Akron High School Consultation and Collaboration Plan Prepared by Susan Palmer
Part I Introduction
The concept of collaboration is becoming an integral part of society. With the legal requirements set forth in legislation such as The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, (IDEA), and No Child Left Behind, (NCLB), school districts are continually faced with challenges in educating students with disabilities, and they are looking for new ways to achieve these requirements and goals. Integrating collaborative approaches into education is the new focus to educating all students. The plan that follows is a collaboration plan for the Akron Central High School. It includes background information on the district, a proposed plan, and needs and strategies to accomplish the same. The integration of a greater amount of collaboration in the current inclusion program will not only assist the District in accomplishing it goals and meeting its
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standards, it will provide a greater sense of community and afford greater success for all students at Akron High School.
Description of the Educational Setting in the Akron Central School District
The Akron Central School District is a relatively rural district in western New York. It includes the Town of Newstead, the Village of Akron and the Tuscarora Indian Reservation. Some students live in the rural areas and on farms, some in the small quaint Village of Akron which dates back to the 1800’s, and some live in the Tuscarora Reservation. The area is a very close knit community, openly happy with the community as it is. It has been very resistant to new housing or other development in the area. The Village of Akron has its own band, historical society, and everyone knows virtually everybody. Community members value the fact that the area is relatively untouched by the big subdivisions and expansions of other districts. The District residents are predominately middle class. There are some large businesses in town such as Perry’s Ice Cream and Whiting Door Manufacturing which employ many family members. There are some families on the Tuscarora reservation which live in very poor conditions; some have no indoor plumbing.
In 2005-2006
approximately twenty six (26%) percent of students were eligible for either a free or reduced-price lunch. Most students ride the school bus to school daily, some with rides as
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long as 45 minutes in the morning. Many students drive their own vehicles to school if they are old enough to do so. There a few walkers outside the village area. The physical campus is located at 47 Bloomingdale Ave, Akron, New York. The Elementary, Middle, and High Schools are all located in the same location. One set of busses pick up and deliver all students to school, and home at the end of the day; there are no separate busses for elementary and secondary grades. Each building has its own principal and assistant principal position; however the assistant principal position in the middle and elementary is currently being shared due to turnover. The Director of Special Education position is currently being held temporarily by a teacher from the department as the person who was running the program for the last three years left to take another job a the end of last year. We are currently also without a permanent superintendent, as he also left a few months ago. They are currently recruiting for these positions. As of 2005-2006, the total K-12 enrollment was 1652 students. The High School enrollment was 551. Ninety percent (90%) of the students are white, nine percent (9%) are Native American, and one percent (1%) are African American.
There are
approximately two hundred twenty five (225) students with disabilities in the Akron Central District, and sixty nine (69) in the Akron Central High School. Akron High School employs approximately 45 teachers and 3 paraprofessionals.
The current
Principal is working alone as the Assistant Principal was denied tenure and has also left to take another position.
The Assistant Principal position in the High School also
includes the position of Athletic Director, which has made it difficult to keep people in this job. The position of Director of Special Education has also been coupled with the position of Elementary Principal in the past. This may be part of the reason the District
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has yet to fill the vacancy left at the end of 2006. The turnover and current vacancies are problematic for all departments, and has resulted in all departments functioning fairly independently. Special Education in the High School has been supervised indirectly by the High School Principal and by the teacher who handles placement and CSE meetings. Of the forty-five (45) teachers in the High School, six (6) are special education. There are also three (3) full time aides.
The Inclusion Program The program for special education at Akron High School is inclusion. It has changed over the past two years as a result of a new Strategic Plan implemented by the Board of Education in 2005. (Akron Cenrtral School District, 2005) The Strategic Plan calls for more differentiated instruction and includes a change in the program to include teachers assigned to departments. As a result, for the past two years there has been a special education teacher assigned to the Math, Science, Social Studies and English departments. These teachers have also had one or two resource rooms which they would supervise in addition to being in three or four classes for their respective subjects. All special education teachers in the High School have six class assignments. One of the teachers is exclusively resource room and there is one teacher who teaches self contained courses. These are small classes for a few students who are being pulled out of English, Social Studies or Math.
The self contained teacher teaches students these various
subjects according their needs. Last year there were less than ten students in the self contained subjects.
