Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network

PaTTAN’s Mission
The mission of the Pennsylvania
Training and Technical Assistance
Network (PaTTAN) is to support the efforts and initiatives of the Bureau of
Special Education, and to build the capacity of local educational agencies to serve students who receive special education services.
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PDE’s Commitment to Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)
Our goal for each child is to ensure
Individualized Education Program (IEP) teams begin with the general education setting with the use of
Supplementary Aids and Services before considering a more restrictive environment.
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• Examine current co-teaching practices and effective practices (including planning time and program evaluation)
• Network with other administrators to ask questions and share out some of the trials and tribulations of co-teaching within their school/district
• Continue to use a Co-Teaching
Considerations Framework
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Co-Teaching PLC Day Two

“Without time for sharing this expertise, teachers often teach a class the way they have always taught it and there is not ‘value added’ by the second professional educator.”
Murawski, 2012
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Dedicated time within the workday, several times per week, for more than one teacher to meet and prepare the co-teaching agenda
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Where will the team meet?
• A comfortable place
• Somewhere free from interruptions
When will the team meet?
• Regularly
• During the school day
What resources might the team need to begin?
• Computer/Internet
• Basic supplies
• Curriculum guides
• Accommodations, effective teaching strategies
• Students’ IEPs, student data
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• Common Preparation
• Parallel Scheduling
• Adjust start/end time of day
• Shared Classes
• Group Activities
• Banking Time
• In-service/Faculty Meeting Time
Adapted from Dufour, 2006 11

Stay after school once per month
Treat collaboration as the equivalent of school committee responsibilities
Reserve time in the daily schedule that is not obligated to specific responsibilities
Use a sub to relieve special education teacher to co-plan with various teachers
If students do not require daily support, allow the special educator to plan one day
Provide administrative coverage of classes to allow teams time to meet
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• Discuss one of the following strategies with a group:
– Shared Classes
– Group Activities
– Banked Time
• Reflect upon the provided questions
• Report out to PLC
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• How could you select teams to utilize this strategy?
• Would your current schedule provide common class times to implement this strategy?
• What grade levels in your school or district would be possible implementers of this strategy?
• How often could this strategy be used?
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• How could administrators be aware of the planned noninstructional activities or events scheduled which could provide this time for planning?
• Who would supervise the students during this time?
• Would these activities or events provide enough regularly scheduled time?
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• How would you get buy-in from the teachers to use this strategy?
• Who could coordinate the use of banked time regarding students?
• How could teachers be held accountable for using the banked time for planning and how could that be monitored?
• How could you involve parents and community members implementing this strategy?
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• Emailing lesson plans and communicating via email
• Exchanging personal contact information (texting, calling, etc.)
• Communicating via other formal technology means such as:
– Pbworks http://pbworks.com/
– Wikispaces http://www.wikispaces.com/
– Google groups http://www.groups.google.com/
– Skype http://www.skype.com/
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Hold allocated time sacred
Arrange the schedule from the first day of school
Schedule staff development sessions to have planning time before or after
Plan agendas before holding the meeting
Provide structures for accountability
Clearly define the purpose of collaborative planning
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• Each teacher should come to the planning meeting prepared:
– General educator selects and brings relevant curricular and resource materials
– Special educator supplies important student information and individualized/small-group resource materials
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What standards are you targeting? What learning objectives?
What big-picture Essential Question could be asked to promote higher-order thinking skills?
What activities will you design in order to meet the learning goals for the unit?
How will students provide evidence that they are achieving understanding?
How will you and your students assess that evidence throughout the lesson?
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20%
60%
20%
Review and Reflect
- What worked?
- What didn’t work?
Plan Instruction
Assign Responsibilities
T/TAC W&M
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Date: Teachers:
Upcoming curriculum topics/units/lessons
Co-teaching arrangements and assignments
Challenges and strategies to help students succeed
Individual student matters
Housekeeping / Logistics
Subject:
4 minutes
9 minutes
7 minutes
6 minutes
4 minutes
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Do your teachers utilize a standard planning agenda when co-planning?
If yes, would you be willing to share it with the PLC?
If no, would you find a standard planning agenda beneficial in holding your teachers more accountable for their planning time?
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• Time Management
• Preparation
• Listening or Parity
• Initiative
• Respect
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The administrator should…
• Attend co-planning sessions
• Praise successes
• Provide constructive feedback
• Listen to concerns and provide support
• Adjust non-instructional responsibilities to provide time for planning
• Provide administrative coverage to allow time for co-planning
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Co-Teaching PLC Day Two

