Supervising Co-Teaching Teams: Whose Line Is It Anyway?: Your Name Here Date, Location, Etc
Supervising Co-Teaching Teams: Whose Line Is It Anyway?: Your Name Here Date, Location, Etc
Murawski, 2005
Planning and Scheduling
Considerations
• Co-teaching requires thoughtful
planning time.
• Administrative support is essential.
• Here is where the alignment of special
and general education occurs, as well as
the alignment of assessment and
instruction.
• School-level scheduling should be done
after student needs have been
Murawski & Dieker, 2004; Dieker, 2002
identified.
Provide Weekly
Scheduled
Co-Planning Time
• Co-teaching teams should have a
minimum of one
scheduling/planning period (45–60
minutes) per week.
• Experienced teams should spend
10 minutes to plan each lesson.
Wilson, 2005
The two teachers looked at each other in disbelief. One was a tenured secondary
English teacher who had taught for 6 years in this large middle-class, suburban high
school. The other was a first year special education teacher who recently received
her master’s degree. They had been co-teaching a ninth grade English class for 4
months, and although the beginning weeks were a bit overwhelming, they were
rather proud of their cooperative and respectful relationship. They had been co-
planning, co-grading, and co-teaching, and they were certain the class would go
well. The students responded to the co-teachers’ combined efforts, and both social
and academic progress were noted for all students in the class.
The teachers were looking at their observation reports. The special education and
English chairpersons had decided to observe the co-teaching class at the same
time. The special education teacher read her report: It was glowing. Her supervisor
recognized the adaptations that were made in the materials, saw that she worked
with individual students, observed her contribution to the teaching of the mini-
lesson, noted the parity she enjoyed with her co-teacher, and acknowledged the
acceptance and respect of her students.
The general education teacher held back tears as she read her write-up. How could
this be? She had never received an unsatisfactory observation and prided herself on
her competency in the classroom. Her supervisors had repeatedly recognized her
skills as a teacher. She read through the comments—her chairperson thought there
hadn’t been enough time spent developing the content of the lesson and that the
student group work detracted from more formal delivery of content. The chair also
felt that the general education teacher had relinquished too much of her role as
content specialist to the special education teacher and noted there was too much
interaction between the co-teachers.
Communicate
Administrative Support
and Leadership
• Principal support, understanding, and
involvement serve as pivotal factors in
lasting success (Barth, 1990; Pugach &
Johnson, 1990).
• Effective principals provide vision,
recognition, and encouragement during
the implementation process (Adams &
Cessna, 1991; Barth, 1990; Chalfant &
Pysh, 1989; Fullan, 1993).
Select Capable and
Willing Participants
• Teachers who are viewed as leaders by their
colleagues
• Willing to make the commitment of additional
time and effort
• Select capable volunteers for co-teaching
assignments
• Both members of the team must be capable
contributors.
• Participants should make a good faith
commitment
to work together for a minimum of 2 years.
Wilson, 2005
What Makes a Good
Lesson?
• Lessons that are student-centered
• Recognition of diverse learning
styles
of students
• Questions that tap high-order
thinking
• Engagement of students and
evidence that students are not on 2005
Wilson,
task
What Makes a Good
Lesson (cont.)
• Makes use of materials that are
useful and available
• Pays attention to motivation
• Incorporates awareness of
transitions
• Contains aims that are open-ended
Wilson, 2005
What Makes a Good
Lesson (cont.)
• Summarizes at the middle and end
of the lesson
• Provides activities that apply the
information
• Makes connections to students’
experiences
• Fosters positive student–teacher
relationships
Wilson, 2005
What Makes a Good
Lesson (cont.)
• Makes appropriate use of
technology
• Adheres to state standards
• Reinforces previously learned and
new material
• Promotes positive teacher–teacher
relationships
Wilson, 2005
Are There Components of a Co-Taught
Lesson That Require Unique
Perspectives
in Order to be Evaluated Effectively?
• Roles of the teachers
– The supervisor is to look at the roles
of
co-teachers, such as parallel
teaching; one teaching, one drifting;
station teaching; and alternative
team teaching.
Wilson, 2005
Are There Components of a Co-Taught
Lesson That Require Unique
Perspectives in Order to be Evaluated
Effectively? (cont.)
• Assessment processes
– Is there a continuous and conscious
effort to assess student achievement?
Is there evidence of reflective
questioning?
Wilson, 2005
Questions to Consider
When Observing Co-
Teaching Teams
• Are co-teachers to be treated as one
and receive a single observation report?
• Could the special education supervisor
comment on the general educator’s
performance, even if the focus of the
observation was on the special
educator?
• Should the general and special
education supervisors observe the same
lesson?
Wilson, 2005
Questions to Consider When
Observing Co-Teaching Teams
(cont.)
• Should supervisors write one
observation? Are there different
performance criteria for the
general
and special educators?
• What criteria should be used to
judge teacher performance in a co-
taught class or program?
Wilson, 2005
Questions to Consider When
Observing Co-Teaching Teams
(cont.)
• What roles do teachers perform? Are
these roles meaningful?
• How often and for how long are
teachers interacting with each other?
