Married...

Oddly, a lot of talk about co-teaching uses the marriage metaphor.  But, since it's out there, I will go with it for this reflection.

The principal scheduled co-teach check in meetings for all the co-teaching partners in our building.  We met with him and our partner to discuss the ups and downs and for him to ask if we needed anything to move forward.  Like a couple's therapy session.

I hope you're humming "Love and marriage..." like I am.

This is the first year any of us have been involved in co-teaching so what we really need is more training, more outside consulting and more time for co-planning.  But, through the first quarter, it has become apparent that those things are not really happening.  Like a hesitant young couple, afraid to admit that anything is wrong, we both said, "No, we don't need anything."  

But, actually, Mr. B and I are doing pretty well with our co-teaching gig. I think the biggest key has been open communication.  We figure out together how to pace lessons, accommodate for struggling learners (not just the kids with Special Ed needs) and which parts of a lesson we'll each teach.  Open communication:  good for co-teaching, good for marriage.

At that meeting with our principal, he looked at a list of co-teaching models (similar to those I posted yesterday) with us and asked which we were doing.  Well, we've been using a mix of approaches.  Our default model is One-Teach / One-Assist (also known as Support Teaching). In this model it's typically Mr. B delivering instruction, with whatever accommodations, scaffolding or supports we pre-planned, and I swoop around the room offering assistance as needed.  We've made our seating chart so the kids with Special Ed needs are easily accessible, so I focus on them, but assist every student.  

We've also used Parallel Teaching where we each deliver the same instruction to smaller groups of students.   Alternative Teaching involves teaching different material to different groups.  We've used this, also, delivering specific content to different sections of the class who then "teach" it to the other part of the class.  Alternative Teaching will also start to come into play more as I "pull out" the Special Ed students for mini lessons focused on writing fundamentals or reading comprehension, per their IEP needs.  

One model we haven't used yet but really want to is the Station Teaching. Small groups rotate between independent work, a Mr. B station and my station.  This could be a way to slip in the Alternative Teaching in a more inclusive way.   As we met with the principal, we talked about all these approaches, based on what we think will best serve our students.  As a married couple, we realize that variety is the spice of life, I guess.  

I don't actually think of my relationship with my co-teacher as a marriage.  It's been a really cool, professional partnership that I think will only improve with time.

Co-Teaching Models

I realize I haven't explained the various models for co-teaching, although I think one of my previous posts linked to some information.  Here's an infographic from an Ohio educational support agency (lots of other co-teach info to explore there, too!):  

The obese ovals are teachers, the little blue dots are obedient children docilely sitting at desks.

Teams can decide on a guiding model that will serve their class most often or might decide on a lesson-by-lesson basis what would work.  Or, some mix of models or alternatives might emerge through planning or serendipity.  There are other models out there, but these represent the most common approaches.

A Look at the New Space

A few weeks ago, my administrators surprised me by giving me my "own" room for 1 class period and 1 planning period during the day.  The rest of the day I was occupying someone else's classroom to teach my own class or co-teaching in the LA/SS room.

There have been 3 rounds of student changes since I last posted!  More students with Special Ed needs have entered our co-teach class (more on that later), there's a huge shift with English Language Learners about to happen and my Special Ed math class had risen to a roster of 23. That's too many students!!  So, we split up the math class. I now have 13 students and we're in MY room!  So, now I'm in one spot all day except for the 2 periods of co-teach which feels just right!  

Here's a look at the room (photos taken before the math switch happened, so it's mostly Language Arts.

I had the idea to feature different authors over the summer, during my "pinning and dreaming" phase.
Glad I got to put it into effect!

My books were stored in boxes, just waiting for a room of their (my) own!

Student-written expectations, a graduation cap & my Arches poster.

Bob watches over us.  (This is what happens when you move into the former science lab / storage room.)

Print on Sticky Notes

My co-teacher & I are working on narrative writing.  The students are writing short stories set during feudalism with 2 characters  & dialogue.  Among other things, we're working on using more interesting words than "said" and "asked" throughout the whole story.  To aid in this, I made sticky notes with synonyms for each word.  

Sticky notes?!

Yep, I found Post It Note / Sticky Note Template for free on Teachers Pay Teachers.  Go there, down load it and print away!!

Reading Comprehension Progress Monitoring

A big part of being a Special Educator is identifying specific areas for student growth, designating annual goals for those growth areas and then monitoring student progress throughout the year.  

One of the big challenges for me as I start this year is figuring out how to monitor student's progress in a way that doesn't take them away from the regular educational progress in the classroom. In a typical Special Education-only setting, we would do weekly monitoring with quick assessments. I haven't figured out a great way to do this without interrupting their time in the Gen Ed classroom or really calling "them" (the Special Ed students) out as different.  All along, I've been delivering additional  or supplemental instruction to small groups but this hasn't been only for Special Ed students.  

