Teachers meet in Professional Learning Communities (PLC) at grade level, school level, and district level working together both formally and informally. As primary teachers, we use this valuable collaboration when teaching our own homerooms, but what if we made the professional decision to co-teach? Think of the impact this could have on our students’ achievement and our professional growth.
My CTEPS project involves increasing co-teaching time at the kindergarten and first grade level within my school. I was assigned a first-grade classroom, while my teaching partner was assigned a transition classroom. We met informally and decided the best way to address our students’ needs was through a co-teaching structure. Our principal approved our decision, and the planning began. We do not always teach together in a classroom, so we have essentially restructured the term co-teach. Our daily routine consists of on-going conversations about students’ needs allowing us to fill instructional gaps. No judgements - just listening to offer an instructional viewpoint based upon our own teaching experience. Many times, small conversations lead to a boost in student achievement.
Our students have the opportunity for flexible grouping on a daily basis. We began with three transition students who were moved into the first-grade group for core study in language and math. As the year progressed, other students were moved for particular units of study or for short blocks of time in order to best address their academic needs. As a result, our PLC conversations are more focused and we are able to talk about both sets of students as if they were our own homerooms.
The benefits of knowing in-depth information about both classes allows for growth goals that drive instruction and form new assessment options. I learn new instructional viewpoints from my partner teacher because she looks at student learning in a different way. I take our conversations and adjust my own teaching. We support and push each other forward every day. What if all teachers could choose a strength of a partner and use that as professional growth? To extend this idea, I decided to focus on kindergarten and first grade teachers within my school. I asked all K-1 teachers if they would be willing to try at least four co-teaching sessions this school year. Fortunately, our district also supports collaboration in many forms so we were able to use the collaborative release time to implement the project.
We completed an initial survey where one teacher stated, “Co-teaching is exchanging our best experiences.” The sessions were planned with a goal of increasing positive outlook on teaching in a partner’s class. Having a positive experience is essential to encouraging continuation of working in a partner’s room. I decided to allow flexibility in the type of co-teaching. Choices could be, but were not limited to observation, pulling small groups, or parallel teaching. Allowing choice is key to being respectful of leadership personalities of my colleagues. Each teacher chose a partner and pointed out strengths observed in teaching style. The sessions were geared toward a focus on that strength. For example, one group chose to focus on reading with partner one and math with partner two. The first sessions were used more as observation and assistance with one-to-one student help. This moved into small groups working on the same instructional goals. In one of the final follow-up conversations, a participant pointed out that it would be nice if we could find ways to work together more often. In addition, feedback from students was also positive. Some comments were geared toward the ability to make more friends and how fun it was to have two teachers. They talked about a variety of strategies that were used between both classrooms making instruction more engaging.
Co-teaching and collaboration should be the norm in our schools. My teaching partner and I have already made plans to continue the co-teaching into the next school year. We plan to expand by moving toward a bigger integration of science and social studies into our groups and by exploring ways to be in the same space more often. One pair of volunteer teachers are considering a similar approach into the next school year as well. This project has the potential to expand into more grade levels. Overcoming barriers was sometimes difficult, but the benefits of working with and learning from a colleague far outweigh little bumps in the road.
My CTEPS project involves increasing co-teaching time at the kindergarten and first grade level within my school. I was assigned a first-grade classroom, while my teaching partner was assigned a transition classroom. We met informally and decided the best way to address our students’ needs was through a co-teaching structure. Our principal approved our decision, and the planning began. We do not always teach together in a classroom, so we have essentially restructured the term co-teach. Our daily routine consists of on-going conversations about students’ needs allowing us to fill instructional gaps. No judgements - just listening to offer an instructional viewpoint based upon our own teaching experience. Many times, small conversations lead to a boost in student achievement.
Our students have the opportunity for flexible grouping on a daily basis. We began with three transition students who were moved into the first-grade group for core study in language and math. As the year progressed, other students were moved for particular units of study or for short blocks of time in order to best address their academic needs. As a result, our PLC conversations are more focused and we are able to talk about both sets of students as if they were our own homerooms.
The benefits of knowing in-depth information about both classes allows for growth goals that drive instruction and form new assessment options. I learn new instructional viewpoints from my partner teacher because she looks at student learning in a different way. I take our conversations and adjust my own teaching. We support and push each other forward every day. What if all teachers could choose a strength of a partner and use that as professional growth? To extend this idea, I decided to focus on kindergarten and first grade teachers within my school. I asked all K-1 teachers if they would be willing to try at least four co-teaching sessions this school year. Fortunately, our district also supports collaboration in many forms so we were able to use the collaborative release time to implement the project.
We completed an initial survey where one teacher stated, “Co-teaching is exchanging our best experiences.” The sessions were planned with a goal of increasing positive outlook on teaching in a partner’s class. Having a positive experience is essential to encouraging continuation of working in a partner’s room. I decided to allow flexibility in the type of co-teaching. Choices could be, but were not limited to observation, pulling small groups, or parallel teaching. Allowing choice is key to being respectful of leadership personalities of my colleagues. Each teacher chose a partner and pointed out strengths observed in teaching style. The sessions were geared toward a focus on that strength. For example, one group chose to focus on reading with partner one and math with partner two. The first sessions were used more as observation and assistance with one-to-one student help. This moved into small groups working on the same instructional goals. In one of the final follow-up conversations, a participant pointed out that it would be nice if we could find ways to work together more often. In addition, feedback from students was also positive. Some comments were geared toward the ability to make more friends and how fun it was to have two teachers. They talked about a variety of strategies that were used between both classrooms making instruction more engaging.
Co-teaching and collaboration should be the norm in our schools. My teaching partner and I have already made plans to continue the co-teaching into the next school year. We plan to expand by moving toward a bigger integration of science and social studies into our groups and by exploring ways to be in the same space more often. One pair of volunteer teachers are considering a similar approach into the next school year as well. This project has the potential to expand into more grade levels. Overcoming barriers was sometimes difficult, but the benefits of working with and learning from a colleague far outweigh little bumps in the road.
Bobbie Jo Vice teaches elementary school in Fleming County, Kentucky.