COLLABORATIVE TEACHING:
THE WHY, THE WHO, THE WHAT AND THE HOW VERONICA BOURKE TRICIA MOWAT
MAY 2014
WHO ARE WE?
WHAT ARE YOU HOPING TO HEAR ABOUT?
OUTLINE: Who are our students? Why teach collaboratively? What are the models of collaborative teaching? How does it work in the real world? A Literacy example: integrating language and content using a planning framework A Math example: a typical week in our co-taught classroom An Inquiry example: looking ahead to next year
The Who
WHO ARE OUR STUDENTS? It is highly likely that well over 70% of the students in any homeroom class will not be monolingual English speakers. English may be their third or even fourth language. Some may have been schooled in English from the very early years and English may have become their preferred language. Some may have had only one or two years of instruction in English. Some may be complete beginners. Some may appear totally orally fluent, and even have acquired an American or British accent but still exhibit varying degrees of weakness in reading and writing. Some of the second language students may be stronger in all areas than the native English speakers in the class. Some – either native speakers or L2 students - may have a diagnosed learning disability (10 – 15% on average) They all come with their own interests and preferred learning styles
A TALE OF THREE STUDENTS Sean -Spanish and Irish nationality -6th year studying in English but new to ISB -Very quiet – enjoys art -24th percentile on MAP reading score at the beginning of the year -2 to 3 years behind in math and writing skills -Sometimes resistant to learning new concepts -Talented with languages – very few mistakes in his English sentence structure
A TALE OF THREE STUDENTS Laura -German nationality -3rd year studying in English -Thoughtful and empathetic -95th percentile on MAP reading score at the beginning of the year -Talented writer -Picks up new concepts very quickly -Often achieves above grade-level on projects -Continues to struggle with spelling, sentence structure etc. in English
A TALE OF THREE STUDENTS Isabella -Italian and American nationality -7th year studying in English -Big personality – loves drama and action -11th percentile on MAP reading score at the beginning of the year -Very capable of learning new concepts with lots of repetition -Struggles with focus and with social skills -Continues to struggle with spelling, sentence structure etc.
A TALE OF THREE STUDENTS Sean
Laura
Isabella
-Spanish and Irish nationality
-German nationality
-Italian and American nationality
-6th year studying in English but new to ISB -Very quiet – enjoys art -24th percentile on MAP reading score at the beginning of the year -2 to 3 years behind in math and writing skills -Sometimes resistant to learning new concepts -Talented with languages – very few mistakes in his English sentence structure
-3rd year studying in English
-7th year studying in -Thoughtful and empathetic English -95th percentile on MAP reading score at the beginning of the year -Talented writer -Picks up new concepts very quickly -Often achieves above grade-level on projects
-Big personality – loves drama and action -11th percentile on MAP reading score at the beginning of the year -Very capable of learning new concepts with lots of repetition
-Continues to struggle with -Struggles with focus and spelling, sentence structure with social skills etc. in English -Continues to struggle with spelling, sentence structure etc.
The Why
4 KEY ELEMENTS OF DIFFERENTIATION Readiness:
Interests:
concrete vs. abstract, linguistic readiness, comfort level, metacognition, social emotional (ability to contribute positively in group tasks)
subject or content interests, hobbies, social (topics, activities with friends)
Learner Profile:
Language Profile:
gender, learning styles, multiple intelligences, dispositions, school smart (how school works)
language(s) spoken with parents, language(s) spoken with siblings, level of English, other languages
WHY COLLABORATIVE TEACHING? Differentiation is much easier when you have two or more teachers designing and delivering learning activities! Collaboration can work with different combinations of practitioners with each teacher bringing an area of strength to the partnership Collaboration offers a range of students increased access to the curriculum ESL students’ learning can’t be put on hold until they have acquired the language Extension is easier to ensure when you have more teachers on deck
10 - 2 10 minutes of input-needs 2 minutes of processing time
PAIRED VERBAL FLUENCY Find a partner. Nominate who is A and B. 90 seconds: ‘A’ begins by telling ‘B’ everything s/he knows about co-teaching approaches. No interruptions! 60 seconds: ‘B’ tells ‘A’ everything s/he knows about co- teaching approaches. No interruptions, NO REPETITIONS! 45 seconds: Round 3, ‘A’ speaks again. 30 seconds: Round 4, ‘B’ speaks.
