co-teaching relationship from the Special Education perspective means you're bringing a lot of baggage with you. You bring all the complications to the relationship! You've got the behavior plans, the academic interventions, the modified assignments, the parents who want a daily report on everything their child has done, not to mention the testing modifications and accommodations! And don't forget the meetings that may or may not cause you to miss class, the data collection required for your IEPs, the planning time you have to take to work on IEPs and progress reports every quarter. Your co-teacher may be involved in some of these things, but ultimately, these tasks are only on YOUR radar, and likely aren't on your co-teacher's daily, weekly, or even yearly agenda.

      So it's up to you to get yourself organized before your school year starts, to come into that relationship with your baggage checked. I use a few handy tools to keep myself organized. Because, if I know my annual review dates are a click away, my data notebooks are easy to use (and personalize for those pesky goals that just don't fit any cookie-cutter type data collection tools), and my testing modifications are easy to read, then I know that I've got my baggage in order before I step up to the co-teaching plate. That was a lot of mixed metaphors, I apologize.

      The summer is a great time to reflect on what didn't work last year, and what did work; what items you need to better organize, what stressed you out the most in terms of case management and start brainstorming strategies to relieve some of that stress this coming year. Take out all the parts that are out of your control - last minute district and school deadlines, new transfers, new behavior plans to manage, etc.- and do what you can to improve YOUR organization and clarify your tasks for the year that will not change - writing IEPs, knowing mods, deadlines/dates for annual reviews and re-evals, etc. The more you have a handle on that information, the less it will stress you out as the year goes on.

    Here are some tools I use in the first few weeks of school to stay organized, but PLEASE feel free to comment with your own organization strategies, how you would improve these tools, or any other relevant feedback! Teaching becomes so much easier when we are a community that comes together to share our resources and expertise. You never know who or how many you will help with your advice!

Tool #1: Caseload Management Document

I use a document like this (electronic, I use Google Sheets) to organize my caseload each year. It includes the basic information you need to reference often, such as annual reviews, placement, and whether or not you've completed a progress report for that quarter. I color code mine to keep organized. Yellow annual review means it's scheduled, orange means it's coming up in the next few weeks but not scheduled, green is complete. Same for re-evals (but I add pink, which means we're doing testing and the first meeting is complete but I'm waiting on testing to be completed).

 
Tool #2: Student Data Sheet Document

This is a great document to keep in a data notebook, student folder, or electronic data folder because it is easily transferable to next year's case manager. It's also easy to read information to present at an IEP meeting, a BIP meeting, any kind of meeting, really. Plus, it includes space for all the information you'd need to set up a meeting. Lastly, the small graphs are easy to label with whatever units you need for your myriad goals and benchmarks. You can print as many goal pages as you need, since they conveniently fit on one page each, and you can print duplicates if you collect data more regularly than this sheet allows (way to go, you!).




Tool #3: Testing Mods/Accommodations Documents

I'll include 2 versions of this- one which is more "basic" and another which has added detail. Different teachers like different things, and I personalized the same format to be a simple version for a teacher that just wanted the quick glance, and a detailed version for a teacher that wanted more background information and details on the mods themselves. The pdf version embedded on this post is blank (and small, I blame Google), but the link will provide both a blank copy and an example of a mods form that is filled in with sample mods. I typically create the spreadsheet for the regular teacher (or myself!) requesting them at the start of the year, and then share it only with them, so that they have a copy a) of just their classes and b) that is not shared with all teachers, so that confidentiality is protected. Then, as I have meetings where mods are changed, I update the spreadsheet to reflect those changes (and usually I highlight that student's row so they know it has changed).

Basic Version (blank or filled in):

Detailed Version (blank or filled in):


Tool #4: Student Checklist/Parent feedback Document

Here's an example of a checklist I used with a student whose parents wanted feedback on class performance in order to support us (the student would avoid work, so his parents and teachers set up this sheet to give daily feedback to the parents so they could reward/reinforce expectations at home as needed to improve work completion). I've used check-ins like this with students in a self-contained setting, as well as inclusion 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th graders This type of system requires major parent effort and teacher effort as well, so it's not a one-size-fits-all type of system, but it's easy to modify based on classes, context, or per-student needs. It helps to organize some of the behavioral/parent contact needs you may have in your classroom. If you know some students who may be in your classes or on your caseload next year, summer is a great time to search for these kinds of resources to have at your disposal when you need a new strategy during the year.



Co-Teaching from the Special Education Perspective Part 2: Relationship and Communication 

Self-Paced Lesson follow up: Lessons learned!