My co-teacher and I decided that we would just monitor all the students.  We have a large percentage of students (about 50%) who didn't pass their grade level reading assessment at the start of the year.  This means we are providing additional reading comprehension instruction to the whole class and would like to see more students passing at the end of the year.  (Reading fluency instruction has been harder to deliver and is an area I need to develop and QUICKLY!)

So, Friday, I instructed the students in 2 test-taking / reading comprehension strategies and gave them all a below-grade level reading passage with multiple choice questions.   I told them we'd be working on these weekly as "test prep" (similarly, we do weekly analogy practice).   The steps they were to follow were:  1) Read the questions.  2) Read the passage.  3) Eliminate any wrong answers.  4) Choose the best answer.  Pretty basic stuff, but we're just getting started.

These 7th graders have done some pretty high-level reading already this year ~ and have The Odyssey in store for later in the year!  So, I was expecting someone to say, "This is so easy!" But no one did, thank you, kids! I think the results will yield good information for many students.  

As the year progresses, I plan to provide additional strategy instruction that we can use in other reading settings, not just "test prep." Also, I will eventually level the passages based on how students are doing.  

Success story:  One non-Special Ed student rushed through and was the first one done.  I checked in with him and asked if he'd followed the steps I'd showed them.  Nope.  I reviewed the steps with him and gave him a fresh sheet.  His was the only assessment I scored on the spot.  After he finished his 2nd try I let him know his results:  1st try:  0% correct.  2nd try:  86%. Wow, what a difference actually reading the passage makes!  I hope that sticks with him!!

Personal Goal Check

I started this blog with several goals in mind.  I am checking in to let you know how I'm doing.

1)  Reflective writing more often, perhaps every day?  Well, daily reflective writing hasn't happened for me.  I haven't journalled daily (school-wise or other-wise) but I did just update my hiking journal from August through today!  When I started this blog,  I really hoped I'd be able to scratch out some kind of entry each day but I haven't done that either. 

2)  Steer my practice based on reflection.   While I haven't written every day, what I HAVE done is talk openly with my co-teacher Mr. B about our plans and my concerns.  I think the accountability of my (imaginary) legions of readers has helped me be more active in taking steps to make improvements as soon as I notice a problem or need something to change. 

3)  Share the ups & downs of co-teaching.  I hope this has been successful so far. One thing I've learned already through this process is that every co-teaching story is different. Whether mine sounds similar or totally foreign, I hope my thoughts and stories are helpful to someone else.

4)  Connect with fellow educators.  My (imaginary) legions of readers keep mostly to themselves but I realize that knowing I am writing for the public has, I think, encouraged me to be more open with my fellow teachers in my new district.  I love meeting new teachers and sharing ideas!  A few weeks ago, I asked my principal to connect me with an experienced co-teacher at another school.  Meeting with her was quite helpful ~ in part because she acknowledged that her school's first year with co-teaching was rocky! Whether it's thanks to the blog or just thanks to a new school year starting, I'm feeling more confident than ever before in communicating with colleagues.

Subs II

I wrote previously about some ego-bruising I suffered while my co-teacher was absent and a substitute teacher was in for him.  Mr. B and I had pre-planned that I would just run the lesson and the sub would back me up, as needed. The students had questions and comments about my position being as a sub or secondary teacher which I tried to address.

This week, Mr. B and I each had to be out one day.  Thursday I went on a field trip & although sub coverage could have been provided, we declined it, so he ran the show solo.  Friday, he had a conference and we again didn't request a sub, so I taught the class on my own.  

This went SO much better than the last time!  Actually, it went so well, there's really nothing to say.  We learned about knights & peasants in feudal society.  They did a little reading comprehension "test prep" passage and all was well. Happy day.

Tricks

My Co-teaching classroom has been one of the highlights of my day of late.  I'm feeling quite pleased with a supported writing project I did with a few students this week.  I was rewarded for my efforts by hearing students prompting each other about the elements of a "GREAT" paragraph.  (Our school's framework for citing evidence.) 

Another big pay off came along yesterday.  During a whole group situation with my partner teacher leading paragraph writing on the board, I interrupted because I noticed that many students hadn't indented.  (Did I interrupt the flow of writing to talk conventions?  Yes, in this case I did.  Here's why.  First, the quicker you notice a student needs to indent the less stressed they are about it.  Second, paragraphs have a certain shape.  That shape includes an indent at the first line.  If someone glances at a boxy paragraph with no indent, the first thing they might think is:  this kid doesn't know what a paragraph is, before even reading a word! Since these students' work will be read throughout the year by other teachers and eventually by state test readers, it's important to me that they make a great first impression.  So, of course we are working on the big ideas like, making a claim, citing evidence, word choice, transition, etc.  But, the details like format, handwriting and spelling are also crucial to a reader's perception of the writing.)  (Please notice that I don't indent my paragraphs on this blog.)

