Be safe, be appropriate, be responsible and please make sure you remain professional and follow ALL your district policies and procedures.
Only Blog Postings from NW GLRS Site Based Co-Teaching Academy Participants
Should Be Posted Here!
"Co-Planning and Models of Co-Teaching: Knowing Which Model to
Use and How"
Hello Fellow NW GLRS Co-Teaching Academy Members! I hope all is well with you and your school year is off to a great start. Hopefully, the whirlwind of starting a new year has settled and you’re finally able to teach. All the instructors from the NW GLRS Team want to commend you on all the great instruction we saw when we visited your classrooms at the beginning of the year. Most of you were teaching the standards and a few of you demonstrated great examples of differentiating instruction while teaching in a standards-based classroom.
Our major focus this year will be to: 1) help you move from the overused and not always the most appropriate model of collaboration of “one teach-one assist” to true “co-teaching"; 2) use data to drive and improve instruction in the areas of R/ELA and Math; 3) learn to effectively use various Web 2.0 21st Century Teaching Tools to effectively co-plan, differentiate instruction, and to overall enhance the teaching and learning experience of students with and without disabilities in your co-taught classrooms.
By now, each of you should have:
· Signed up for a Gmail account and emailed your Gmail address to your instructors and to Charlise Johnston at: cjohnston@nwgaresa.com
· Joined the NW GLRS Wikispace and checked it frequently for updates
· Joined the NW GLRS Blog as a Follower and followed the blog
· Read the online assignment and due date sheet and followed all the instructions listed that need to be completed for Day 1 Face-to-Face and Day 1 Online assignments (an assignment due date list for each cohort has been posted on the NW GLRS Wikispace on the Calendars, Handouts, and Forms Page)
Now, that we’ve finished our housekeeping this month, let’s getting to Blogging:
Introduce yourself to your instructors and the rest of the co-teachers in your Cohort. Then briefly discuss which model of co-teaching you used most this month and why. Then using the K-8 Access Center Co-Teaching Handout that discusses design, instruction, monitoring, and benefits as your rubric, self-assess you and your co-teacher’s level of proficiency. What did you do well and what do you still need to work on? Did you co-plan which collaborative model you were going to use before you used it, or did you just adlib? Did you both equally share in the teaching and learning of your students? Why or Why Not? Use the NW GLRS Standards-Based Lesson Plan template as your rubric to respond to this question. Did you co-plan using Google Docs yet? How did it work for you? Pros, cons, frustrations, celebrations???
Once you respond to this blog, then read at least 2 other co-teachers’ blog post and post comments. This is how we build a true professional learning community using social networking tools.
My name is Christian Brock and I co-teach with Peggy Elrod at Menlo School. We have mainly used the parallel teaching method, which seems to work well with our students. I deliver the opening lesson instructions, then we break into small groups and modify the instruction as needed to meet the unique needs of each group. We both provide guidance for our students and try to ensure that our special needs students do not stand out from the general education students. We planned the lesson and the co-teaching method prior to instruction. I have not used Google Docs in co-planning, primarily because of lack of ease rather than lack of effort. Our lesson plan was saved as a Word document and transferring it to a Google Doc did not work well for us. Therefore, it was more of a frustration than a celebration.
ReplyDeleteMy name is Alice Nixon and I co-teach with Ginger Hosmer.The Google Docs is frustrating.
ReplyDeleteOur school computers will not allow this site, plus I really don't know much about operating the wikispace.
ReplyDeleteMy name is Cynthia Stinson and I co-teach with two fantastic math teachers, Kristy Patterson and Pam Burge. In both classes, we have used the following models: One Teach/One Observe, One Teach/One Assist, and Station Teaching. They have all worked well. Getting our lesson plans sent in has been very frustrating. We have attempted to get them sent. The restrictions of our county system has created a tremendous mess. Thanks to all of Charlsie's help, we are in much better shape finally. Hope we will be able to operate now.
ReplyDeleteMy name is Kristy Patterson and I co-teach with Cynthia Stinson. We use One Teach/One Observe, One Teach/One Assist, and Station Teaching. Cynthia does a great job of working with all of the students so that the special ed students do not stand out. The county system has made this class very frustrating because it doesn't allow the sites we need.
ReplyDeleteOk, I am not sure where I posted earlier! Somewhere is a great reflection though... :)
ReplyDeleteI am Jessica Cook, and I am a special education teacher at Lyerly Elementary School. I work mostly with middle school students in a combination of resource and inclusion classes. I am attending the co-teaching workshop with Theresa Carr, my gen.ed. co-teacher for math in grades 6,7 & 8.
(And I agree with Kristy!)
Right, and we were supposed to talk about GoogleDocs... to be honest, we haven't used it much beyond the cursory exploration and "tinkering." So many teachers prefer to handwrite lesson plans, rather than type them. I have yet to muster the courage to ask a stressed and stretched teacher to handwrite her plans, include sp.ed. differentiation, scan it, and post it for my review. It's just easier to get a copy! If everyone used the computer for LPs, GoogleDocs might be more serviceable.
ReplyDeleteI know we were supposed to talk about Glows and Grows, but don't want to do it here. Haven't figured out how to post on someone's plan?
I asked to take this class because this is only my second year teaching special ed--which I love! I was expecting to learn all about the different types of coteaching and see some modeling of these methods and strategies. I have a wonderful General Education teacher named Alice Nixon. I feel as if I need to apologize to her for asking her to take this class with me. I intended for it to be a great hands on modeling learning experience, but so far, it has been a technology nightmare. I appreciate all of the hard work that the instructors have put into all of this awesome material to be used, but our school system has blocked any site that we need to use inorder to access this information. As busy wife and mother of children involved in afterschool athletics and activities, there isn't much time left to search and post on all of the intended sites. I feel overwhelmed and incompetent--two of my least favorite feelings.
ReplyDeleteThank you guys for participating in the Blog. I understand some of you guys are having difficulty uploading your lesson plans to Google Docs. Remember, this is a working progress. There have been kinks in the process, but so far we have been able to work through those kinks. Let me know if you have any specific questions and I will find the answer for you.
ReplyDeleteBasically, Google Docs is a great tool to use for planning with your co-teacher when you do not have common planning time. I have read some blogs where a team continues to have common planning--I think that is fantastic. Unfortunately, there are several teams who do not share common planning; therefore, need to plan together somehow.
Also, remember to utilize your Wiki page as a resource tool for you, other staff members, students, as well as, the parents. You can also plan with your co-teacher using your Wiki page by using the discussion board.
Remember, I am learning how to use these 21st Century tools alongside you guys. Honestly, I utilized Dr. Holifield's Wiki page (nwglrs.wikispaces.com) and watched the videos, clicked on different links and was able to learn how to use the web tools. I have really enjoyed it and am learning more each time I log in to my Wiki page or in to Google Docs. Don't give up on it, it does get easier.
For those who could not log in to your Wiki pages or Google Docs from your school, get with the Leroy Massey group and ask how they logged in to the sites. They were able to get in when we went to the computer lab after the last face-to-face session.
I apologize for you all being frustrated. I wish we had control over the blocking situation.
Hello everyone!!!! Just wanted to remind you that we will be having our next face-to-face meeting on February 8, 2011. Can't wait to see you all. Please feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions. (hhightower@nwgaresa.com)
ReplyDelete