Back in January, I blogged about how we were planning a Self-Paced Lesson for our 8th graders, specifically for our unit on Volume. In that post, I talked about how excited we were to implement this unit as a self-paced one, and to see how our students responded. We planned the unit quickly, and anticipated the students would complete it quickly too (ha!). Today's post is a follow up,  which I'll try to keep short and sweet, to reflect and share feedback about using Self-Paced learning an inclusion classroom.

Quick overview of our process: 
~ The unit was schedule to be 6 "days" of lessons, and we planned 8 school days for the students to complete it. On the first day, we gave a detailed overview and took up a significant portion of class explaining what our expectations were, as well as the process from the student's side of things. We showed them where their paper copies were, we explained how we were grading it- basically we laid everything out up front. We did this on purpose because we a) wanted to be clear and b) wanted to ensure that students didn't finish "Day 1" on the first day- so that they would understand that the term "day" was fluid (thus, being self-paced instead of daily requirements).

~ We printed a blank attendance roster and labeled columns as the different assignments students were completing and turning in, so that we could easily keep track of who was where. When we required IXL practice, we could quickly lookup who had completed practice and who hadn't, and check it off. That way, when they did terribly on an exit slip, we knew if lack of practice was a factor (surprise, it typically was!). We also put in the grades of each assessment they turned in, so that we could see in one easy glance which students were improving, which were declining, and which were staying steady in terms of their proficiency (Only the post-test went in the gradebook).

 Most of our students looked
like this during our Self Paced unit!
Source

~ We turned them loose! They were excited to get started.

Positive Observations:  
~ So many students were PRODUCTIVE! They enjoyed the FREEDOM; some worked at home, even when they struggled, while others asked for help through the difficult spots while in class.
~ Our process was very EFFICIENT- students knew where to get materials, when/where to turn them in, and for the most part did a great job of keeping track of their progress.
~ For students who struggled, we were able to PARTNER them with a peer who was ahead of schedule, in order to foster some interaction, although to be honest it wasn't planned. For example, their TenMarks lesson on the subject was rather difficult, and several students worked together to problem solve or explain what they'd done (and how it was wrong) to try and persevere to get right answers.


Lessons Learned: 

This happened for a few students!
Source

~ In our inclusion classrooms, and I'm sure in yours as well, ATTENTION is a huge issue. The streamlined process helped several students stay on track- they knew where to get information (their Google Doc), where to get copies (the bin), and that they could easily ask their neighbor quietly if they got stuck. However, some of our students really had difficulty staying on task due to the lack of structured expectations.
~ TIME became a concern. We'd had a couple of snow days in the middle of the unit- no problem, we thought! They could work on it at home. But they didn't, really. A few did, but the concept of the self paced unit was pretty new and I think it didn't even cross their minds that they could work on it and get ahead. They're also very used to the idea that snow days = pushing back lessons to the next day, so they assumed we'd move our deadline for the unit test (we did, but not much).

A teacher's greatest foe.
Source

~ After a few days, and coming back from snow days, students struggled with MOTIVATION. They monotony of coming in and working off of directions from the same document daily was not motivating for some of our lower attention students. For example, some of our students with Autism (and some without!) realized they could give the appearance of working while they were actually off in their own world!

Going Forward: 

As my other co-teacher and I planned a self-paced unit for our 7th graders, we took away a few lessons from my experience with 8th graders in order to plan for our 7th graders more appropriately. Specifically, we wanted to address TIME, ATTENTION, and MOTIVATION. 

Strategies we used to adjust for time: 

• Having students stop practice short (i.e. if they'd been told to get a smart score of 80 on IXL, we had them move on after 60 if they were behind)
• Picking/choosing what was MOST important (Obviously anything you include in a unit is important, but one example of this was having students test without completing the unit review before the test, just because we'd run out of time and they didn't complete it at home)
• Modifying assignments for length
• Assigning parts as homework (with an email home to parents!)
• Requiring students to come work on the unit during their lunch intervention time
• Communication with parents regarding progress 

Strategies we used to adjust for attention: 
(in addition to the above)

• Preparing groups for various lessons in the unit (We knew some students would get behind or need re-teaching, so we prepared groups ahead of time and started a new class period off with having the students in that group complete a lesson with me or with my co-teacher. This added in a little structure to keep attention going.) 
• Greater variety of activities (We threw in some hands on activities with manipulatives, and Quizlet practice where we encouraged the students to try and get below a certain time- competition always helps with motivation!)
• Anticipating more individual instruction (We listed students ahead of time that we thought would need individual prompting, support, and explanation of new material and made sure to give them that support, either in class or during lunch intervention time.)
• Change seating! Or sit next to them while they worked. 