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The inclusion model includes various general education teachers being assigned as “inclusion teachers" with “inclusion classes”. What this means in a functional sense is that those general education teachers have classes where the special education teacher attends on an alternating basis with an aide. Every other day the teacher is in the class, and every other day the aide is in the class, thereby having someone in the class every day. These classes contain a larger percentage of special education students than other classes, although they are designed to be a mix with the majority of students being general education students. The goal of the program, as designed by the Strategic Plan, was to create subject matter competence for the special education teacher so as to maximize the ability to differentiate instruction for the special education student. The Strategic Plan objective was to “personalize teaching and learning” (Akron Cenrtral School District, 2005). Collaboration and co teaching are favored methods to be used in the District according to the Strategic Plan.
The Current Status of Collaboration
The current plan is set up according to the above described model. As it is a new program, there has been an adjustment period for all teachers in the High School. After the first year, the program was also impacted significantly by turnover as virtually all but one of the subject matter consulting teachers either left or was reassigned as a result of turnover in the department. Starting year two was virtually starting all over again with the exception of Math and English which was able to maintain some continuity. Also as mentioned, the Special Ed Director also left in December of this year, and as a result right
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now no meaningful coordination of the program exists. The department is being shifted again for next year, and virtually all teachers except English will be reassigned to new general education departments, thus starting the program anew again. This will have a negative impact, however if will allow for a new beginning on the issue of collaboration. When the program was first introduced two years ago, a short video on the Marilyn Friend model was shown, people were asked to collaborate, but there was no follow-up or training in this regard. For the most part, the consulting teachers have and continue to perform a supporting role with the general education teachers delivering the direct instruction.
Rational for Collaboration
One of the important factors to consider on this topic is the fact that the Akron Central District has made is crystal clear in its Strategic Plan, specifically Strategy 2, “personalizing teaching and learning� that it values differentiated instruction. (Akron Cenrtral School District, 2005) It wants its teachers to do this in the classroom. It values personalized teaching and learning. Collaboration is necessary to accomplish this as the general education teacher does not have the time or the ability to do so on his/her own. The process of collaboration has not been implemented fully in the High School program; however this is not because the District does not want this. They have stated that they value collaboration; administration had been lacking due to turnover which has weakened the impact of the plan.
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The rational for the District when it implemented this plan was the need to assist the needs of all students. The literature is clear on the value of collaboration in the classroom today. Collaboration is defined as teachers working together for a common goal—the success of the student. (Friend & Cook, 2007) For many years, researchers have discussed the benefits of this approach. Millicent Lawson in the March/April 1999 issue of the Harvard Education Letter discussed this and stated, “Teachers can gain personal and professional support by working closely with a colleague and by their exposure to a wide range of students”. Laws have been passed to gradually our handling of students with special needs. Although legislation has been passed over the years, and progress toward collaboration has been slow, the implications for the classroom are clear producing significant changes for districts, teachers and students.. (Wood, 1998) The emphasis toward collaboration is clearly the trend in light of the more recent requirements of IDEA and NCLB and the increased pressure of students’ success with ranking for districts in papers like Business First! General and special education teachers must work together to reach a common goal to keep the District where the community expects it to be. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA; PL 105-17 and 2004) sets requirements for districts in their programs for students with disabilities. Districts must provide a free and public education for all students including those with disabilities. This must be in the least restrictive environment which means that the doors of the self contained classrooms are opened, and when reasonably possible, all students are now in the regular education classroom learning the same curriculum. The system of “separate’’ handling of students exists only in the most serious of cases. Consideration for placement
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is ever changing and ongoing with a continuum of services being offered. (Vaughn, Bos, & Schumm, 2000) This requires collaboration. The lack of it is setting up the special education student for failure. It is an unreasonable expectation for most students with special needs to assume that they are going to walk into a general education science or social studies class, sit down, and be fine. They need support, differentiated instruction, and monitoring; this cannot and will not occur without the collaborative effort from all professionals involved with that student. The law sees that reality as does the District in its goals in the Strategic Plan. The level of performance of special education students on NYS Regents exams is another place where we see the need for this in the Akron High School. Only fifty five (55%) percent of special education students passed the Global 10 Regents exam in 20052006. Only fifty (50%) percent of the special education students passed the English 11 Regents exam in the same year. The District sees this as evidence of the need to gain greater subject matter expertise and integration of the special education teacher in the classroom instruction, planning and assessment processes.
Student performance is
directly impacted by these factors and the District desires improvement in all student scores on high stakes tests, but especially with regard to special education students.
