Co-Teaching as Best Practice in Student Teaching

Dr. Kien Pham
Dr. Jose Lomeli

CO-TEACHING WORKSHOP

Agenda

“Student Teaching hasn’t
changed much in 80
years!!”

- Guyton & McIntyre (1990)-

The Washington Post

A new casualty of high-stakes testing:
student teachers

Faculty and administrators at California State University, Fresno’s Kremen School of Education recently implemented two programs to address the issue:

A co-teaching model, in which student teachers receive special training to enter the classroom ready to immediately support master teachers; and a new partner-schools program, in which student teachers function as resident teachers, gaining hands-on experience and meeting with Fresno State education faculty on-site after school to engage curriculum directly related to their classroom experiences. The Kremen School recently received the Christa McAuliffe Excellence in Teaching Award for the programs, which are expanding to include more districts.

Co-Teaching

…is defined as two teachers (mentor teacher and teacher candidate)

working together with groups of students -
sharing the planning, organization, delivery and
assessment of instruction, as well as the
physical space.

Both teachers are actively involved and engaged in all
aspects of instruction.

Co-Teaching is an Attitude

An attitude of sharing the classroom and
students

Co-Teachers must always be thinking...

WE’RE BOTH TEACHING!

Co-Teaching Strategies

• ✓ One Teach, One Assist
• ✓ One Teach, One Observe
• ✓ Station Teaching
• ✓ Parallel Teaching
• ✓ Supplemental Teaching
• ✓ Alternative (Differentiated) Teaching
• ✓ Team Teaching

One Teach, One Observe

One teacher has primary instructional
responsibility while the other gathers
specific observational information on
students or the (instructing) teacher.

One Teach, One Assist

One teacher has primary instructional
responsibility while the other assists
students’ with their work, monitors
behavior, or corrects assignments.

Station Teaching

The co-teaching pair divide the instructional
content into parts. Each teacher instructs
one of the groups, groups then rotate or
spend a designated amount of time at each
station.

Reciprocal Teaching

A teaches B

1. One Teach One Observe
2. One Teach One Assist
3. Station Teaching

Parallel Teaching

In this approach, each teacher instructs
half the students. The two teachers are
addressing the same instructional
material using the same teaching
strategies.

Supplemental Teaching

This strategy allows one teacher to
work with students at their expected
grade level, while the other teacher
works with those students who need
the information and/or materials
extended or remediated.

Example –

“We decided to use this with four students who need a little

boost and they will be working with the class, but their focus

will be Nick’s lesson stretch. The concept we are teaching is

Probability and we will be using this for the whole topic. I am

teaching and Nick is supplementing. Three days of this have

gone very well.”

Alternative or Differentiated Teaching

• Alternative teaching strategies provide
  two different approaches to teaching the
  same information.
• The learning outcome is the same for all
  students however the avenue for getting
  there is different.

Reciprocal Teaching

B teaches A

4. Parallel Teaching
5. Supplemental Teaching
6. Differentiated Teaching

Team Teaching

Well planned, team taught lessons, exhibit an
invisible flow of instruction with no prescribed
division of authority. Both teachers are actively
involved in the lesson. From a student’s
perspective, there is no clearly defined leader, as
both teachers share the instruction, are free to
interject information, and available to assist
students and answer questions.

Reciprocal Teaching

A & B Teach each other

7. Team Teaching

Why talk about
Co-Teaching?

State of Co-Teaching in
the Central Valley

Spring 2011- Spring 2018

1,540 Participants

32 Districts

Clovis USD
Fresno USD
Sanger USD
Central USD
CSU Fresno
Tulare City
Madera USD
Selma
Visalia USD
Lindsay USD
FCOE
Kings Canyon
Kingsburg
Washington USD
Kingsburg Charter
Bass Lake
Chawanakee
Chowchilla
Hanford Elem.
Hanford Jt. Union
Parlier
Kerman
Farmersville
Orange Center
Tulare
Fowler USD
Laton
Lemoore
Mendota
Reef Sunset

Subject Area

Special
Education
9%

Single Subject
25%

Multiple
Subject
66%

Benefits to K-12 Students

Increased student engaged time

• Able to work in smaller groups
• Receive more individual attention
• Get questions answered faster
• Get papers and grades back faster
• Students behave better
• Fewer class disruptions (for passing out papers,
  having projects checked, other housekeeping tasks)

Student Comment

“They work together. If one gets tired of
teaching, the other takes over, they help
each other in tight situations. It’s a lot
different than past student teachers. I
like this much better.”

Student Comment (High School)

“They don’t seem as nervous. They don’t
just stand there and go ‘uh, uh, uh.

With co-teaching they’re more active.”