• Who is initiating and ending these
interactions?
• What is the nature of these interactions
(e.g., cooperative, reciprocal,
supportive, complementary,
individualistic)?
Salend, Gordon, & Lopez-Vona, 2002
Questions to Consider When
Observing Co-Teaching Teams
(cont.)
• Which students are the recipients of
these interactions?
• What are the outcomes of these
interactions for teachers and their
students?
• What factors appear to promote and
limit these interactions?
• How are these components
incorporated into an effective
observation tool?
Salend, Gordon, & Lopez-Vona, 2002
Characteristics of an
Observation Tool
• Helps supervisors focus on essential
components of co-teaching
• Helps supervisors structure the writing
of their observation reports
• Sharing the guide with the co-teachers
in the pre-observation meeting fosters a
positive and trusting relationship
between supervisors and co-teachers
because expectations are clearly
defined. Wilson, 2005
Co-Teaching Rating Scale
(CTRS)
Co-Teaching Rating Scale
• Informal instrument for co-teachers and their
supervisors
• Examines the effectiveness of co-teaching
classrooms
• Helps focus on areas that need improvement
and on components that contribute to success
• Results can be used to develop co-teaching
model.
• Can be modified for use as part of supervisory
tool for examining effectiveness of co-teaching
Rea, 2005
Involve the Administrator
From the Beginning
(cont.)
• Develop an “information sharing
community” or “community of practice”
• Determine the most effective methods
of communication between teams and
administrators
• Emphasize the importance of pre-
observation conferences
• Incorporate the co-teaching initiative
into the team’s annual professional
growth plan
Rea, 2005
Involve the Administrator
From the Beginning
(cont.)
• Set specific times for observation
• Encourage students to talk with
the administrator about the
benefits from learning in
collaborative classrooms
• Involve parents
• Encourage advice and feedback on
your performance from the
administrators, accept it Rea, 2005
graciously, and use it
Involve the Administrator
From the Beginning
(cont.)
• Inform administrators of any
problems or controversies related
to co-teaching efforts
– Teachers
– Support staff
– Parents
– Students
Rea, 2005
Suggestions for Success
• Accept responsibility if a mistake
results from your actions
• Videotape the class and share
particularly interesting segments
with the administrator
• Highlight student progress through
data
Rea, 2005
Suggestions for Success
(cont.)
• Volunteer the administrator (with
prior permission) to speak or serve
as a guest panelist in graduate
classes
• Co-author articles for publication
• Attend professional conferences
together
Rea, 2005
Suggestions for Success
(cont.)
• Immediately deal with any sense of
waning support
• Let the school be on the circuit of
site visits for teams learning about
co-teaching
• Spread the word about the
successes
Rea, 2005
“It could be argued with a good deal of
persuasiveness that when one looks
over
the history of man the most
distinguishing characteristic of his
development is the degree to which
man has underestimated
the potentialities of men” (Blatt &
Kaplan, 1974, p. 107).
References
• Adams, L., & Cessna, K. (1991). Designing system to facilitate
collaboration: Collective wisdom from Colorado. Preventing
School Failure, 35(4), 37–42.
• Arguelles, M., Schumm, J., & Vaughn, S. (1997). The ABCDEs of
Co-Teaching. The Council For Exceptional Children: Teaching
Exceptional Children, 30(2). Available at http://www/idonline.com
• Barth, R. S. (1990). Improving schools from within: Teachers,
parents, and principals can make the difference. San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass.
• Blatt, B., & Kaplan, F. (1974). Christmas in purgatory: A
photographic essay on mental retardation. Syracuse, NY: Human
Policy Press.
• Chafant, J., & Psyh, M. (1989). Teacher assistance teams: Five
descriptive studies. Remedial and Special Education, 10(6), 49–
58.
• Friend, M., & Cook, L. H. (2003). Interactions: Collaboration skills
for school professionals (4th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
• Fullan, M. G. (1993). Change Forces: Probing the depths of
educational reform. Bristol, PA: Falmer.
References
• Gately, S. E., & Gately, F. J., Jr. (2001). Understanding co-teaching
components. Teaching Exceptional Children, 33(4), 40–47.
• Pugach, M. C., & Johnson, L. J. (1990). Fostering the continued
democratization of consultation through action research. Teacher
Education and Special Education, 13(3–4), 240–245.
• Rea, P. J. (2005). Engage your administrator in your collaboration
initiative. Intervention in School and Clinic, 40(5), 312–316.
• Salend, S. J., Gordon, J., & Lopez-Vona, K. (2002). Evaluating
cooperative teaching teams. Intervention in School and Clinic,
37(4), 195–200.
• Walther-Thomas, C., Bryant, M., & Land, S. (1996). Planning for
effective co-teaching: The key to successful inclusion. Remedial
and Special Education, 17, 255–265.
• Wilson, G. L. (2005). This doesn’t look familiar! Intervention in
School and Clinic, 40(5), 271–275.
• Wischnowski, M. W., Salmon, S. J., & Eaton, K. (2004). Evaluating
co-teaching as a means for successful inclusion of students with
disabilities in a rural district. Rural Special Education Quarterly,
23(3), 3–14.
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