Communicating and Collaborating with Other Professionals and Families

1. Communicating and Collaborating with Other Professionals and Families Sped 518: Survey of the Exceptional Learner Fall 2011 Portland State University

2. Agenda • Break up into groups of three. • Review what you learned about the students in your class from doing the class profile. • How did this knowledge change your practice? • Presentation on Co-Teaching • Discussion on Autism • Video • What You Can Do in the Classroom

3. "Fairness is not giving everyone the same thing. Fairness is giving each person what they need to succeed."

4. Background General educators are more receptive to change when they have background knowledge and a chance to participate in the decisions rather than being given a special education mandate to follow. Steele, Bell, & George, 2005

5. Background (cont.) Special educators have developed a tendency to “own” students on individualized education plans (IEPs), which decreases the “voice” and participation of classroom teachers in collaborative problem solving. Steele, Bell, & George, 2005

6. Collaborating with Other Professionals Consultation • “a voluntary process in which one professional assists another to address a problem concerning a third party” (Friend and Cook, 2007) Collaboration • “Interpersonal collaboration is a style for direct interaction between at least two coequal parties voluntarily engaged in shared decision making as they work toward a common goal” (Friend and Cook, 2007) Co-teaching • “two or more professionals jointly delivering instruction to a diverse, or blended, group of students in a single physical space” (Friend and Cook, 2007)

7. Five Step Procedure for Peer Collaboration • Initiation or facilitation • Clarifying questions • Summarization • Interventions and predictions • Evaluation

8. Ways to Resolve the Need for Resources Needed for Collaboration • Administrators designate a common time for collaborating professionals • School boards pay professionals for one extra time period each week to collaborate or meet with parents • School districts provide early dismissal for students one day a week so team members have a common planning time • Teachers schedule brief focused planning periods with one another

9. Collaboration Issues and Dilemmas • Concerns about co-teaching • Student ownership • Individual versus class focus • Content versus accommodation • Real world versus student’s world

10. Where to Begin: Building Bridges Walking across the bridge, leaving the familiar ground of working alone, is the first act of collaboration. All parties are in neutral territory, with the security of knowing they can return to land better, stronger, and changed. And perhaps they will return to the same side of the bridge even though they started from opposite sides. Steele, Bell, & George, 2005

11. Collaboration Won’t Just Happen • Deliberate • Structured • Systematic • Ongoing Steele, Bell, & George, 2005

12. Why Won’t it Just Happen? • General educators begin with the curriculum first and use assessment to determine what was learned. • Special educators begin with assessment first and design instruction to repair gaps in learning. • No wonder we are talking different languages. Steele, Bell, & George, 2005

13. Limitations and Potential Drawbacks • Co-teaching is not easy to maintain in schools. • There may not be enough special educators for a co-teaching program. • Co-taught classrooms may be disproportionally filled with students with disabilities. • Special educators can function more as a teaching assistant than as a co-educator. Friend & Cook, 2003

14. Effective Co-Planning

15. VIDEO: Co-Planning http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8ENwz8g8t4

16. Pre-Planning • Co-teaching requires thoughtful planning time. • Administrative support is essential. • Here is where the alignment of special and general education occurs • Make this time as focused as possible • Take turns taking the lead in planning and facilitating Murawski & Dieker, 2004; Dieker, 2002

17. Provide Weekly Scheduling Co-Planning Time • Co-teaching teams should have a minimum of one scheduling/planning period (45–60 minutes) per week. • Experienced teams should spend10 minutes to plan each lesson. Dieker, 2001; Walther-Thomas, Bryant, & Land, 1996

18. Weekly Co-Planning • Effective weeklyco-planning is based on regularly scheduled meetings,rather than “fittingit in.” • Important to stay focused • Review content in advance of meeting Walther-Thomas, Bryant, & Land, 1996

19. Weekly Co-Planning (cont.) • Guide the session with the following fundamental issues: • What are the content goals? • Who are the learners? • How can we teach most effectively? Walther-Thomas, Bryant, & Land, 1996

20. Two Stages of ClassroomCo-Planning • Getting to know each other • Weekly co-planning Walther-Thomas, Bryant, & Land, 1996

21. Getting to Know Each Other • Consider completing a teaching style inventory • Compare how each of you prefers to structure assignments, lessons,classroom schedule, etc. • Example • http://www.longleaf.net/teachingstyle.html

22. Effective Classroom-Level Planning • Co-teachers should show a shared commitment and enthusiasm. • Both teachers’ names should be posted on the door and in the classroom. • All meetings and correspondence with families should reflect participation from both co-teachers. • Skilled planners trust the professional skills of their partners. Walther-Thomas, Bryant, & Land, 1996

23. Effective Classroom-Level Planning (cont.) • Effective planners design learning environments for their students and for themselves that demand active involvement. • Effective co-planners create learning and teaching environments in which each person’s contributions are valued. • Effective planners develop effective routines to facilitate their planning. • Planning skills improve over time. Walther-Thomas, Bryant, & Land, 1996

24. Defining Co-Teaching Co-teaching occurs when two or more professionals jointly deliver substantive instruction to a diverse, or blended, group of students in a single physical space. Cook & Friend, 1995, p. 1

25. Video: Co-Teaching http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkY2D-f3JNo&feature=related

26. Co-Teaching • Co-Teaching • Occurs when general and special education teachers work together to coordinate curriculum and instruction to teach heterogeneous groups of students. • Lesson co-teaching • Co-Planning • Long-range co-planning • Lesson co-planning • Grading • Questions about grading at various grade levels • General v. special education students

27. 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

28. Why Co-Teach • Co-teaching is one way to deliver services to students with disabilities or other special needs as part of a philosophy of inclusive practices. As a result, it shares many benefits with other inclusion strategies, including a reduction in stigma for students with special needs, an increased understanding and respect for students with special needs on the part of other students, and the development of a sense of heterogeneously-based classroom community.