The What
MODELS OF COLLABORATIVE TEACHING
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Six groups
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Each group takes one of the collaborative teaching models
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You have 10 minutes to prepare: - A visual representation of the model - An explanation of what types of situation or lesson would lend itself well to the model
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We will ask you to report your ideas to the whole group
MODELS OF COLLABORATIVE TEACHING
One Teach, One Drift - One lead-teaching - One unobtrusively supporting students who need it Roles should switch Can be overused - and need to watch for teacher status perception
MODELS OF COLLABORATIVE TEACHING
One Teach, One Observe - It’s very difficult to do an observation of a student / students while simultaneously teaching a lesson What you are looking for should be defined in advance
MODELS OF COLLABORATIVE TEACHING
Parallel Teaching: • Both teachers teach the lesson simultaneously to two groups of students • Lowers the student teacher ratio
A special eye needs to be kept on flexible grouping use
MODELS OF COLLABORATIVE TEACHING
Station Teaching (Centers) • 3 stations • 2 taught • 1 independent/ pairs/ cooperative • Teacher teaches same lesson to three small groups
MODELS OF COLLABORATIVE TEACHING
Alternative Teaching • Used when a typically smaller group needs additional or alternative instruction • Can be whole period or for a portion of the lesson Both for support and enrichment
MODELS OF COLLABORATIVE TEACHING
Team Teaching • Simultaneous teaching of a lesson • Looks more like a conversation than turn-taking Highest, most ambitious form of co-teaching
The How
TO BE EFFECTIVE, COLLABORATIVE TEACHING REQUIRES: Dialogue among all participants An atmosphere of mutual trust and respect Clarity around roles and responsibilities Common understandings about what you want to achieve (shared goals) Planning time A planning framework
COLLABORATION
Collaboration is the norm in highperforming and improving schools but doesn’t happen by chance – it needs to be structured, taught and learned. Garmston & Wellman, 1999
7 NORMS OF COLLOBARATION
ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES It’s important to be explicit at the beginning about who will be responsible for what.
Hand-out: sample roles and responsibilities and template for creating your own.
A PLANNING FRAMEWORK UNIT of STUDY
The unit
ESSENTIAL UNDERSTANDINGS
LANGUAGE FUNCTIONS
LANGUAGE STRUCTURES
includes this content
which requires these language functions
which will be modeled using this language
VOCABULARY
RESOURCES
STRATEGIES
PLANNING FRAMEWORK EXAMPLE UNIT of STUDY
Human Rights Persuasive Exposition
The unit
ESSENTIAL UNDERSTANDINGS
LANGUAGE FUNCTIONS
LANGUAGE STRUCTURES
VOCABULARY
RESOURCES
Students gain a developing awareness of the persuasive genre.
Retell
Essay structure
Evaluative Language
Modal phrases
Emotive Language
Real-life model: Free the Children
includes this content
Persuade
Sentence Types: - Complex & compound
which requires these language functions
which will be modeled using this language
Exemplars from last year Lessons and practice exercises on L Drive
STRATEGIES
LITERACY UNIT: WRITING A PERSUASIVE EXPOSITION Which co teaching model works best for which stage of the teaching methodology? Team-teaching is good at the beginning of a unit. It shows that we are all working towards the same goals.
It’s nice to have mixed-ablity groups for joint construction. It’s also nice to have smaller groups: parallel teaching
It’s helpful to put the kids into groups to break down the writing skills we want to highlight. That way we can target groups with different readiness: alternative teaching.
THINK-PAIR-SHARE
What has struck you so far as being something you might apply in your own context?
SOME THOUGHTS ON FLEXIBLE GROUPING •High with low? •Cultural grouping – languages? •Making purposeful decisions about homogeneous and heterogeneous groupings
•Rules of working together are a must •Establishing a culture of learning together in class •Experience shows what works best has more to do with students knowing how to work well together on similar goals
SAMPLE WEEK: MATHEMATICS Learning Activity
Co-teaching Model
Grouping
Monday
Teacher-Directed Lesson
Team Teach
Whole Class
Tuesday
Problem-Solving Task
Both Teachers Drift
Pairs – Homogenous by Readiness
Wednesday
HW Feedback
One Teach, One Drift Whole Class
Re-teach / Extension
Alternative Teaching
Readiness Groupings (teacher and/or student choice)
Thursday
Hands-on / Parallel Teaching Conceptual Learning Task
Heterogeneous Groupings
Friday
Quiz
Both Teachers Drift
Whole Class
Re-Teach / Extension
Alternative Teaching
Readiness Groupings
OUR NEXT CHALLENGE At ISB, we will be working in “collaborative teaching clusters” – groups of homeroom, ELD and LS teachers.
HR HR
ELD ELD
HR LS
HR HR
A PLANNING TOOL FOR COLLABORATIVE TEACHING
IN WHAT OTHER CONTEXTS DOES COTEACHING WORK? -
Two subject teachers get together to co-teach a unit
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The teacher-librarian co-teaches a unit with a homeroom teacher
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Three PE teachers combine their classes and co-teach
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An ESL or Learning Support Teacher comes in once a week to co-teach a particular skill set
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A Social Studies teacher and an English teacher combine their classes to co-teach a unit, running centers on writing skills and content
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The guidance counselor and a homeroom teacher join forces to co-teach a series of lessons on social skills
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REFERENCES •Language and Literacy: classroom applications of functional grammar •Learning to Learn in a Second Language: Gibbons, P. •Teaching ESL Students in Mainstream Classrooms: language in learning across the curriculum •The Adaptive School: A Sourcebook for Developing Collaborative Groups by Robert J. Garmston, Bruce M. Wellman •http://jbromenell.wikispaces.com/Collaboration+%26+Coteaching
EXIT CARDS •Something that was new or that was reaffirmed in the session •Three key ideas that I will share with my colleagues •A lingering question