Part II Roles and Responsibilities of the Consulting Teacher
In this section I will discuss the roles and responsibilities for the consulting teacher in the collaboration plan. This is critical as each member of the collaborative
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team provides an integral part of the whole service to the student. It is critical for all parties to understand their roles to be able to fulfill them successfully for the benefit of the student. The consulting teacher’s role is key to the success of this model. 1. The consulting teacher will supervise the implementation of the students IEP. - Although both teachers participate in the CSE meetings for most students and have a role in revising the student’s IEP, it is the consulting teacher’s role to be the expert advisor to the general education teacher as to issues of accommodation and placement for the special education student. Both teachers will work together to carry these out, however the consulting teacher will take the leading role in advising and administering the IEP accommodations. 2. The consulting teacher will assist the general education teacher in designing instruction to meet the needs of all students in the classroom. The consulting teacher will play a major role in assisting in the planning of lessons so as to allow for different learning styles. The collaborating teacher will not do the initial lesson plan structure; this will be done by the general education teacher.
The consulting teacher will work with the general
education to review the lessons and make any additions or restructure the same so as to maximize learning styles. This is consistent with the Strategic Plan to differentiate instruction as much as possible. As time passes and he consulting teacher becomes more knowledgeable in the curriculum, this may evolve in to more opportunity for initial planning by the consulting teacher.
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3. The consulting teacher will create re-teaching and review lessons to reinforce material and re-teach where needed.- Again, the consulting teacher will have knowledge of differentiation as well as a greater knowledge of the students both before and after the initial instruction. The consulting teacher will monitor comprehension and assist by developing opportunities for review to further support the instruction. 4.
The consulting teacher will meet with the general education
teacher on a biweekly basis to discuss student performance, planning, and assessment. - The consulting teacher will be an integral part of the instruction of every student. The general education teacher will determine the curriculum to be covered during the year, however both teachers will discuss the pace and structure as well as assessment alternatives. The consulting teacher will be an advisor to the general education teacher to assist in developing pace and assessment that will meet the needs for all students. 5. The consulting teacher will be an instructor in the classroomWhat this means is that the consulting teacher will be an equal in the classroom in the eyes of the general education teacher, the students, and all who enter! This is critical to the success of the program. This does not mean that the consulting teacher must teach the class just as a general education teacher. What the role is, however, is that the teacher is an active participant in every single class and delivering some part of the class activity every day to insure that role is maintained in the eyes of the students. This will assist the consulting teacher in one on one work with students and they will be viewed
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as the same as the general education teacher and given more attention, respect and utilized to the best potential. As a consulting teacher gains knowledge and is comfortable, opportunities for direct instruction can become available and would be a goal to achieve over time. This is not the initial expectation; however teacher involvement in review, activity direction, etc is feasible during every class. The students should feel they have two teachers in the class. 6. The consulting teacher will work cooperatively with the general education teacher to design and implement classroom management techniques and systems to suit the class and students.- The consulting and general education teachers will work together to develop an atmosphere conducive to learning. Each will contribute ideas to fit the needs of the students of the given class. 7.
The consulting teacher will work with the general education
teacher to develop, using the Friend models, systems to manage the classroom which fit the needs for the classes and students which they share.- This means the teachers will discuss and agree on techniques to utilize to “share� the space in the room.
They can be the model types
suggested by the District, i.e. Marilyn Friend, or a hybrid based on what worked for each member of the team with the students they have in any given class. These models do not work in every instance and both members of the team will decide as to what and how they will be used, if at all and when. This will be a mutual agreement between the two teachers.
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8. The consulting teacher will advise and assist the general education teacher in understanding and communicating with parents and family members. The consulting teacher will have more background in most cases on a special education student. The consulting teacher will keep the general education teacher advised of the issues, circumstances and needs of the student and family so that both teachers can make the best decisions possible with the greatest amount of information. 9. The consulting teacher will serve all students in the classroom. Both teachers will work with all students in the classroom; there will be no distinction between those of special needs and the general education students in classroom matters. 10. The consulting teacher will master the curriculum so as to be able to make reasonable accommodations to the students in the program. This does not mean the special education teacher will need to have the level of knowledge equal to the general education teacher. What is needed is for the consulting teacher to have a sufficient level to be able to understand, break down to differentiate and review the material. Clarification of Roles- What is not included1. The consulting teacher is not required to teach the class and do the job of the general education teacher. The two teachers are working together to assist all students in the classroom. This does not mean the general education teacher leaves the class, goes to the faculty room to have a cup of coffee!
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2. The consulting teacher maintains his/her status as a special education teacher- The special education department still exists and performs a very different function to that of the general education departments. 3. The consulting teacher is not responsible for the actions and level of cooperation of a general education teacher.
The consulting teacher is
responsible for making reasonable attempt to create a collaborative effort. To the extent the collaboration is not reciprocated after reasonable attempts, the responsibility does not lie with the consulting teacher.