Strategies we used to adjust for motivation: 
(in addition to the above)

• Communication with parents regarding progress 
• Communication with students individually regarding progress (We gave some students a checklist to work off of on days where they'd been less productive the previous day; others we talked with about their individual progress and our expectations)
• Making sure grades were updated daily (so students could check to see their progress)
• Starting class with a mini-lesson to recap (We did this the last 3 days of the unit, so students could see a) the main take-aways of the lesson, b) where the concepts were going, and c) what they were expected to do, mathematically, as a preview for the day)

I think that self-paced learning has a huge place in the inclusion setting, but it has to be worked the right way in order to be productive for all students. Hopefully these lessons learned will help your inclusion classroom learn productively from a self-paced unit! 

Self-Paced Unit: 8th grade Volume

I'll set the scene: it's the 9th day back at school since Christmas. Students no longer have pencils, notebooks, homework- they're done trying to make a good impression (that was last week). They've got an insatiable desire to socialize, they somewhat remember what we've been learning, so the're a little confident that they don't need to pay attention very well (or, they DO remember what we've been learning and are more than ready to move on). When the students had left for the day, the three of us that teach 8th grade math just looked at each other, exhausted, shaking our heads. My co-teacher said, "Am I crazy to want our next unit to be a self-paced one?" She had just completed a self-paced unit on Pythagorean Theorum with her 7+ class, and had gotten really good feedback. She wanted to create some of that independence in learning for our students and give them time to focus on the learning, instead of on each other. 

But our classes are inclusion. My thoughts turned to thinking about individual students on my caseload, wondering if they'd be capable of managing a self-paced lesson. Several of our peers have had success with it, so why shouldn't we give it a try? 

In many ways, self-paced units are perfect for inclusion classes. Students can move at their own pace, meaning the high-flyers are able to move on instead of putting their heads down while someone else asks a question we answer with 3rd grade math. Others who need a little more time are allowed that time, without anyone knowing they're moving at a slower pace. Those who need 1:1 or small group instruction can get that, because I'm not large group instructing, and I have time to pull students, float around and answer individual questions, and there are two of us in the room doing so! Students keep track of their own scores on the check-ins, and thus learn a way to manage their own learning. It really is the perfect idea. We all agreed that the next unit, on Volume, would be a good one to schedule as self paced for these classes- it's short, mainly involves memorizing and using formulas, and we were confident that we could make it manageable for our lowest performing students, through both monitoring and organization.

The only real problem for us was that we were starting the next unit the NEXT day. 

So, I'm blogging today to show you (mostly you fellow teachers!) that no matter how little time you have to prepare, a self-paced unit isn't an overwhelming amount of work. Part of why we had not done one in our class yet was because we thought- "WHEW that's going to take a lot of work!" It does, but it doesn't have to take more work than you have time for. Here's what we put together, in just one afternoon! I don't have feedback yet about how it went because we are only on "day 2." I'll update that when we've finished the unit and moved on. BUT, I can say, by the end of the 1st day, some of our hardest working  (and successfully so) students were students with disabilities. It was a proud teacher moment to watch them succeed on their own! 

(Sorry for the potato quality pictures. My laptop didn't want to cooperate with editing. )

 UNIT OVERVIEW

My Co-teacher used this format in her other class. It simply lists, in student friendly language, the goals of the unit, the CC Standards, and the directions for the unit. To foster independence and allow us as teachers to focus on content questions, we refer all the instructions questions back to this page.

OUTLINE

Keeping things simple, and again using my co-teacher's formatting, we list the standards for each "day" of the unit, the pages they'll use in their interactive notebook, the lesson outline (aka what the students must complete), and what the assessment will be.

Highlights denote items they'll need paper copies for; links go to the videos, Google Docs, and pdfs they'll need for notes and instruction. Not only does the outline keep the student on track, but it helps with those DuFour questions we use in PLC's.

(Unit Outline page 2, so you can see not every lesson starts with a video)

SAMPLE ASSESSMENT

Since formulas are one of those "you get it or you don't" things in Math, we've used basic exit tickets for assessment. We also use the TenMarks lessons as an assessment to mix it up. TenMarks has a free component that is great! We used it last year, then petitioned for the accounts this year- which ended up being a district wide purchase based on our experience.

 STUDENT SCORESHEET

We created this as a half-sheet for students to put in their interactive notebooks. This way, they keep track of their grades. With her 7+ students, my co-teacher simply had them make a copy of the overview document and track their scores that way. With our inclusion students, we didn't want to deal with the hassle of copy/sharing, so we just gave them this. We check if they've mastered it after grading their assessment, and then they move on! If they have to move on but haven't mastered, we note their score in the score column and leave mastery blank, so they know to go back and try again later on. 

TIPS

Prioritize! 

Collaborate! 

Modify what you already have!

Share it with parents, including answer keys as appropriate!