Anyway, I interrupted and remarked that some students hadn't indented.  And noticed that the teacher hadn't indented either ~ I wasn't calling him out, he was just writing the words on the board and they were all over the place, just for the kids to see the sentences.  I said, "Don't worry, I have a trick for that!"  A kid blurted out, "You have a trick for everything!"  Yessssss!  I'm the strategy lady, the tricks with learning teacher, the here's-how-you-make-it-work-for-you person in the room.  That is actually a big part of what I'm doing here and it seems like at least one student noticed!  Yesssss!  Total satisfaction on my part.

The trick is, just erase the first three words and re-write them just a teensy bit smaller so you have room for an indent.  Students who struggle with writing HATE to erase any of their hard-fought work so I try to help them avoid it at all costs.  No one has to erase and re-write the whole sentence or group of sentences they've already written, not stress.  

After I told the kids the trick, many of them did it and my co teacher modeled it very nicely on the board.  

My Own Space!

So, I'm a bucket teacher.  

When I was in middle school, my dad was a "cart teacher."  He didn't have his own classroom so he kept all his materials on a cart and wheeled around the school during passing periods.  (This created prime opportunities for my friends to tattle on me to him which led to "Why did I hear you were chewing gum at school today?" conversations.  Clearly, I was more inconvenienced by his cart status than he was, right?)

Now I'm in different rooms all day and, in fact, have my teacher desk in a classroom where I do no teaching.  So, I have one of those plastic bins for hanging files that I tote from classroom to classroom.  I started out the year with a dud of a bin and was delighted to get a new one that worked better for me.  More delighted when a student noticed and admiringly said, "Oh!  You got a new bucket!"  So, that's me.  A bucket teacher.

My administrators surprised me yesterday by letting me know that I would get "my own room" for exactly one of my classes plus my planning period.  Hey, at least these two periods are consecutive so I get to be in one place for 2 straight hours!  Woo hoo!

I'll still have my bucket but, this will be the first room in the school that I can officially and legitimately call "MINE."  I know all you teachers know what that means:

Borders and posters and bins, oh my!

I am looking forward to creating my own space and establishing better routines for the class that I will have there.  Currently, I pop into the classroom as the previous teacher is finishing up (or running into my class time...) and we trade off computer time and I can't always get my slide up to the screen right away for the start of class nor post my own classroom expectations.  So, I'm excited for yet another fresh start this year.

Reflective Teaching Challenge: Day 27

Day 27:  What role do weekends and holidays play in your teaching?

I was just talking with a teacher friend about her summer plans to visit Vancouver, BC for the Women's World Cup.  She seemed a teensy bit embarrassed that, in the middle of September, in the first month of the school year, she's making plans for next summer.

I say, go for it! 

I think breaks are necessary for engaged teaching!  I think travel is so needed to recharge our minds, spirits and the informational well from which we draw daily in our profession. Teachers are molding citizens of the world and we must be part of that world.  Time to pause, reflect and plan only increases our excitement and preparedness for instruction.

So, for me, weekends and holidays are sometimes great for getting a huge unit of planning done all at once, a major classroom redecoration, or serious mid- or end of quarter grading catch up.  But more often than not, weekends and holidays are opportunities for me to connect with friends and family, read, travel and recharge.  The week (or school year) ahead will be upon us soon enough.  A few moments or hours of relaxation are always needed for this special educator.  

Subs

Substitute teachers (not the giant sandwiches, silly!) have a super tough life, IMO.  When I first completed my teaching degree, I was lucky enough to get hired into the district where I did my student teaching, hence, I never had to sub.  I felt blessed.  Not just to get the job, but that I dodged the subbing bullet.  3 years later, when I moved to a different state without actually getting my certification sorted out in time to start the school year, I had to do it.  I had to be A Sub!  

I didn't love my time as a sub, trolling the online absence site, figuring out directions to different schools, finding locked doors and lack of plans in a lot of cases.  One of my least favorite days included watching A Walk to Remember twice.  I'm not totally complaining about this since at least this was the plan as left by the teacher and really, little could have been easier, but...BOR-RING.

Today, my co-teacher was absent & there was a sub in the room with me.  Mr. B and I had pre-planned the lesson and I would lead it while the sub got a little break.  This was all fine and the class went well, content-wise.

Ego-wise, not so much!!  One student called the sub my boss.  Literally, "He's the boss of you!"  OK, this stung a bit because it sounds like he, at least, (maybe others??) sees Mr. B as my boss.  Not the message we want to convey.

Another kid said, "There are 2 subs today."  Also, not the image we're trying to put out there!  So, I took this moment to do a teensy bit of reteaching on the "I'm your regular teacher with Mr. B, we're both your teachers, I'm here everyday teaching, supporting you, grading, etc."  I know the message from earlier in the year was heard loud and clear - somehow! - because another student called out, "co-teachers!"  So, that was slightly redeeming.  