Necessary Skills for this model: Both the general education and consulting teacher will need specific skills for this model to work. As discussed earlier, Akron Central’s Director of Special Education left at the end of last year. The position is technically being held by a former teacher, however there is no real leader of the Department or program at this point. The Strategic Plan was implemented by the former Director and a short one hour training video was shown on co teaching models; there has been no real training or follow-through of the plan since the Directors leaving last year. Until the position is filled permanently and a meaningful supervision and training plan put in place, the consulting teacher will need to be a self- starter and motivated to participate. This is reflected in the following listing. Also, since this is a new program which has not real been implemented as of yet, there will be some general education teachers in the High School who may be resistant to having any significant collaboration in the classroom. Although the community and
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parents generally value the concept of collaboration, teachers have not really done it as of yet and there will be a significant adjustment period for all participants. The skills needed reflect this situation. The following is a list of necessary skills for the consulting teacher: Desire to collaborate- It is clear from the literature and just from life experience that a collaboration arrangement will work at its best if all participants are involved because they see it of benefit. (Friend & Cook, 2007) You cannot force this and every attempt must be made to have the arrangement voluntary. The lack of supervision at this point will also guarantee it will not occur unless participants are self motivated. Knowledge of differentiation- One of the tasks involved, and goals of collaboration is differentiation of instruction; a “tool box” of ideas and strategies will be needed to accomplish this goal. The Strategic Plan’s goal of “personalizing teaching and learning” will require this skill. Reasonable knowledge of subject matter- To enable a teacher to be able to differentiate, they must have a certain level of understanding in the subject matter. The rationale for the reorganization of the inclusion program at Akron and goal of a subject matter departments program is to allow the collaborating teacher to gain the level of knowledge needed to be able to differentiate to as to assist the student in understanding and retaining the content. Communication skills- Any collaboration effort will require communication of ideas and strategies with teachers and students. We have different personalities and ways of communicating; it will be necessary for us to learn to adapt to the personality and communication needs of others so as to work together successfully. Many different
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means are available to classify who we are.
Many types of personalities can be
identified. (C. Ross Reinhold, 2007) We need people who are willing to learn how to communicate effectively with all involved in the inclusion setting. Also because this is a new program it will be important that people openly and honestly communicate to work problems out as quickly as possible. Work ethic- Collaboration takes time and effort. It is critical that the parties involved have a sufficient ability to put forth the effort needed to be successful. Again, this is a program with little practical support at this point in time in Akron, which will require an even greater effort than may be the case in other larger districts. The District is supporting the idea, but putting little resources into providing training and tools. Knowledge of disabilities- The consulting teacher brings a greater knowledge of types of disabilities and the resulting effect on learning in development. Knowledge of this is critical in the inclusion classroom. Flexible- Whenever we work with others successfully, there must be a reasonable amount of flexibility on both sides. It is important that both parties “buy into” the work being done; we must agree sufficiently for this to occur. Also, again as we are new to this, all teachers will need to try to “give” and “take” to make it work. Problem solver- The nature of the situation involves creating an environment of success for all students. These students come to class with different challenges which will result in problems. All participants must have some level of knowledge of problem solving strategies to overcome these challenges. This will be helpful in many aspects of the program including creating planning time, materials and student solutions.
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Assertive- Let’s be honest here! If we don’t have a certain level of assertiveness in any collaborative arrangement, it won’t be collaborative. We must be able to speak openly about our views and ideas both with students and teachers on the team. We must be able to address our concerns with administration to make this new program work in Akron.
Beneficial Skills for this model: The following list sets forth qualities which will assist the success of the program. Again, both the consulting and general education teacher will benefit from similar qualities in this model. Time management/organization skills- This is going to be helpful to keep all of the planning and communication straight! Creativity- This is helpful when dealing with problems. Comfortable on ones feet in front of the room- This is a new experience for many teachers, both general education teachers and special education teachers. Special education teachers, however, sometimes do not have the years of experience of direct instruction and a co teaching experience in particular can be scary. It helps to have experience, but it certainly will be gained over time. Interest in the subject being taught- Have you ever had a teacher that you knew was on fire for his topic? Students can get this right away! It is helpful for a teacher to be genuinely interested in the topic so as to be able to communicate, especially to the kids who are struggling to learn the material, that it can be fun and is at least worth the effort.
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Setting the Stage: What Must Be Done Before We Begin in Akron?
We have discussed the status of the inclusion program at Akron and its student and staff characteristics.
It is clear that much needs to be done to preface the
collaborative effort in the classroom.