• Training is essential - Administrators need to have a clear understanding of what co-teaching is and is not
• Administrative ownership is important
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Create a school culture that supports success for all students
Ensure a continuum of services for students with disabilities
Remember that IEP teams determine student needs
Make adjustments to class size, class composition, schedules, and personnel
Allow for ample co-planning time
Provide formal and informal feedback to co-teaching teams
Offer memberships in professional organizations or conference attendance
Provide ongoing professional development opportunities
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Provide multiple professional development opportunities in co-teaching skills
• Collaboration
• Conflict management
• Team maintenance
• Unit planning
• Universal Design for Learning
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1. What do you do to show your coteachers that you support them?
2. How do you provide feedback to your coteachers?
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Co-Teaching PLC Day Two

• Builds relationships between staff and administration
• Allows for recognition of successes
• Creates a forum for constructive feedback
• Provides motivation for improvement
• Increases administrator awareness of co-teaching activities
• Promotes the educational achievement of every student 35

Co-Planning
Documentation
• Lesson plans
• Modified materials
• Materials sent home
Co-Instruction
Documentation
• Data collected while teaching
• Tiered lessons showing differentiated instruction
• Class notes
Co-Assessment
Documentation
• Gradebook
• Accommodated assignments
• Modified assignments
• Description of how students are individually graded
Hammill Institute on Disabilities
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Teachers working as a team and classroom environment demonstrating parity
Both teachers in classroom the entire time
Both teachers assist students with and without disabilities
Smooth instruction demonstrating co-planning
Differentiated strategies and variety of instructional approaches
Both teachers engage in appropriate behavior management techniques
Difficult to identify special education teacher from the general education teacher
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Co-teachers use language demonstrating collaboration and shared responsibility
(we, our)
Teachers refer to students as
“our students”
Questions are phrased that indicate all students are included
Student conversations demonstrate a sense of community among peers
Questions are asked at a variety of levels (basic recall to higher order thinking)
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1. What other things do you look for to see evidence of effective co-teaching?
2. What other things do you listen for to see evidence of effective co-teaching?
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A Framework for Teaching:
Components of Professional Practice
Domain 1: Planning and Preparation
•Demonstrating Knowledge of Content and Pedagogy
•Demonstrating Knowledge of Students
•Setting Instructional Outcomes
•Demonstrating Knowledge of
Resources
•Designing Coherent Instruction
•Designing Student Assessments
Domain 4: Professional
Responsibilities
•Reflecting on Teaching
•Maintaining Accurate Records
•Communicating with Families
•Contributing to the School and District
•Growing and Developing Professionally
•Showing Professionalism
Domain 2: The Classroom
Environment
•Creating an Environment of Respect and Rapport
•Establishing a Culture for Learning
•Managing Classroom Procedures
•Managing Student Behavior
•Organizing Physical Space
Domain 3: Instruction
•Communicating Clearly and Accurately
•Using Questioning and Discussion
Techniques
•Engaging Students in Learning
•Using Assessment in Instruction
•Demonstrating Flexibility and
Responsiveness
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Co-Teaching PLC Day Two

Personnel
Instructional quality
Teacher prep
Differentiated instruction
Establishing teams
Feedback
Respect
Student engagement
Data-driven instruction
School culture
Administrative support
Expectations
Professional development opportunities
Logistics
Common planning time
Scheduling
Class composition
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Planning
• Exchange knowledge of curriculum and students
• Plan for smooth flow of instruction
• Develop a silent communication system
• Use planning protocols
Instruction
• Use a variety of instructional practices
• Post a structured agenda so teachers and students can focus on lesson objectives
Assessment
• Discuss common expectations for individual students
• Use a variety of assessments
• Divide grading assignments
• Discuss grades assigned to individual students
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• Student outcomes
• Instructional setting
• Parent response
• School community response
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How is what co-teachers are doing together substantially different and better for kids than what each of them would do alone?
(Murawski & Spencer, 2011)
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• Next Webinar:
• Next Face-to-Face Meeting:
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Contact Information www.pattan.net
PaTTAN Harrisburg
(717) 541-4960
(800) 360-7282 PA only
PaTTAN King of Prussia
(610) 265-7321
(800) 441-3215
PaTTAN Pittsburgh
(412) 826-2336
(800) 446-5607 PA only
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Tom Wolf, Governor
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DuFour, DuFour, Eaker, & Many, (2010). Learning by Doing: A Handbook for
Professional Learning Communities at Work™ (2nd ed., pp. 125–127)
Solution Tree Press.
Murawski, W. W. (2012). 10 Tips for using co-planning time more efficiently.
Teaching Exceptional Children, 44(4), 8 -15.
Murawski, W. & Dieker, L. (2013). Leading the Co-Teaching Dance: Leadership
Strategies to Enhance Team Outcomes. Arlington, VA: Council for
Exceptional Children.
Hammill Institute on Disabilities: http://hammill-institute.org/
William and Mary Training and Technical Assistance Center: http://education.wm.edu/centers/ttac/
2Teach: http://2teachllc.com/lessons.html
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