Lastly, the kids were a little rambunctious today which is not totally out of the norm.  Mr. B and I have started a couple management techniques to help keep them on track this week. One very well meaning kid who was trying to stay focused and doing the "shhhh" thing (which I actually don't love) asked, "Are you going to report us?"  I know he was wondering, "Is she going to tell on us to Mr. B?"  I told him, no, there's no one to report anything to.  I'm here, just like I'm here everyday.  Mr. B and I talk everyday so we're going to talk and plan together, just like always.  I don't know how clarifying that was for the student.

While the kids were ok in class, their comments confirmed some of the concerns I already had. In One of my earlier posts, I mentioned being a little stuck in the back feeling like a visitor. This is definitely the perception the students have of my role as co-teacher.  Knowing this, my partner teacher and I will need to work to alter their views and hopefully benefit more from their co-teaching experience.  

One Teach / One Observe

Today was my co-teacher's first observation.  We decided that in the future we would make sure to rock a co-teaching lesson for an observation but for our first observations for the year, we each wanted to fly solo.  We teachers have a hard time putting our ego aside sometimes.

We decided this would be a great time to use the One Teach / One Observe model.  There is a certain student of concern that we'd like to refer to Special Ed and we thought this would be a good day for me to start collecting some observational data.  (I am SO excited to be on this 'side' of the process!  Usually I am receiving student data from a referring Gen Ed teacher or working with a Gen Ed teacher to collect data / make observations.  But this time, my co-teacher and I get to be the one's who say, "Hey, this kid needs extra support!"  Of course, since he's in a co-teach classroom, he is getting some in-class support already but we both think he would benefit from IEP services, especially after hearing from some of last year's teachers that these behaviors are not new.) 

I'm the red dot far away!

One Teach / One Observe sounds really boring.  It WASN'T!  I had a Functional Assessment Observation Form all ready to roll with the behaviors of concern that I wanted to document.  Interestingly, the student of interest ended up going to the office within the first 10 minutes of class so at first I didn't think I would have much to do.  Then I remembered a method for collecting peer data to get a classroom baseline against which I could compare our student the next time he's in class. So, I whipped up a sloppy grid, picked 6 kids, fired up an online stopwatch and just...observed for the next hour.  It was actually pretty engrossing, especially since my observation windows were only 60 seconds long.  

I'll have to dig up some grad school books to figure out exactly how to tally and report my findings.  More observations (especially with the student actually in the room!) will have to be done but this day of observation gave me a good foundation from which we will hopefully build one or two things:  A behavioral perspective that will help us better structure his classroom day so he can be more successful, or a case for Special Education services.  I'll keep you posted as this process progresses.   

If you are co-teaching, how often do you use the One Teach / One Observe model? 

Reflective Teaching Blog Challenge: Day 21

I haven't been blogging every day.  I hit a little bump in the road (I'm tired of my baseball pitching analogy) that came in the form of a major schedule and philosophical change at my school.  I'm still reflecting and adjusting with that.  But, I'm also moving forward, as all of us must do.

TeachThought initiated a 30-day blogging challenge this month to get teachers writing and sharing.  Besides linking back to their page, I don't really get how to connect with them blog-wise.  So, for now, I will be content to draw inspiration from them.  

Day 21:  Do you have any other hobbies / interests that you bring into your classroom teaching? Explain.  

First and foremost, I have to state that I think educators are some of the most fascinating people around.  When I have started working at new schools I have always felt confident that I would meet people I like because, geez, teachers are just the best, aren't we?!  So, this prompt almost sounds silly to me because:  OF COURSE teachers have other hobbies and interests. We're interesting people!  We do interesting things!  We have interests!!  

But for the sake of the challenge, I'll mention one hobby that I at least like to talk about all the time in the classroom.  Travel.  I love to hike, camp, drive, eat, drink and generally explore all around.  I have made a number of great trips over the last couple years (thank you, summers off!!) and in my last classroom I would return in the fall with a new poster of an incredible location I'd visited.  I don't have my own classroom this year but I have a poster of Landscape Arch by my desk (in someone else's classroom!) to commemorate this year's trip.  

Landscape Arch, Arches National Park, Utah

Talking with students about travel helps them realize there is a much bigger world out there than what they already know. While many of my students' families don't travel much now, I hope that my adventures help them know that travel is an attainable hobby when they get older.  These conversations also help make some of the places or cultures they study seem more real and relevant.  

As some 4th graders were half-heartedly reading about different types of homes in an inclusion classroom last year, I noticed a photo almost identical to one I'd taken of cliff dwellings the year before in Mesa Verde National Park.  "Oh!!  I've been there!" was a super easy hook to get kids more connected to the text.  I described climbing down a ladder to see the ruins and watching as park archaeologists continued to excavate and study sites in the park.  They kids were immediately engaged, asking questions and realized the photo and passage represented REAL people and places.  Places they might one day get to know first hand.  