Benefits to Teacher Candidates

• ✓ Increase collaboration skills with cooperating teacher
  (84.4%)
• ✓ Deeper Understanding of the curriculum (78.6%)
• ✓ More opportunities to ask questions and reflect
  (78.6%)
• ✓ Improve classroom management skills (75.7%)
• ✓ Allow more teaching time (72.8%)
• ✓ Increase self-confidence(72.8%)

Teacher Candidate Comment

“There is more creativity because you are able

to talk ideas through and make them great by

having two perspectives.”

Benefits to Mentor Teachers

• ✓ Develop better relationship with teacher candidate (89.2%)
• ✓ Reach more students, particularly those with high needs
  (86.8%)
• ✓ Host a candidate without giving up my classroom (85.6%)
• ✓ Allow the TC to have a better experience than through a
  traditional model (81.9%)
• ✓ Enhance energy for teaching (78.3%)
• ✓ Experience professional growth (71.1%)

Activities and Handouts

The strategies are not hierarchical – they can be used in any order and/or combined to best meet the needs of
the students in the classroom.

Communication is the Key to a Great Co-Teaching Partnership

Levels of Communication Include:

Chit Chat

• ✓ It’s like throwing a ball. Purpose is to learn how well others
  catch information and throw it back.
• ✓ We develop and build relationships by practicing chit chat -
  what’s your name...where do you live... what are your
  hobbies...

Deeper
Communication

• ✓ As relationships develop and deeper communication is
  desired - it becomes more like tossing a slippery egg.
• ✓ Toss the “slippery egg” carefully, gently, and slowly.
  • ➢ Watch body language
  • ➢ Tell the truth in a caring manner

Slippery Eggs...

How do you “throw your eggs”? Be careful that you don’t...

• ✓ Save them for a long time and hurl them!
• ✓ Throw them hard and fast because you can’t hold on to those slippery eggs!
• ✓ Avoid the person so that you don’t have to toss those slippery eggs.
• ✓ Wrap those slippery eggs with so many layers of expectations and apologies that no one is sure you have
  tossed them.

Try to recognize when you have the slippery egg and toss it with great care and understanding, being assertive
enough to communicate your issues

Teacher Actions During Co-Teaching

TQE Strategies (2005) along with Adaptations from Murawski & Dieker (2004)

Co-Teaching is an Attitude… an attitude of sharing the classroom and students
Co-Teachers must always be thinking – We’re Both Teaching!

While the Teacher is delivering instruction, the co-teacher can be doing this:

Observing for:

• student understanding and/or questions (through body language, facial expressions, etc.);
• specific types of questions asked by instructing teacher;
• specific student interactions and behaviors;
• teacher movement;
• specific teacher behaviors;
• specific student or group behaviors;

Charting:

• where questions are directed within the classroom;
• gender of responders;
• on-task/off task behavior;
• teacher wait time;
• specific teacher behaviors or movements;
• specific student or group behaviors

Circulating:

• checking for comprehension;
• using proximity control for behavior management;
• checking for comprehension;
• providing one-on-one support as needed
• collecting and reviewing last night’s homework
• Introducing a social or study skill
• Taking roll
• Reviewing directions; modeling first problem on the assignment
• Writing down instructions on board
• Repeating or clarifying any difficult concepts
• Passing out papers
• Giving instructions orally
• Facilitating a silent activity
• Introducing a new concept to whole group
• Asking clarifying questions

Examples of issues for communication cards
(Cooperating Teachers)

Please select one of these issues and conference with your Teacher
Candidate about the issue.

CT Issues:

1. Tardiness
2. Incorrect Grammar
3. Body odor/personal hygiene
4. TC is doing non-school related work during school day (e.g.
   checking airfare for spring trips
5. Grammar issues (e.g. I seen that yesterday)

Examples of issues for communication cards
(Cooperating Teachers)

Please select one of these issues and conference with your Teacher
Candidate about the issue.

CT Issues:

1. Tardiness
2. Incorrect Grammar
3. Body odor/personal hygiene
4. TC is doing non-school related work during school day (e.g.
   checking airfare for spring trips
5. Grammar issues (e.g. I seen that yesterday)

Examples of issues for communication cards
(Teacher Candidates)

Please select one of these issues and conference with your
Cooperating Teacher about the issue.

TC Issues:

1. No individual space in the classroom
2. Lack of specific feedback
3. Inappropriate use of co-planning time
4. CT is not allowing you to try new ideas or new ways of
   doing things
5. CT is stepping in to help you too much and too soon

Examples of issues for communication cards
(Teacher Candidates)

Please select one of these issues and conference with your
Cooperating Teacher about the issue.

TC Issues:

1. No individual space in the classroom
2. Lack of specific feedback
3. Inappropriate use of co-planning time
4. CT is not allowing you to try new ideas or new ways of
   doing things
5. CT is stepping in to help you too much and too soon

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