Co-Teaching is Not Just Co-Existence

Last year I was called to the office by one of our assistant principals and was met by all three administrators. Their concern dealt with the way that special education teachers are viewed in the inclusion classrooms. What sparked this concern was the lack of knowledge on how to evaluate such teachers based on the new teacher evaluation standard. Based on observations they had found that my relationship with the regular education teachers was much more unilateral than others throughout the school. We discussed the fact that most regular education teachers are not schooled in the art of co-teaching. As we continued talking I found that neither were the administrators. I was given the challenge of collecting information to present at a grade level meeting on the strategies and implementation of a true co-taught classroom. Thank you High Point University and Dr. Christine Allred for providing such a wonderful class on collaboration and co-teaching. Armed with information and diagrams of the different co-teaching models I first presented my information to the administrators. Their reaction stunned me! They did not realize that there were so many different structured ways to co-teach. How can an administrator of a school that has 14 inclusion periods in a day not have knowledge of what good collaborative teaching should look like?

This is not an uncommon phenomenon I soon found out. My fellow teachers in the EC department had been given the role of inclusion teacher some years back but were never given the proper training to carry it out effectively. This lack of knowledge has caused many uncomfortable situations in the classrooms. Regular education teachers are very territorial and do not appreciate another teacher moving in on their “turf.” I have observed this problem the most but a close second has to go to the lack of content knowledge by the special education teacher. Most special ed. teachers know how to modify, chunk, scaffold, and differentiate the learning process but not many have clear knowledge of the Standard Course of Study (SCOS). This is mainly true with teachers that have not taught self-contained classes where the creation of lessons was necessary. Another item of concern in co-teaching in the inclusion classroom is the lack of common planning time. Each teacher has their own set of responsibilities outside of the classroom. Whether it concerns paperwork or discipline, the teachers tend to go their separate ways once the class is over.

In order for the co-teaching model to be effective we must first identify strategies that facilitate a productive relationship between teachers. Not only do we need to identify them but we have to figure out a way to train both the teachers and administrators on implementation. This requires a top down approach starting with the administrators and then using staff development, retreats, and utilization of local colleges and universities. The commitment to co-teaching must be universal. It should not be presented to just special education teachers. Efforts require the support of the entire faculty and staff.

Technology; Not Just Resistance in Ohms

Change never happens without some resistance. As schools become more technologically inclined, teachers have to follow. It has been long noted that when change happens the strongest resistance comes from veteran teachers. Those that believe that their way is the best way and no “whippersnapper” will show them any different. According to the data that I have reviewed on this concept, much of our perception on this matter is unfounded. In fact veteran teachers have been around so long and witnessed so much change that this population of educators should be the perfect candidates to facilitate change.

When schools introduce new technology into their schools such as Smart Boards, document cameras, and CPS systems, all teachers cringe at the idea of integrating them into their lessons. This is not unique to the veteran teachers. Where schools fail in this integration is that they don’t provide the appropriate or sufficient training to allow teachers to feel comfortable in using the technology. Many teachers that resist new and innovative media outlets are that way because they:

-          Are scared because of previous negative experiences

-          Find new technology intimidating

-          Lack comprehensive training on the relevance of the media

-          Insufficient “buy in”

In with the new and out with the old!

These factors are not unique to veteran teachers. Young teachers or teachers fresh out of college also need the proper training to be able to willingly and effectively integrate new technology into their lessons.

Research has shown that in order for integration to be effective proper staff development practices must be used.  In order to promote “buy in” schools and districts have to provide ongoing support for their teachers. Just throwing technology at them and expecting them to become experts on their own will only promote more resistance. Just as students need to have new concepts modeled and have relevance of the knowledge provided, so do teachers.  

How can we promote acquiescence by our teachers? One useful tool that I found is this survey that looks at the comfort and proficiency levels of teachers when it comes to technology. Schools and districts can do themselves a favor and reflect on their practices when it comes to technology integration. Technology by itself cannot raise test scores but when teachers are confident in using the media in their classrooms, good things happen.

Reading Needs Marketing

            In the spring of 2011 I attended a Professional Learning Community vertical alignment meeting where all of the language arts teachers in the school convened to talk about the state of reading at North Davidson Middle. Our sixth grade teachers said that kids did not want to read, the seventh grade teachers said that students refused to read and the eighth grade teachers said the students wouldn’t crack a book. We determined that the common denominator between the three grades was that our students have no motivation to read. From a behaviorist standpoint if there is no motivation to perform a behavior then it becomes extinct. As much as we want our students to be intrinsically motivated to read, the current norms in our society force us to rethink our expectations.

              

            As teachers do we identify high interest text or do we place demands on our students to read only what we feel is both scholarly and educational? I submit that we need to look at a way to intermingle these strategies to create a love for reading. Fostering students to be passionate in self selected reading and reading outside of school is the best way to promote sound literary habits. I am sure many of you remember the race for Harry Potter books every time they emerged from the boxes at midnight of a fun filled Friday night. Kids would grab the books and not put them down the whole ride in the car and even deep into the morning hours. Where is that passion only 5 years later? The Twilight series create somewhat of a craze, but none like the Potter series. As teachers we have to learn to market reading not as just part of academics but as a means of entertainment. The only way that I see us doing this is to become agents of change.

                  Often we explain to students the benefits and the enjoyment gained from reading. The problem in education today is that this statement has a hypocritical air to it. We have to tell kids how to read, what to read, and when to read. This is not necessarily what we as teachers want to do, but it is what the “professional” consultants tell us works best. I am not a firm believer that there is a “one way best way” to teach reading. In fact just like building muscle mass, it is better to be diverse in your styles of building knowledge. My experiences as a teacher over the last 10 years has shown me one thing, reading has become a job not an experience. It is imperative that we begin this change now.

First Blog

This looks like it will be fun!