Many of my conversations about places I've visited end with kids saying either, "I want to go there some day!"  Or "I want to go to ___________________ (some totally random place I've never been nor heard of)!"  To both, I say, "Awesome!  You should go!"  

You Do Everything

As you may have read, I was thrown a major change up this past week.  I went from co-teaching 2 humanities blocks and a reading intervention class to co-teaching only 1 of those blocks and adding a double period of Special Ed math and a period of Special Ed Language Arts.  Worse than my switch was the change for a number of students who were pulled out of their Gen Ed classes with no warning and minimal explanation.

I learned about the switch on Monday, I only had 2 days left in my 8th grade co-teach classroom so I told my co-teacher, let me know what I can do, I'll just support you in whatever way you need as you get ready to teach on your own. (BTW, this is her first year teaching so the co-teaching thing was a real wild pitch at the start of the year.  She might have been pleased for this particular change up and getting the room back to herself!)  And we went along and co-planned for the next two days.  We were reading "The Treasure of Lemon Brown" by Walter Dean Myers.

There are some resources out there for co-planning.  2 Teach LLC has a number of lesson plan example for co-teaching with elementary and secondary templates to use that allow you to clarify who's doing what, when and with whom.  My co-teachers and I haven't gotten this specific but we will need to.  Mostly our planning time is: "What do we want to do today?  I'll take this part, you do that part."  Which is how my soon to be non-co-teacher and I left it that Monday morning.

I teach in different rooms all day long.  So, after a minute (second??) or two of debrief with my last teaching partner, I pass in the halls with the students and hope to get to my next class on time.  As I rushed in on Tuesday, my co-teacher says with a smile, "You're doing everything today."  

Wait. What??  I'm internally yelling, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, this isn't how co-teaching works!!"  And, "You don't tell me what to do!"  With a little whine, "I don't FEEL like doing everything and what exactly are we doing anyway?"  

But part of my inner dialogue sounded like this, "Dang, teach, tell it."  I was proud of her for being directive and taking the period pretty much for herself to catch up and solo plan as needed.  I had told her I would support her in any way she needed and what she needed was the blessing of time.  And she got it.  

I L.O.V.E. reading out loud with students.  I love reading to them, listening to them read, watching 8th grade lips move as they read along with a reader, hearing little gasps and groans of understanding along the way.  Love it.  And these kids were pretty amazing at detecting an upcoming twist.  I think modern stories need to be filled with ever greater twists and turns to surprise young readers because they seem to take very little at face value in a story.  They EXPECT a twist so they're out-twisting the author sometimes.  Did you think maybe Lemon Brown's son was Greg's dad?  This was one theory in the class.  It's not the actual twist in this tale but I think it would make a great story.  

So, I happily did everything for the period while my colleague, a first year teacher, got herself together to make it through another day.  Not exactly the co-teach model but it was exactly what she needed.  I also needed a day with these kids before I said goodbye to most of them.  I was happy to leave the class on this note.  I hope I was helpful to my partner and that the kids enjoyed reading together as much as I did.

Change Up

I haven't posted all week.  It's not that I haven't been teaching, co-teaching, reflecting and adjusting.  I have been doing all of that.  And then some.

Teaching / Co-teaching:  We are finally getting into the real deal curriculum for the year and I am excited!  There's only so much getting-to-know-you and baseline-gathering one can do before the call of a fresh text book is too much to deny!

Adjusting:  I have been making good on my plan to steal (learn?) strategies from my co-teachers. I started doing "the hand thing" or "Give me 5" with one of my classes as they are such engaged chatters that audible attention getters are just not working.  This is not a new approach but after I saw it work well with 7th graders, I decided to use it with my 8th grade class.  So far so good.  

Reflecting:  There's been much reflection this week.  Not all of it super positive for my teaching mentality.  Here's why:  Several changes to our co-teaching and inclusion model have been made.  (Notice the passive tense?  This was one of those "from above" type decisions that a teacher and principal can do little more than say ok about.)

About 2 dozen kids who have Special Ed needs and were previously included in the Gen Ed classroom with Special Ed support were pulled out of 1 or 2 Gen Ed classes and put into Special Ed-only classes.  Or, as I like to say, "excluded from Gen Ed."  

After getting totally pumped up about inclusion (remember my "Hopes" post?) this was a difficult blow.  I continue to feel pretty deflated about the whole thing, especially since it was a blanket decision that did not involve much / any individualized decision making.  It was a bummer.  

BUT, I'm a Special Education teacher and I love teaching students who have special needs and I was actually a bit excited to have 2 of my OWN classes (1 math and 1 LA).  I am enthusiastically planning for both classes.  So, that's the bright side.  

It's been hard to write about my feelings on this because it is conflicting.  I believe some kids need a special environment and special instruction sometimes, but I just keep thinking about the messages of exclusion that are being sent to Special Ed and Gen Ed students.  I will leave you with a student response from a survey I gave to my new classes.