The District has sent a clear message to the
community that it values a collaborative effort in its program in its Strategic Plan; it has recognized co teaching as important and it wants a collaborative approach to education. However, actions taken at the administrative level have certainly made it difficult for the plan to succeed. These problems must be rectified before the program can be successful in any meaningful way. The logical resources identified as necessary for implementation of a program such as this, including but not limited to selecting implementers, beginning logistical arrangements, and identifying and preparing personnel must be addressed. (Friend & Cook, 2007) Before we begin we must do the following:
1. Determine the organization and leadership of the Special Education Department- As discussed earlier, there currently is an interim person in charge of the Special Education Department. This job description must be clarified and the position made permanent so as to have a leader and organization to the department. A structure needs to be set forth, whether it be one department functioning as a team or separate teams in Elementary, Middle and High School respectively so that personnel know who they report to and who can be utilized for resources and concerns. A director needs to be selected who will be in the job for more than a year to help teachers see their
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efforts as being worthwhile; not to have to begin in a new direction next year under new leadership. This can be done now, in my view, as the Board of Education has sent a crystal clear message of the direction to be taken. The need is only to begin and identify someone to start and organize the process. 2. Identify needs and establish department goals within the organization structure established in the Special Education Department.- Again, the department needs to decide as a group the best way to function and fulfill the needs of the Board of Education as laid out in the Strategic Plan. This may vary from building to building and therefore a need and strategies discussion and decision-making process must occur within the department to establish its plan of action. It will certainly include collaboration, however the formula may be different based upon personnel and needs of individual buildings. 3. Develop a master schedule which will provide a reasonable amount of planning time for meaningful collaboration.- Collaboration will not occur if the teachers have no time to plan. The degree of collaboration may be directly related to the time allocated in the schedule to allow for planning. The program in Akron for the last two years has had no meaningful allocation of time for planning; this has been one of the major reasons teachers have not left the prior separate rolls of direct instructor and resource teacher. The teachers have moved into the inclusion classroom; however their roles have not changed. There are some practical suggestions available to deal with the master schedule issue. Currently in the High School, general education teachers are
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assigned a study hall one period per day and special education teachers are assigned a resource room two periods per day. The schedule could be modified to free those teachers from those assignments perhaps every third day which would allow alternating one and two day planning periods. Since all general education and special education teachers are not participating in a major collaborating or co teaching role, other teachers in each department could cover these classes. Another option involves the use of substitutes, (Friend & Cook, 2007), as well as use of independent study time in the classroom for planning while students are working independently. Teachers could use some of the time that may not be needed to supervise students to briefly plan as well. (Parrott, 2004) As part of the orientation and training component, participants will be encouraged to develop ways to utilize time productive for planning; however the District must allot scheduled time to support the program if it is to be successful. 4. Educate General Education and Special Education Teachers of the precepts, benefits, and general strategies of collaboration- Understanding and education is a critical factor in a successful collaborative model as it is the foundation for the remaining steps to a beneficial model. (Friend & Cook, 2007)
To set the stage for this, the District must give some general
information of the collaboration models, benefits and rationale for implementation (both legal and otherwise) so as to give teachers the facts sufficient to entertain participation. I would propose one half day in-service to “get the feet wet� and plant some seeds.
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5. Select Collaboration Plan participants- After we have given some information, teachers need to be asked if they are willing or interested in participating in collaborating. The goal would be to have all participants involved voluntarily as all research shows this is the best scenario. (Friend & Cook, 2007) Some teachers may need to be approached by administration and “asked” if they are “interested” and I see this as totally appropriate if the needed participants have not volunteered and there are good candidates who may need just a little convincing. I do not believe that this should be an assignment at this point. Although all teachers can be advised that this is the legal requirement and therefore this will be implemented going forward, at the beginning of a program such as this it will need to have willing participants. Once others see the success both personally and professionally, it will grow on its own. 6. Create the collaborative teams- Once the participants are identified, factors need to be considered on the assignments made. I would propose the Special Education director and the Principal meet to discuss the possible matching of participants.
Factors to be considered should include subject matter
background, (for example a special education with a history undergrad might be a good match for the Social Studies department, etc.), the personalities involved, personal preferences (yes they should be confidentially and tactfully asked), and if necessary, schedules.
