Creating a Cohesive Learning Environment to Maximize Student Achievement

1. Creating a Cohesive Learning Environment to Maximize Student Achievement Courtney Schoen and Tiffany Nay Dean Petersen Professional Development School, 2nd Grade

2. Teaching in an urban setting can be stressful and difficult. As former interns and current teachers, we will share our experience in co-teaching and the impact it has on our students.

3. Objectives At the conclusion of this presentation, participants will be able to • define co-teaching and different structures • understand the benefits of co-teaching • identify ways to use co-teaching in their classrooms to maximize student achievement

4. Who we are! • Dean Petersen Professional Development School • Las Vegas, NV • 2nd Grade Gen-Ed Teachers • Co-Teachers • Mentors • Former UNLV Interns

5. Demographics • Population: 735 Students • Ethnicity (as of 09-10 School Year) • 70% Hispanic • 18% Black/ African American • 8% White • 4% Other • Approx. 75% ELL (English Language Learner) • 92% Free&Reduced Lunch

6. What is Co-teaching? • Two (or more) educators or other certified staff • Contract to share instructional responsibility • For a single group of students • Primarily in a single classroom or workspace • For specific content (objectives) • With mutual ownership, pooled resources, and joint accountability • Although each individual's level of participation may vary. Friend & Cook (2004) Co-Teaching: Principles, Practices, and Pragmatics

7. Who is Involved? • General Educator + General Educator • General Educator + Special Educator • Mentor + Intern (or Student Teacher)

8. Student Benefits Allows for individualized/ differentiated instruction Academic levels Learning styles Teachers as role models Multiple strategies Teacher Benefits Classroom management 4 eyes are better than 2 Co-planning Learning new strategies Why we Co-teach:

9. Mentor-Intern Co-teaching • Benefits to pre-service teacher • Research done by Larson and Goebel (2008) showed that pre-service teachers are more confident and better prepared to enter the classroom as a result of their experience with the co-teaching model • Increased teacher efficacy • Confidence in classroom management • Application of course study

10. “One of the best things about co-teaching is the opportunity to share - responsibility, accountability, workload, and fun!” - Murawski & Dieker 50 Ways to Keep Your Co-Teacher, 2008

11. Co-Teaching Structures

12. One Teach, One Observe • One teacher leads instruction • One teacher • Gathers data on students • Observes to learn procedures and routines • Evaluation

13. One Teach, One Assist • One teacher leads instruction • One teacher • assists small groups or individuals • assists with classroom management • Be careful of frequency of use

14. Station Teaching • Similar to stations/centers • Small group instruction • Both teachers split the content and students switch between teachers and independent work.

15. Parallel Teaching • Same content, same time, 2 different groups • Content may be taught in different ways • Different strategies, learning styles

16. Alternative Teaching • One teacher leads instruction for majority of the group • One teacher focuses attention on small group • Preteaching • Intervention • Enrichment

17. Teaming • Both teachers share leadership and instruction in the classroom • Dialogue teaching

18. Reflection • Are the roles of each teacher meaningful? • Are co-teachers using strategies to promote success with all students in the classroom? • Does evidence indicate that successful learning is occurring in the class?

19. Your turn! • Form groups - • Stand up, Hand up, Pair up! • Choose a structure • Come up with an idea of how you would use that structure of co-teaching in your classroom • Present!

20. Contact Information • Courtney Schoen cedelman1@interact.ccsd.net • Tiffany Nay tmnay@interact.ccsd.net

21. References Friend & Cook (2004, April)Co-Teaching: Principles, Practices, and Pragmatics. Retrieved from http://www.ped.state.nm.us/seo/library/qrtrly.0404.coteaching.lcook.pdf Friend, M. & Bursuck, W.D. (2006) Building Partnerships Through Collaboration. Retrieved from http://www.ablongman.com/html/productinfo/friend4e/contents/FM.pdf Hines, Kathy (2006, April). Co-Teaching in the inclusive classroom: Creating Success for All Students! Presented at Southeast Missouri State University, Cape Girardeau, MO. Larson, Corry W., et al. (2008, May). Putting theory into practice: a professional development school/university co-teaching project. Journal of the Scholarship for Teaching and Learning. Vol. 8, No. 2. pp. 52-61. Murawski, W. & Dieker, L. (2008). 50 Ways to Keep Your Co-Teacher; Strategies for Before, During, and After Co-Teaching. Teaching Exceptional Children, Vol. 40, No. 4., pp. 40-48.