What has been your proudest moment in middle school?  "When I got out of [the special ed class] but now I'm back in.  :( "

Reflective Blogging Challenge

While I was cultivating the idea of starting a blog, this Reflective Teaching: A 30 Day Blogging Challenge for Teachers came through my Pinterest feed.  (Actually, I have a group of educators who all pin to the same "Teachery" board together and a friend pinned this.  I highly recommend following your friends and having a shared board.  Seeing what others are interested in at that moment or passing along ideas can be so inspiring!)

I was, in fact, inspired.  Since I want to get into a regular habit of writing, reflecting and blogging, and since I didn't think I could actually write about co-teaching each day, I plan to use their suggestions as posts occasionally, too.  Here goes.

Day 1:  Write your goals for the school year.  Be as specific or abstract as you'd like to be!

Well, I did just meet with one of my grade level teams and our goal is:  "Between September and February, students will improve their ability to state a claim and support it by citing text-based evidence as measured by district Common Assessments and other teacher measures. Blah blah blah."  OK, for some of us this makes some sense but for non-educators that probably sounds pretty boring and bizarre.  Luckily, I have some other goals.

 Reflection.  This blog is part of that.  My plan is to write more, think back and look for patterns.  Also, I will need to use this reflection as a basis for discussion, clarification and adjustment with my co-teachers.

Integration.  I wrote this a few weeks ago thinking about integrating myself into my new school home.  I signed up for a committee and am trying my best to reach out & connect to my coworkers.  This year, integration is easier than typical as I'm not only part of the Special Ed team, but also 2 different grade level teams.  Of course, being a co-teacher means I'm also facilitating the greater integration of Special Ed students into the Gen Ed setting!

Questioning & Discussion.  I'm working on upping my game as far as group discussion and student questions go.  My attempts to move out of fact-based questions have sometimes stopped short right around, "And what do you think about that?"  My goal would be moving toward more analysis, connection between topics and capitalizing on student curiosity, letting them develop questions .

I'll let you know how I do with my goals through the year!  What are your goals for this year?  

How will we Introduce Ourselves?

One of the 5 Key Questions I posed to my co-teachers before we started school was, "How will we introduce ourselves?"  The idea is that the students should see both co-teachers as equal leaders of the classroom and partners.  Some people hope that the students won't actually know if one or the other is a Special Education teacher.  No student has asked if I'm a Special Ed teacher yet but our introductions were not totally successful.

I co-teach in 2 different classrooms.  In both cases, the General Education teacher is in that classroom all day and I roll in just for the 2-period block for which I co-teach.  So, the students know that the room is not exactly half mine.  I have my name on one of the bulletin boards but I don't have a desk in the room and I carry my daily needs in a plastic bin from my desk to room to room.  

Here are a few examples of how I've been identified as the co-teacher.

1) Day 1, despite agreeing to introducing ourselves as "the teachers" for the class, my co-teacher introduced me as a "guest teacher."  Wait.  What?  Really.  Then she gave me what I call 'question mark face' so I said, "We're co-teachers.  We're both teaching this class."  Not a great start.

2) A student asked me if I was an assistant teacher.  I said, "Nope, Ms. B and I are co-teachers, we both teach LA and SS together."  Not great for the old self-esteem.

3) After I led Social Studies two days in a row, some students were trying to figure it out and one asked, "Are you our Social Studies teacher?"   Closer...

Since this is a new (NEW!) concept in our school, I have told both classes that this is sort of an experiment, we're testing it out.  In one of my classes where we've already used a few different models, I've turned to my co-teacher and said, "Mr. B, have you ever done this before?  No?! Me, neither, isn't it exciting!"  

Yes, both my co-teachers have the same last initial.  Easy, huh?

And Then School Actually Started

In the beginning, I was only reading about co-teaching.

Then I was hoping about co-teaching.

Then I met with my co-teachers; they had varying levels of knowledge of co-teaching.  One of my co-teachers was totally excited, had been to the same district training with my principal and volunteered to be a co-teacher.  My other co-teacher had been hired for her position a week or so before school started and a few days later she was 'informed' that she would be co-teaching.  Oh, and this is her first year as a permanent teacher.  

Whoa ~ I don't envy her and totally understand that she had a much more limited frame of reference when I met with her and brought the 5 Key Questions and started blabbing about different models of co-teaching.  But both teachers seemed enthusiastic and ready to give it a try.  Me, too.

But by now, I've actually CO-TAUGHT for a couple weeks.  It's been mixed, honestly.  There have been days in both classes when my partner teachers and I pre-planned great lessons, divided the instructional time, supported each other  and had a lot of fun.  (Oh, and probably the kids learned a bit, too.)  There have been more than a couple days, though, when pre-planning didn't really happen, that the Gen Ed teacher led the whole show and I've been a little stuck in the back feeling like a visitor.  