30. Station Teaching • Divide and Concur • Students rotate around stations

31. Station Teaching Advantages • Separate responsibilities • Both teachers are active and equal • Low student-teacher ratio Disadvantages • Noise level • Lots of movement • Does the order matter? • Pacing

32. Parallel Teaching • Joint planning • Slip the class into two heterogeneous groups • Diversity in both groups

33. Parallel Teaching Advantages • Lower student-teacher ratio • Teach in two groups and bring together for discussions • Joint planning Disadvantages • Joint planning • Cannot be used for initial instruction • Noise level • Lots of movement • Pacing

34. 1 Teach, 1 Observe • 1 professional instructs, 1 professional observes & collects data • Roles should not be static • Teachers should create systematic method for taking down observations

35. 1 Teach, 1 Observe Advantages • Requires little Joint Planning Time • Allows both teachers to focus attention, rather than spreading selves to thin • Separate Responsibilities, less conflict with teaching style Disadvantages • If used exclusively, can lead to one teacher being seen as the “assistant”

36. Alternative Teaching • Small Group of students receive separate instruction • Teachers’ roles should not be static • Small Group membership and composition should be fluid

37. Alternative Teaching Advantages • Students can receive highly intensive instruction within general education classroom • Students have opportunity for more small group/1:1 interaction with teachers • Allows for peer modeling – having positive class models work alongside of students with behavior disorders Disadvantages • Students with disabilities may be stigmatized because of being frequently pulled into small group • If students are given opportunity to come to back table for assistance, many students in need of assistance may not come for fear of being embarrassed

38. Teaming • Both teachers are responsible for planning and share in the instruction of all students.

39. Teaming Advantages • Both educators haveequal status. • Teachers can play off of each other (role play, trade ideas during instruction, one can speak while the other models.) • Results in a synergy that enhances students participation (and also invigorates professionals) Disadvantages • Requires a great level of trust and commitment • Requires a lot of planning • Teaching styles must mesh (if teachers differ in their use of humor, pacing or instructional format the “flow” of the lesson in often unsuccessful.)

40. One Teaching, One Assisting • One teacher teaches while the other supports in instructional process

41. One Teaching, One Assisting Advantages • Requires little joint planning • Gives a role to special services provider if they do not feel competent in the subject area Disadvantages • Sometimes becomes the sole or primary co-teaching approach when planning time is scarce. • Teacher probably takes the lead role and the special services provider becomes the assistant (special services- denied an active teaching role, undermines credibility) • Assisting teacher can become a distraction (both visually- walking around and auditory- whispering) • Risk of students becoming dependent learners

42. Co-Teaching Advantages • Lower teacher – student ratio • Classroom of diverse learners • Teachers can respond effectively to varied needs of students • Another professional can provide different viewpoints and more ideas for instruction. • Teachers can be motivational for one another. • Co-teaching can positively affect the general educator’s instructional behavior.

43. Barriers/Disadvantages to Success • Lack of administrative support • Lack of shared planning time • Need for in-service training • Personality matches – the relationship between co-teachers is critical to success. • Misguided perceptions and / or lack of communication • Poorly defined roles / unclear expectations • Dividing the class based on SPED and non-SPED students

44. Scheduling Co-Teaching

45. Collaborative Scheduling • Collaborative Scheduling A • Collaborative Scheduling B • Collaborative Scheduling C Walsh & Jones, 2004

46. Collaborative Scheduling A • Special educator divides teaching time between two different classes in the same day. Walsh & Jones, 2004

47. Advantages of Collaborative Scheduling A • Enables students with disabilities to access a broader range of general education classrooms, including AP and honors • Ensures the availability of direct support from a special educator for critical parts of the instructional programs • Improved ratio of students with disabilities to students without disabilities Walsh & Jones, 2004

48. Challenges of Collaborative Scheduling A • Requires effective consulting skills on the part of the special educator • Larger danger that the special educator will not be seen as an equal partner to the general educator • Could possibly disrupt the class routine Walsh & Jones, 2004

49. Collaborative Scheduling B • The special educator divides time between two different classes. • The involvement of the special educator varies by days of the week, not within classes in the same day. Walsh & Jones, 2004

50. Advantages of Collaborative Scheduling B • Advantages are similar to Collaborative Scheduling A. • Co-teachers report an ability to implement a full range of co-teaching models because of the planned involvement of both teachers in complete classes on certain days ofthe week. Walsh & Jones, 2004