Every effort must be made to make
matches that will work. This should be a process which takes some time as it
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is critical to the success of the program. At the initial stage of the program every effort must be made to make sure it will work! Success breeds success! 7. Orientation- This is a new program, and its success will be based in part upon the relationships established between the participants. Although the participants may have known each other for many years, they have in most cases never worked together. They in most cases have never observed each other in the classroom. The success of the program will require more than just proper matching of teachers. It is important to have a beginning that allows the participants to get to know one another all over again in this new context. I would suggest another half day pullout orientation offsite, with a social tone. The activities would be enjoyable, yet informative and skill based, perhaps including personality and communication style assessments to help with communication. Communication is key to the success of this type of program. (Friend & Cook, 2007)
In particular, an afternoon orientation kick off
allowing participants to learn more about one another, concluding with an early social dinner or picnic to allow everyone to relax and converse would be a great way to begin the relationship. 8. Train the participants in the collaborative method. - Ok, now the work begins! The education component set forth above was just an introduction. For the program to be a success it is important to teach the participants how to collaborate.
Education in our system is generally a very isolated task.
Teachers will need to learn the methods and be given the “tools in the toolbox� to be able to work as a team. I am proposing the Marilyn Friend
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method as I find it easy to understand, implement, and adapt to various scenarios in the classroom. From here, teachers are encouraged to create their own models and be creative. Initially, however, tools are needed to be able to know where to begin. I am proposing a three day training summer curriculum program to be broken down as follows: a. Day 1- What is collaborative teaching? Discuss the Friend models. Discuss creative ways to obtain planning time. b. Day 2i. Morning- Role play the models to gain understanding. Brainstorm the planning time challenge. ii. Afternoon- Begin planning c. Day 3- Full day work session to plan for the year 9.
Establish
a
collaborative
teaching
meeting
schedule-
Assessment as well as communication is a critical aspect to the program. (Friend & Cook, 2007) The plan will begin with a follow-up meeting schedule to allow participants to discuss issues and share successes and strategies. Ideally, this would be monthly, perhaps at the end of the day to talk about the program. Teachers would also need to have a confidential avenue to discuss any problem which might need to be addresses in their assignments. It is likely that some issues may arise that would not best be met in a group setting; a one on one communication avenue will also be established to deal with issues. I will also set up an online blog for teachers to share with the other teachers in the District the
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progress of the program. This will help deal with misconceptions and hopefully assist the growth of the program. Collaboration is a process which will require continued monitoring and evaluation. (Parrott, 2004) Setting the stage properly is as important, if not more important than other aspects of the program.
Many steps are involved and all must be carefully
completed.
The Collaboration Process Model- What will it really look like?
The model or steps involved in the collaborative process will be determined by the personalities, needs, subjects and circumstances of the participants (teachers and students). There are some stages and characteristics which should be included in the individual models developed by the teachers so as to maximize the chance of success. All models may be different; however, they should contain the following components: 1. Agreement regarding planning/communication time- Not only does the District need to commit to this in the master schedule, but the parties need to agree on a schedule and work toward productive use of all time available. Things will come up to interfere with scheduled dates, however both teachers need to make an effort to keep the time available so as to be considerate to the team and value the process. The first step of any collaboration plan is to have the parties reach and understanding of how and when they will communicate.
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2. Agreement on roles; the initial formats for collaborating and co teaching should be in place- The teachers should have an understanding of the various options available and using those discuss and agree on what their collaboration will look like at it onset. They have been trained in the Marilyn Friend models. From there, the respective collaboration should evolve into something specifically suitable for the participant teachers, students and the needs of the classroom. Initially, however, taking into consideration the tools and knowledge of the needs, personalities, and skill sets available, an agreement should be reached as to a starting point. 3. Develop tools for collaboration- All collaborative relationships create tools to assist the goals of the process. The teachers should develop formats for delivering services as well as assessing and troubleshooting. A partial list of examples of the types of forms and procedures which we may see include: a. Common planning book which both contribute to and keep in the classroom, or better yet a folder on the computer network which can be access by both teachers.
All notes and forms are kept in the
common planning book folder for reference by both teachers. b. Course syllabus which is sent home to parents sets forth information on BOTH teachers. (The class is Mrs. Palmer’s and Mr. Scorsone’s class, for example.) c. Both teachers have access to student information on e-class grades, including contact information, etc. d. Template for various co teaching styles- [Appendix A]
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e. Challenges Sheet- This lists students who are failing or at risk and identifies observed needs and strategies for improvement. This is an ongoing list and includes all students in the class, including general education. [Appendix B] f. Observation Form for individual student observation [Appendix C] g. Agenda sheet- This could assist the productive use of planning time by creating a current list of issues or questions to talk about when together. This could also be done electronically by having a template on the network in their folder where each teacher would add to the agenda as they think of issues to discuss at the next planning time. [Appendix D] h. Course assessment form- Some form of assessment is needed. Attached is a sample of an anonymous online survey which has been used. [Appendix E]
Individual collaborating teachers need to develop what works for them. These are meant to be some examples to stimulate discussion; each team will create the solutions appropriate for their classroom and subject.