The positives have been, as a new-to-the-school teacher, I've been able to meet & work with a lot of students 1:1 in the classroom whether they have Special Ed needs or not.  I'm building relationships!  I'm getting to know my co-teachers and on most occasions, when we have the chance to debrief and reset for the next day or week, we've been seeing eye to eye, which is a wonderful surprise!  As a co-teacher, I'm learning to put my ego to the side a bit and collaborate so much more than I'm used to!  

More details about the ups and downs to come.  For now, here's a pic of me cracking up as students (respectfully cropped out) are trying to hide from the Assistant Principal's camera.
  

Laughing at kids builds relationships!

My Hopes

I have a lot of hopes for the incredible potential of co-teaching!

After reading up a bit on co-teaching, my mind started whirring as I thought about how cool it could be to teach a whole, HUGE class of middle schoolers. (I'm used to 6 - 12 kids at a time!)  I started looking forward to all the ideas I could copy and steal from first hand exposure with other teachers.  I was excited to share planning and brainstorming time with another educator!  I was happy to imagine 2 adults role-modelling sharing, negotiation, collaboration and (probably very real) problem solving right in front of all those kids.  

Possibly the thing that most excites me about co-teaching is the awesome opportunity it could provide for students.  First, students with Special Ed services sometimes miss out on a certain level of complexity when they are not included in General Education classes.  What we consider pull-out services or Resource Room settings are sometimes so singularly focused on skill acquisition in the mechanics and application of reading, writing and math topics that students can miss out on the complex and sometimes beautiful chaos of higher level discussion and creation that can happen in the larger classroom.  So, the chance for a kid who is used to being in a 'special' room for reading to use the same materials and contribute to the same discussions as all her peers could be an awesome opportunity for growth!

Second, over the years, General Ed students have seen a disappearance of some of their peers.  Co-teaching could change that.  I know how educators (myself included) see this: Kids in Special Education need special services to best gain the skills they lack.  Yes, I agree with this and have been trained and believe that a kid will not dramatically increase his reading ability, for example,  if he's not explicitly taught reading.  And for students in Special Ed and their families, they understand the same reasoning and are often excited for the chance to catch up.  Bu-uut, what about the other kids?  The kids who used to have class with a certain someone and now they don't.  Maybe the kids noticed the student was slower in math, or couldn't keep up with the homework, or was so rowdy he frustrated all the teachers.  And maybe they know that there's the other class where he goes for help now. 

But what other messages are kids receiving?  Are they learning that if you can't go with the flow you're out?  Are they learning that the slowest person will one day be gone?  Are they learning something about what's normal?  About what's acceptable?  About who is normal?  About who is acceptable?  And are they missing out on contributions and insights that only someone who needs to ask the same question a couple times to hear the answer in a couple different ways might offer.  I don't know.  And I'm afraid we don't know a lot about the impacts of removing kids from classes. But I am wholly HOPEFUL that an inclusive setting, with support for those kids who need it (in Special Ed or otherwise) could be incredible for all students involved.  

What I Read About Co-Teaching

Almost immediately after finding out that I would be co-teaching this year, I went directly to Pinterest.  There are actually not a ton of references or resources out there about co-teaching. 

What I did find time and again was this amazing photo that I think probably reflects the feelings of many co-teachers:

"We are forced to stand here together."

These two seem dismissive and awkward.  This looks like a begrudging photo opportunity with body language that seems to say, 'I don't want to get too close.' (I assume these are not even teachers!  Is this some kind of bad partnership stock photo?)

I did find some good information and started to get excited.  The basics of co-teaching are:  2 teachers (typically 1 General Ed and 1 Special Ed) share the planning, instruction, grading and other responsibilities for the entire, integrated classroom.  The 2 teachers have equal status in the room and the both work with all students.  (There shouldn't be a "mine" and "yours" perspective.)  

There are a variety of ways to run the daily classroom show.  You can trade off the instruction, rotate students through stations, have one teacher float while the other instructs, split the class in half (hello, smaller class sizes!!).  Several resources mentioned this model:  One teacher instructs while one teacher observes.  That one sounds boring / annoying depending on which teacher you are, but I'm sure one could generate a ton of ever-important *data* while observing for a whole instructional period. You can read a brief overview of different co-teaching models thanks to Connecticut State Education Resource Center.  

I was really searching for personal experiences.  I wanted to read about how teachers got started with their partner teacher, what worked for them, what they changed, how the kids reacted.  I wanted REAL, in-the-classroom information.  The best I found was Two Teachers in the Room from  Middle Web.  I enjoyed their reflections and used the 5 Key Questions to get started with my own co-teaching partners.  They borrowed these questions from Anne M. Beninghof, who is, apparently, a big name in the co-teaching world.  

Eventually, I got a copy of the training materials offered to my district and it was similar to what I'd already read.  So, armed with the written word and my hopes for the school year, the next big step would be ACTUALLY MEET and TALK TO my co-teachers!  

