“IMPLEMENTING STATION

CO-TEACHING: COLLABORATION WITH

SUPPORT STAFF FOR ULTIMATE STUDENT

LEARNING”

Helen Vassiliou, Teaching and Learning Consultant

Colleen Dyer, Reading Specialist

Lakota Local Schools, Liberty Township, Ohio

Ohio TESOL Conference, November 2013

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Think about this….

“Effective co-teaching can be

compared to synchronized

swimming—teammates must

carefully coordinate, not only to

win but to avoid drowning.”

Elizabeth Stein, The Middleweb Blog

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Today’s learning…

Learn how to make the best out of the most difficult situation!

Explain the rationale and benefits of co-

teaching

Become familiar with the six approaches

for co-teaching

Discuss how co-teaching practices can

work for your situation to maximize student

learning!

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The dilemma…

You start the first day of school positive, smiling and

ready to be an inspiration in the lives of every student.

You receive your student roster. You have over 100 k-1

ELL students, 2/3 are tier III. You have no aide and no

other ESL teacher in your building. You have to serve all

of the students according to building and district RTI

model…at least 4x a week…and they all need you. ALL

OF THEM!!

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Turn and Talk….

Can this really happen?

Where do you begin?

What do you do?

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Your challenge if you choose to accept it:

1. Cry and run!

OR …..

2. Get creative with the stars around you to create the greatest teaching

and learning of all time!

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The Creation of a Partnership

Identify your PROBLEM!!

Find STARS to work with-reading support and

title I teacher who share your students and

your beliefs-other literacy experts

Look at data to group students by

deficiency and need for appropriate

interventions

Divide students into intervention groups for

Phonics/Word Work, Vocabulary/language,

and Reading Comprehension/Fluency

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Survival…

Co-teaching!!

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What is it?

“Co-teaching is first and foremost an

approach for meeting the

educational needs of students with

diverse learning abilities.”

Cook & Friend, 1995

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Who does the co-teaching?

Co-teaching occurs when two or more

teachers (e.g. special education,

related services, ELL, reading) share

physical space in order to actively

instruct a blended group of students,

including students with disabilities and

linguistic needs.

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Shared Responsibility

To teach required curriculum

With mutual ownership, pooled resources, and joint accountability

Although each individual’s level of participation may vary-you are instructing ALL students on the core instruction

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pnxst7dkLk&safe=active

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Are we allowed to do this? YES!

IDEA and NCLB requirements

Gives students access to highly qualified

subject- matter teachers (HQT)

Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)

Access to general education curriculum

Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)

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What others say about co-teaching

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BKCur0DvRo&saf

e=active

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What is it not? Co-teaching 14

Co-Teaching Approaches 15

One Teach, One Observe: One teacher observes specific student characteristics while the other teaches.

One Teach, One Assist: One teacher presents material to the class, while another circulates and provides unobtrusive assistance.

Parallel Teaching: Teachers present material simultaneously, dividing the class into two groups.

Station Teaching: Teachers divide content and split class into two groups. Each teacher instructs one group, and then the other.

Alternative Teaching: One teacher instructs a large group, while another works with a smaller group needing specialized attention.

Team Teaching: Both teachers work together to deliver content to the entire class at the same time.

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What did we choose? 17

Station Teaching! 18

Teachers divide content and split class into two groups. Each teacher

instructs one group, and then the other.

Why? • Utilized RTI time in our building to co-teach reading and writing

with tier III students

• We pulled intervention groups based on data

• We worked on the 5 big ideas of NRP in rotations

• Focus on vocab/word work/language/phonics/reading

comprehension (refined skills to make the core more accessible)

Station Teaching:

Students in groups of three (or more) rotate

to various teacher-led and independent

work stations where new instruction, review,

and/or practice is provided. Students may

work at all stations during the rotation.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkY2D-

f3JNo&safe=active

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Gro

up

1

Group 2

Gro

up

3

Teacher 2

Teacher 1

•Computer center

•Silent reading

•Project table

•Assessment

table

Students

move

rotating to

each group

Video of our work

Focus: Phonemic Awareness (Reading Foundational Skills: Phonological

Awareness 1.RFS.2)

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Benefits to Students

All children learn from each other!

Improved self-esteem for special needs students

All students exposed to a variety of teaching

styles and strategies

Students with learning challenges are integrated

into groups, rather than singled out

Students become active learners through

frequent interaction and feedback.

Reduces fragmentation of learning

Enhances the participation of students with

special needs as full classroom members

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Instruction in Co-Taught Classes 23

Benefits for Teachers….

Shared responsibility

Shared understanding

Shared ownership

Creating common understanding

Learning from each other

Collegial relationship

Conversations

Individualization

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Turn and Talk

What has been your experience with co-teaching?

What role is co-teaching playing in your schools’ efforts to address how to close the achievement gap?

When you think about co-teaching, what are the concerns or questions you have?

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Planning for Station Teaching 26

Content Area: Reading

Focus: what deficiencies does the data show us

Groupings: Who are the students not performing at grade level

Interventions: What interventions match the deficiency

Progress Monitoring: How am I going to collect evidence of student learning? How does this change my groupings and my instruction?

Activities to Support Reading in Station

Teaching: Reading K-1

Sound Towers

Syllables

Sorts and books

CVC game

Short Vowel train

Rhyming: Lingo Bingo

Vowel Tents

Roll the Dice

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Turn and Talk, Share Out

Which of the 6 co-teaching models do you see yourself using within the next month?

What lesson(s) would be most effective for utilizing the selected co-teaching model?

What needs to happen prior to using this model with students?

How are you going to evaluate the effectiveness of the lesson and model?

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Start with the END GOAL

What do you want the end results to

be?

Ask, “What steps are needed to reach

our goal?”

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Reflection Question

Don’t ask, “How does this student have

to change in order to be in this class?”

But rather, “How do we have to change

in order to offer full membership to our culturally and linguistically diverse

students?”

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Resources to Consider

Put Reading First: The Research Building Blocks for Teaching Children to Read Reading First, The National Reading Panel, 2000.

Deiker, L. A. (2006) The co-teaching lesson plan book (3rd ed.). Whitefish Bay, WI: Knowledge by Design.

Friend, M. (2008). Co-teach! A handbook for creating and sustaining effective partnerships in inclusive schools. Greensboro, NC: Marilyn Friend, Inc.

Friend, M. (2005). The power of 2: Making a difference through co-teaching (2nd ed.). Bloomington, IN: Indiana University.

Gately, S.E. and Frank, F.J. (2001). Understanding co-teaching component. Teaching Exceptional Children, 33(4), pp. 40-47.

Villa, R.A., Thousand, J.S., and Nevin, A.I. (2004). A guide to co-teaching: Practical tips for facilitating learning. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

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Web Resources 32

http://www.ctserc.org/initiatives/teachandlearn/coteach.shtmlwww.csd.org

www.marilynfriend.com

www.powerof2.org

http://dese.mo.gov/divspeced/EffectivePractices/web_based.htm