The Collaboration Plan- A Case Study
It is important to note as I haves states previously, that there is no single way to collaborate. There are as many possibilities as there are students and problems. This is
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included as a simple illustration of how a collaborative approach may work in a given classroom. The setting is ninth grade Global 9. Mrs. P is the gen ed teacher and her collaborating teacher is Mr. H. They have two inclusion class periods of Global 9 containing 22 students in each class. The topic coming up is The Renaissance, which is a very difficult and yet important topic for the course as well as the NYS Regents exam next year.
The third period class contains six special education students with learning
disability classifications. They all read significantly below grade level and will have difficulty reading much of the material in the text on this important topic. Mrs. P and Mr. H have been doing some co teaching in the classroom and see this situation as a perfect place to incorporate an activity which will allow all of the students to a great deal of information on the topic, and yet also accommodate the reading level challenges for the special education students. They decide to create a station activity, (station teaching technique) incorporating four stations to deliver the instruction on the Renaissance. They will be as follows: Day 1- Students circulate the room in groups of 5, approximately 10 minutes at each station. Station 1- Renaissance Art- Mrs. P will run this activity. Students will examine 4 examples of art (overheads) ranging from the Middle Ages up and through the Renaissance. The four paintings will illustrate the progression from the simple religious paintings of the Middle Ages to the use of more color, perspective, and humanism during the Renaissance. Students will play a game and have to guess the oldest, the latest, etc. Station 2- Renaissance Man- will be a self directed activity where students will look at some of the inventions of Leonardo DiVinci and have to guess what they were.
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They will fill out a sheet with their answers and once done, they can check their work by looking at the answers though a mirror. They will be written backwards as Di Vinci wrote to preserve his work. Station 3- Renaissance Writers- Mr. H will run this activity. This is a reading activity and Mr. H will facilitate the students’ progress through the short excerpts of various Renaissance writing, including Dante’s Inferno.
On their own, the special
education students would have serious difficulties with this aspect of the unit. By having Mr. H in this activity, he can work with all of the students so there is not “pull out”, yet have a small group at each time to work with to assist the students with reading difficulties. Station 4- Renaissance Sculpture- will be self directed. Students will compare sculpture from the Renaissance period with that of earlier periods to make a list of similarities and differences. They will complete a worksheet. They will then listen to a short audio file discussing Renaissance sculpture to compare their information with the characteristics in the audio. After the lesson is completed, Mr. H will re-teach and review the material with the six students when he meets with them in resource, and specifically the items in the other stations to make sure they understood the material. He will email Mrs. Palmer at the end of the day to advise her of their progress and if they need to have additional reinforcement beyond what was originally planned for tomorrow. Day 2- Mrs. P and Mr. H will coordinate a review lesson in class. They will use the team teach method. Mr. H will reinforce the material on the writers and sculpture, and Mrs. P will reinforce the material on the painting and Renaissance man. Each teacher will review
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the worksheets for those topics filled out by the students in the station activity. The other teacher will circulate the room assisting students in correcting any incorrect answers on the sheets. Final assessment of this lesson is very important. Mr. H will create a graphic organizer to be used by all students to summarize key information on the topic. Mrs. P will incorporate it as an alternative assessment to part of her final test to reduce the number of reading questions and create a better assessment of the actual understanding of the material for the special education students. If the performance on the tests is poor, Mr. H and Mrs. P will work to create a plan to re-teach the critical topic at a later date when there is opening in the schedule. Mr. H will also create review activity to be used in resource room. He can better do this now as he has a complete understanding of the required curriculum, the needs, what has been done with the student to date, and the problem. He will also be better able to talk to parents about the specifics of the problem. The benefits of the type of collaboration are many. First, Mrs. P would not have been able to cover all of these types of activities on her own, and Mr. H was able to assist the readers specifically in a small group without having a pull out situation. This is critical to creating assistance in the least restrictive environment. Mr. H also assisted in creating meaningful re teaching and review opportunities because he understood the material and what had occurred in the room thus far. He was able to assist in changing the assessment to be an accurate measure of student knowledge versus the ability of students to read. The collaboration also allowed the teachers to create more materials to reviews and benefit ALL students in the classroom, and create a more successful learning
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environment for all students. Lastly, Mr. H has a much better understanding of the needs of the six students in the class as a result of his experience. He can better develop and implement IEP’s for these students as a result of his work and direct observations. Mrs. P can better reach all students in her classroom with the expertise and assistance of Mr. H and more can be done as we now have four hands instead of two! We just cut the class size in half.