If you are looking for resources about co-teaching, I hope the above links will get you started. As the year progresses, I hope to fill you in on the day to day planning, instruction, successes, changes and "learning opportunities" along the way. 

Co-Teaching, Huh?

Last year, I lived and taught in New Jersey for one year only.  Prior to that, I'd gotten my teaching certificate and taught for 3 years in Washington State, just outside of Seattle.  While in New Jersey, finishing up the year in an Inclusion / Resource long term sub position I was searching for jobs back on the West (best) Coast.  I had a great Skype interview with a staff team and new-to-the-school principal at a middle school that really only needed a half time Resource Teacher and offered me a full time position, encouraging me that we would work out something great!  They suggested I might be part of some new building-wide initiatives, mentioned a brand new EBD teacher who might benefit from some support (my first 3 years were in a self-contained, middle school EBD program), or, maybe, whatever I wanted! 

I didn't quite believe that "whatever I wanted" part but the group seemed enthusiastic, and it sounded like a lot of "NEW" energy and "NEW" programming and I felt that I might have a lot of opportunities there.  So I accepted!

A few weeks before school started, I was still in New Jersey and got my new principal on the phone to find out what I'd be doing.  I had spent the summer pinning and dreaming, but felt relatively directionless.  The district had just held a training on this NEW thing:  Co-Teaching!  The Special Educators, General Educators and administrators who participated in the training were super enthusiastic and ready to test out this new model right away.  I found out that I would be partnered with one each of 7th grade and 8th grade Language Arts / Social Studies teachers.  We would co-plan and co-teach however we wanted, once we got together.

OK!

This sounded quite exciting!  I am trained and certified as a Special Education teacher.  I did not come from a General Education background, I've worked with kids and adults with disabilities for years but haven't spent a lot of time in Gen Ed classes since my high school days.  As a Special Ed teacher, I've been in and out of other teachers' classrooms, of course, especially during my Inclusion days.  But I recall being a brand new teacher and wondering, "how are the Gen Ed teachers handling this topic?"  And I really didn't know much about that.  So, co-teaching sounded like a great way to learn first hand how subjects are typically taught which would benefit me and my future students greatly.

I was also excited because I think more students should be included in main stream classes more often and for more time.  Just MORE!  I would have the opportunity to support struggling learners alongside other kids.  Our Special Ed students would have the opportunity to participate with their peers in the least restrictive environment.  I could instruct students in learning and studying strategies that would reach many more students than in a Resource Room setting.  This sounded GREAT!

Of course, it also sounded really vague.  And I didn't know who my co-teachers were.  I did know that one of them didn't know yet that we would be co-teaching. (And didn't find out until days before school started, one of the problems with lots of NEW stuff happening at a school at the same time, I guess.)  I didn't know how I would co-plan with 2 teachers (one of whom does not have a common planning time with me.)  I set out to read up on the topic, so at least I finally had a bit of direction to my Pinterest routine.

What's NEW at your school this year??

Oh, hello.

Welcome to my reflections on teaching!

I've created this blog with a few intentions in mind:

I'm in my 5th year of teaching and have sporadically used reflective journal-writing to assess my practice, diagnose problems and celebrate (usually mini) triumphs. With this blog, I'd like to write reflectively MORE FREQUENTLY.  Perhaps everyday?

Journal-writing-on-the-bus-selfie.

Additionally, I'd like to make better use of my reflection.  Sometimes journal-writing is just blabbing out my thoughts.  This in itself can be incredibly helpful for me to work through emotions, see a situation from a different perspective and let some things go.  That is great.  What I'd like to do with this blog, is develop some of those "blabbings" into more coherent thoughts that might encapsulate my feelings or philosophy on a certain topic or a refined impression of an experience that hopefully produces a response or connection from others.  In addition to making my thoughts more readable for others, my hope is that through spending more time with my thoughts, I will be better able to use my reflective writing to actually STEER MY PRACTICE based on experience.

This year I am CO-TEACHING for the first time!  Co-teaching means 2 teachers (typically a General Education teacher and a Special Education) in one classroom sharing the planning and instruction responsibilities for the class.  This can be done in a variety of ways and this year I am co-teaching 2 different grade levels with 2 different teachers.  I did a bit of reading and research this summer trying to get ready for this new endeavor and thought the opportunity to read a teacher's thoughts on co-teaching from the beginning of their experience could be so informative.  So, another goal for this blog is to track my experience with co-teaching from that first conversation with my principal, to meeting and planning with my co-teachers, the ups and downs, (the occasional boredom for me at the side of the class...) and the successes of a good two-teacher flow in a classroom.

Lastly, I have a number of amazing educators in my life and the saddest part about that is that we don't get to sit down and discuss education nearly enough!  I hope that this blog with at minimum, be a place for others to know me as an educator better and, ideally, a place where a community of us will be free to share our ideas, explore our philosophy and ultimately improve the work we do with children!

I look forward to hearing from fellow educators!!