Collaborative Practices of General & Special Education Teachers:

1. Collaborative Practices of General & Special Education Teachers: Making a Difference in Students’ Mathematics Learning DeAnnHuinker, UW-MilwaukeeJudy Winn, UW – MilwaukeeMary Spidell, Milwaukee Public SchoolsChris Guthrie, Elmbrook Schools WMC Green Lake ConferenceMay 7, 2010

2. Presentation Objective & WALT • WALT (We Are Learning To)… • Collaborate with special education and general education teachers to plan and implement effective mathematics instruction. • Objective: • Develop a stronger alliance between special education teachers and general education teachers. • Investigate strategies that are showing promise in reaching the needs of students struggling to learn math.

3. Alliance for Teaching Mathematics to Special Education Learners Vision • Improve mathematics performance for students in grades 4-8, particularly for students with special needs and for students who struggle, and • Support a school culture for collaboration of general and special education teachers on improving math for all students

4. Alliance for Teaching Mathematics to Special Education Learners Goals • To strengthen the mathematics content knowledge of general and special education teachers; • To enhance mathematics instructional and assessment practices, focusing on appropriate accommodations and modifications for special education students; • To increase collaboration on math instruction between general and special education teachers.

5. Alliance for Teaching Mathematics to Special Education Learners

6. Alliance for Teaching Mathematics to Special Education Learners • 3-year project funded by WI DPI, Mathematics and Science Partnership Program, ESEA Title II Part B •  17 credits over the 3 years • 35 participants • 17 special education teachers • 12 teachers of math • 2 special education diagnostic teachers • 4 math teacher leaders • 6 instructors • Meet on Tuesday evenings during the school year and summers

7. Vocabulary Activity • Everyone will have a vocabulary card taped to his/her back. • Move around the room asking each person a yes or no question to try to figure out the vocabulary word or phrase on your back. • You may not ask the same person two questions in a row.  • You have 10 minutes to try to figure out your word or phrase. • When you think you know your word, find others who have the same word and form a group.

8. Vocabulary Activity • Inclusion • Resource • Support • Parallel • Accessibility • Barriers • Plans • Station

9. Three arrangements for math instruction for students with disabilities • Inclusion without special education support • Resource/pull-out without regular education support • Co-teaching • There is not one best way to collaborate; what is important is that there is collaboration.

10. 6 Models of Co-teaching • One teach, One support • One teach, One observe • Station Teaching • Parallel Teaching • Alternative Teaching • Team Teaching • Source: Friend, M.

11. Oneteach, One support • One teacher leads the lesson while one teacher moves around the room providing support to students as needed.

12. One teach, One observe • One teacher leads the lesson while the other teacher observes the lesson. • Strengths • Weaknesses

13. Station Teaching • Teachers work with students at different stations that students rotate through. • Strengths • Weaknesses

14. ParallelTeaching • Both teachers give the same lesson at the same time to different heterogeneous groups. • Strengths • Weaknesses

15. Alternative Teaching • One teacher provides instruction to the large group while the other teacher works with a smaller group of students. • Strengths • Weaknesses

16. Team Teaching • Both teachers share the instructional activities equally • Strengths • Weaknesses

17. AllianceParticipants • We collaborate daily on what we need to work on the next day by discussing our thoughts on student achievement for that days activities • Our conversations are mostly around management and the attainment of IEP goals at about the time the IEP is due. Occasionally we talk about content. • We talk on a daily basis about concepts being taught in classroom. We work on assessments together

18. Alliance Participants • Talk about strategies we use what has worked, what hasn’t, what they seem to understand. • We meet at least once per month to discuss pacing and strategies • We are collaborating to teach a small group of learners-primarily with cognitive disabilities. We just started collaborating but we expect 50/50 share in teaching

19. Essentials for Co-teaching • Voluntary participation • Time to plan together • Mutual respect • Administrative support • Flexibility & creativity • Personal and professional compatibility • Shared instructional philosophy

20. Planning StrategiesAddressing Accessibility in Mathematics • Focus on mathematics • Focus on students • Identify potential barriers • Brainstorm accessibility strategies • Share the strategies • Plan follow-up actions

21. Planning StrategiesAddressing Accessibility in Mathematics

22. Planning StrategiesAddressing Accessibility in Mathematics

23. Planning StrategiesAddressing Accessibility in Mathematics

24. The Problem

25. TheActivity • Solve the problem • Identify the Big Math Ideas for the problem • Based on your table’s student vignette, and using the provided planning sheet, identify: • The student’s strengths • Potential barriers for the students • How to make this problem accessible for the student • Be prepared to share

26. Accessibility Strategies • -

27. Accessibility Strategies

28. Accessibility Strategies

29. Accessibility Strategies

30. Co-Teaching: What is the literature telling us? • Requires mutual respect, trust, commitment to planning and common philosophy • Requires administrative support • Requires TIME for planning • Difficult if teachers did not select models • Voluntary participants more favorable than those who are assigned • Gets better over time (Reviewed in Friend, 2007; Mastroprieri et. Al, 2005; Stivers, 20)

31. Teachers speak out • The special educator I work with says she doesn’t really know the curriculum and is uncomfortable participating in instruction. I’m not sure what she is supposed to do. • The classroom teacher told me that I should not talk during instruction. He told me that after he finished, I could walk around and help “my” students. I feel like a teaching assistant. • We never have a chance to plan, so it is not a real partnership. (M. Friend, 2007)

32. Teachers speak out • I knew this wasn’t going to work – after all, I don’t have special education training. But I have to admit, it’s the best thing we have ever done for our kids. I could never go back to the old system. • I never realized how much potential these students have. They’re making more progress than I ever thought possible when I had them in the special education classroom. • Why didn’t we do this years ago? (M. Friend, 2007)

33. Card Activity Wrap-up • How could you differentiate this activity? • Content: • Process: • Product:

34. Helpful website with many links to other helpful websites • Addressing Accessibility in Mathematicswww.edc.org/accessmath • This website has excellent planning tools and strategies as well as links to many other helpful websites.