The Evaluation of Collaboration As stated previously, the evaluation of a collaboration plan at the relationship level must be an ongoing process of the teacher and student participants. It should be integral to what goes on in each planning session. Evaluation of the plan itself should also be ongoing, and in the early stages discussed in Setting the Stage, meetings must be established and scheduled in advance to allow for group discussion of the issues and problems which arise as a result of collaboration. Likewise an on- going discussion should occur as the strengths of the plan. The group should discuss how the strengths can be utilized to overcome the challenges. Various checklists are available which can be used a tools. (Parrott, 2004)
It is
encouraged that the group will decide on their own methods so as to insure they are viewed as viable and the results will be recognized as meaningful. Notwithstanding the form, the assessment must be ongoing, systematic and designed to solicit the truth. No plan will succeed without honest assessment so the real problems can be brought to light and handled. There is no need to mask the results of collaboration. If the problems are
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dealt with, the program will not only allow the Akron Central School District to fulfill its plan and the spirit and requirements of many laws designed to assist students with disabilities, but it will create a better learning environment and results for all students.
APPENDIX A1
LESSON PLAN- TEAM TEACHING-
OBJECTIVES:
SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS:
TEACHING STRATEGIES- TEACHER A__________ 1. 2. 3. 4.
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TEACHING STRATEGIES- TEACHER B____________ 1. 2. 3. 4.
ASSESSMENT:
APPENDIX A2 LESSON PLAN- ONE TEACH, ONE OBSERVE
OBJECTIVES:
SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS:
TEACHING STRATEGIES- TEACHER A__________ 1. 2. 3. 4.
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OBSERVATION STRATEGIES- TEACHER B____________
OBSERVATION GOAL ASSESSMENT:
APPENDIX A3 LESSON PLAN- ONE TEACH, ONE ASSIST
OBJECTIVES:
SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS:
TEACHING STRATEGIES- TEACHER A__________ 1. 2. 3. 4.
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TEACHING STRATEGIES- TEACHER B____________ 1. 2. 3. 4.
ASSESSMENT:
APPENDIX A4 LESSON PLAN- PARALLEL TEACHING
OBJECTIVES:
SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS:
TEACHING STRATEGIES- TEACHER A__________ 1. 2. 3. 4.
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TEACHING STRATEGIES- TEACHER B____________ 1. 2. 3. 4.
ASSESSMENT:
APPENDIX A5 LESSON PLAN- STATION TEACHING
OBJECTIVES:
SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS:
TEACHING STRATEGIES- TEACHER A__________ STATION _______ 1. 2. 3. 4.
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TEACHING STRATEGIES- TEACHER B____________STATION_______ 1. 2. 3. 4.
ASSESSMENT:
APPENDIX A6 LESSON PLAN- ALTERNATIVE TEACHING
OBJECTIVES:
SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS:
TEACHING STRATEGIES- TEACHER A__________ OBJECTIVES
STRATEGIES 1. 2. 3.
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TEACHING STRATEGIES- TEACHER B____________ OBJECTIVES
STRATEGIES 1. 2. 3. ASSESSMENT: APPENDIX B
CHALLENGE SHEET
STUDENT
CHALLENGE
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STRATEGY
APPENDIX C
OBSERVATION FORM NAME
ISSUE
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OBJECTIVE
DATE
TIME
OBSERVATIONS
APPENDIX D
DISCUSSION ITEMS FOR MEETING __________________
1.
2.
3.
4.
5. 38
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Bibliography Akron Central School District. (2005). Strategic Plan., Akron Central School District, Akron, New York. C. Ross Reinhold, M. (2007, June 11). Personality Pathways. Retrieved June 16, 2007, from www.personalitypathways.com Friend, M., & Cook, L. (2007). Interactions; Collaboration Skills For School Professionals (Fifth Edition ed.). Pearson Education, Inc. Lawson, M. (March/April 1999). Co teaching: Are Two Heads Better Than One in the InClusion Classroom? Harvard Education Letter . Parrott, M. P. (2004, March). Instrucional Strategies for Co Teaching and Inclusion. Retrieved June 16, 2007, from www.vcld.org/pages/newsletter/03_04_fall Vaughn, S., Bos, C. S., & Schumm, J. S. (2000). Teaching Exceptional, Diverse, and AtRisk Students in the General Education Classroom (Second Edition ed.). Needham Heights, Massachusetts: Allyn & Bacon, A Pearson Education Company .
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Wood, J. W. (1998). Adapting Instruction to Accommodate Students in the Inclusive Setting. Prentice Hall, Inc. Lesson Plans in Appendix A1-6 are adapted from East Aurora Schools Plan forms.
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